I hope everyone is doing well! As I write this, our entire state is under a shelter in place order by the governor. My hope is that this will help and this outbreak will lesson, we will flatten the curve as is the goal—and one day in the future we will all be back in the studio teaching and making music face to face, laughing, and making memories!

I wanted to share a practice idea that I think your kids, and you, our adult students might enjoy and find as a way to shake things up a little and have fun while working on your scales and your timing, tempo, and feel. Practicing with a groove.

Here are a few different tracks:

1. Slow pop ballad at 70
2. Smooth jazz neo/soul at 75
3. Funky groove at 92
4. Bossa Nova at 120 (a fun Latin groove)
5. Early 70’s Hard Rock Drums 
6. 95 bpm Rock groove
7. Gospel groove track

My first suggestion:

• Start simple, really feel the groove first, and then determine where the measures begin and establish your count. These are all in 4/4. 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
• Count out loud for a few measures.
• Begin with whole notes up and down a scale you are currently working on. Whole notes ae a great way to focus on your sound, technique, and intonation, but also to really feel and connect with the groove underneath your melodic line.
• When you are locking into the time well on whole notes, move on to quarter notes, one note of the scale per beat, again, really lock into the time, that is the focus here.
• When you are able, move on to 8^th notes and move up and down the scale. Ideally of course, do this through the entire circle of fifths on your scale of choice—or as far as you can go with it.

There are many more. Seek out your own and let us know when you find great ones! Here’s a 3 minute video example.

I hope to post a series of little videos together on different ways to use these in your practice, so stay tuned.

Here is step two, if you feel like you have become comfortable enough with step one (first video above).

Step 3: Half Notes over Time, Keeping Track of the Time

I tried to find some orchestral/classical oriented grooves but had no luck. Jordan is going to create some for us when he gets back though, so stay tuned.

Have fun practicing! Don’t get bored during the shelter in place, get awesome (on your instrument and in groov’n)!