Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy – Psalm 33:3
Personally, I much prefer playing a new song or shouting for joy to the Lord to sitting down and doing what is necessary to ensure I can play skilfully! Nevertheless the psalmist instructs us to do all three.
We really should too, if we want to testify of God’s glory. What does it say about the worth we place on God if we are not at least as diligent in developing our musical offerings as secular musicians are in pursuit of their ‘god’.
I’m not talking perfectionism – and speaking as a full-time husband, full-time father, full-time disciple-maker, and full-time church pastor(!) I’m certainly grounded in the realities of time pressures and priority juggling.
However. I am talking about having a heart to do our best for the one we love most, and being as diligent as we can to grow in skill.
If you want to grow in skill then there’s no getting around it, you’ve got to practise. Here are a few basic tips to get you started:
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Make sure practice is a joy not a chore. Adjust your practice as necessary to keep it alive
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If you get fed up or overly frustrated then stop and come back another time
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Consistency rules. Little and often is better than the occasional mammoth session
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Practice is not just playing stuff you’re comfortable with, it’s about being stretched
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Learn a new skill occasionally – whether it’s a new scale, phrase, technique
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Repetition brings familiarity and competency.
Remember, if you practice something which is harder – trickier to play, a more stretching range to sing, more complex rhythmically, then the stuff you play when ‘performing’ will suddenly seem much simpler.
More tips and skill drills to come, but if you’ve got some tips of your own then go right ahead and comment below.
