As an aspiring musician learns more and more about playing an instrument they discover that there are more and more things they need to pay attention to in order to create the music they want to share.  These things can range from getting the notes right and keeping the rhythm steady to bringing out a melody over a lighter accompaniment or playing some notes with one type of articulation while others at the same time with a different articulation. Several months ago I sketched out the image to the right of a stick man playing a piano with lines radiating out to a listing of several of these concerns.  It lists several factors that a performer must consider when playing including dynamics, phrasing, articulation, meter, accent, tone quality, volume, listening to ensemble partners, improvisation, and getting the notes right. Other factors that can be added to this including memory, reading ahead, relaxing or reducing stress, and others I haven't thought of yet. The best musicians can create beautiful music balancing all these factors without seemingly thinking about them, but this is because they have put hours upon hours into practicing their music paying attention at one time or another to each of these things until those things become automatic or they may be one of those rare individuals who happen to have been blessed with a natural ability or talent.  For most of us though, if we want to be good we have to put in both the time and effort to get better.

This brings us to the question of 'What should I work on...?' To answer this question we need to understand our current abilities, be able to see the gap between those abilities and our vision of us playing at our best, and have some kind of plan to follow to move from those current abilities to what we envision.  The best way to accomplish this is to find a teacher who understands what you want to do, can assess your current abilities, and can provide you with direction as to what to work on in order to have you close that gap between where you are and where you want to be in the most efficient way possible.  For more on the value of having a good teacher read my testament on the value of having a good teacher [soon to be written].  If finding a good teacher not a practical alternative for you at this time then my advice would be to start with the fundamentals if your new to playing.  If you've been playing for a while but don't seem to be making the headway you desire then... go back and review the fundamentals.

What do I consider to be the fundamentals?  The short answer is getting the notes right and getting the rhythms right using the correct technique for your chosen instrument.  As far as notes go, in western music there are only 12 named pitches that repeat as the frequency doubles.  Do you know what these notes are on your instrument? If not, that would be a good place to start.  As far as rhythms go, most music has a pulse that is based on groupings of two, three or four beats.  Can you play a note at a consistent tempo accenting the first note of each of those groupings?  If not practice doing that.  Finally, every instrument has what I would refer to as a 'home' position, a way of holding your body that allows you the optimal flexibility to accurately produce its characteristic sound.  With the piano this would be the position you sit on the bench with the fingers in a slightly curled position over the keys ready to play a five note scale with both hands.  With the violin this would be the way the body of the instrument is supported by the shoulder and neck with the right hand holding the frog in a proper balanced grip and the right hand in the first position by the nut with the fingers curled around the neck.  With voice this would be the position of the body with the chest fully erect and the breathing controlled by the muscles in the diaphragm.  With the drums this would be the relaxed grip on the sticks and the body in a position or seat that allows maximum range of motion and flexibility.  Every instrument has a recommended way of positioning the instrument or the player so be sure you are aware of that position for your instrument.

In regards to balance, we now have three things we have to balance to start off with - the notes, the rhythms, and our positions.  Being aware of these three things is probably the most basic consideration of what we should initially focus on in the journey to becoming a good musician.  There is one other thing that I will throw out for your serious consideration.  If you don't know how to read music, then learn.  There are many great musicians who don't know how to do this but it is a skill that will give you greater flexibility and help you to answer the questions "What notes do I play?" and "When do I play them?" without having to rely on your memory or your ear. [I plan to write an article on reading music, including my struggles with it, but just know for now that it's not as hard as you may think.]  I am tempted to throw in a suggestion to learn music theory as well because it too helps answer the questions of what to play and when to play it but right now you probably have enough to balance with the four things I've already mentioned - although I will get to that eventually.  Until later, happy music making!

Greg Shoemaker