This is a post about how to practice the clarinet.

Have you ever had one of those days where you didn’t feel like practicing the clarinet? As much as I love to play the clarinet, there have been days where there is nothing I would rather do less than playing the clarinet. 

Throughout my life, I have tested a number of strategies for dealing with this kind of resistance. One of the strategies that I use, perhaps you have tried this one too, is to just not practice on the days that I don’t feel like it. There is something logical about that on the surface, but it would often disrupt the momentum that had been gathered before the fateful day of not wanting to practice.

About fifteen years ago I read the book On Writing by Stephen King. In this somewhat autobiographical book, Stephen King gives away one of the secrets to his profound output as a writer. 

“Don't wait for the muse. As I've said, he's a hardheaded guy who's not susceptible to a lot of creative fluttering. This isn't the Ouija board or the spirit-world we're talking about here, but just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon. or seven 'til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up.”

For me this means that I can not always, or ever for that matter, wait until I “felt like it” to start practicing. I have to sit down and start playing the clarinet, whether I want to or not.  In order to find the motivation to practice I have to start practicing. More often than not, the muse finds me and it turns out that I actually do feel like playing the clarinet. 

Still, there were days where even the knowledge of this probable outcome did not get me to start playing the clarinet when I did not feel like it. I had to find an even more refined strategy to get myself to put the clarinet together and put it in my mouth.

The most powerful “trick” to get myself to practice when I do not want to:

There are actually two tricks in one here. I make myself a deal. There are two different ways this deal can go down.

1. I decide on a particular amount of time to practice. I pick, depending on how dire my feelings are, 15, 20, or 30 minutes to practice and set a timer. When the timer goes off, I allow myself to stop practicing the clarinet if I want to. It does not matter if I am halfway through a scale or mid phrase in an etude. I can stop. 
2. I put a focus on one thing to accomplish. It can be working on a particular technical passage, playing a particular phrase in tune, or memorizing part of a solo piece. Whenever that task is complete, I can be done.

The magic of doing this is that, at this point, I almost never want to stop playing the clarinet.The resistance that was present has fallen away because I have chosen to look away from it. I look towards something specific and/or tangible. 

Next time you are having “one of those days” try putting your focus on something else with an “out clause” so that you allow your muse to find you and provide the inspiration you need to keep on going. If you are like me, some of your best practice days can have a challenging beginning but a terrific result.