Improving your playing?

[ilovemusic]

Tough Question.. So many things can improve your playing and it really depends on the individual. I think having a good time feel will generally improve you playing no matter what instrument you play. check out this article: http://www.musiciansbible.ca/the-groove/

I found alot of other cool articles on the site, check it out.

[Moosebox]

good rythmic ability is important, not only recording wise, but a great riff/hook/melody has a lot to do with rythm of the notes you play. the syncopations and the off beats and stuff.

and good technique is important for recording. doesnt need to be able to play fast, but smooth. beautiful. for example if you play acoustic guitar; listen to how it actually sounds. do you strum to hard? to soft? do you emphasize the right strings?

a good musician playing an easy song, sounds much better than a bad musician playing the exact same thing. why? he/she plays it smoother. more beautifully, more in time. rythm has a lot to do with it, bt also technique. or shall i say the feel of it.

this really depends on what music you want to play and if you want to be a session musician or not, but if you`ve got a good ear and a creative mind, I don`t really see the need to practice lots of scales and stuff either. it is nice to know the basics, but I find the most interesting melodies/chops when I don`t know what I`m doing. just look away from your instrument play a random note and take it from there:) don`t think, just play. sometimes it doesnt work but sometimes you get an interesting idea. If you want to come up with interesting hooklines/melodies, that is.. If you want to be able to improvise great solos, on the spot. then you have to practice that stuff of course.

[Fuzzbuggy]

For me it would definitely have to be my singing - The notes I pick and how to get better melodies

[laceyf53]

I'm a flautist, but I've helped teach other instruments because the principles of practice habits for learning an instrument are almost always the same.

To improve technique to the maximum you are capable of, you need a metronome, and you have to go beyond scales and scale exercises. I do my scales, in full range instead of just octave to octave. I do my scales in various meter, sometimes triplets, sometimes triplets and eighths, since flute involves tonguing and slurring, I will do tongue 1 slur 2 tongue, slur 2 tongue 1, tongue slur tongue, tongue tongue slur slur, etc. I get extremely creative, and make my scales as hard as possible. I do my majors, natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, as well as modes. I do arpeggios, major, minor, 7ths, diminished, half diminished, and augmented. I do octave slurs, high register specific exercises, enharmonics, trill fingerings in various patterns, and as much site reading as possible in as many keys as possible, as lots of atonal stuff.

To improve musicality, you have to have others listen and critique you. You can only hear so much, and playing in as many styles as possible is paramount. Just in flute, vibrato and tone differs greatly when comparing classical music to chamber music, and it's especially different in latin jazz. By playing in many styles, I can immerse myself in and imitate the sound and phrasing necessary, and having other more experienced players listen to me helps greatly with that. For this reason, I attend clinics and master classes as much as possible.

[jramm]

for me on piano, I think now I'm past the point of being able to improve drastically. Speed and things need to be learned when very very young. But if I could I would improve trills and tremolos and rhythm at speed (even, crisp notes!)

[Joe51]

Just 2 or 3? Seems like every time I improve somewhere, it highlights another flaw. I'll keep it basic though.

I need to play cleaner. I need to play softer most of the time, and I need stay out of my comfort zone.

The first two just take focus, but the last is difficult. Frustration always leads me back to something pleasing. Instant gratification is for gamers... this stuff is hard!! lol.

[BobGrady]

in regards to bettering yourself as a player i think my favorite saying of all time when it comes to music is "to really know and feel what you play you have to learn everything you can about music, and then forget it all and just play"

too often when i record or write i try my best to make it sound good and make sure i do everything right and to the tee but the times where i play my best are when i just let all of that go and simply let it out. music is a language, so you need to learn to just speak it without thinking to hard about it or else your words will get jumbled up.

[Bang1]

I'll like to learn how to play the piano ... being able to be versatile is amazing.