And on day 4 of this I had Live Practice w/Ari on the calendar.
So I did what any reasonable adult would do. I bundled up like I was going ice fishing, turned on my backup batteries, tethered my laptop to my phone, and taught the class from the kitchen table.
It was ridiculous. And perfect.
There is something clarifying about having to show up when conditions are not ideal. No perfect tone. No perfect comfort. No three-camera-angle setup. Just a bass, an interface, and a group of awesome people who carved out time to practice.
We improvised. Literally and figuratively. The Wi-Fi wobbled. The house was freezing. We laughed. We worked on subdivision. We locked into groove. And at some point, I forgot that my fingers were cold.
Consistency is not glamorous. It means showing up when it would be easier to cancel.
Many players expect each practice session to feel like a breakthrough. But that’s not how progress works. Progress comes from reps – from showing up even when the session feels ordinary, even when the mood is off, or the room is cold.
If you protect your practice time the way you protect a gig, everything changes.
The storm passed. The groove stayed.
Practice Spark:
- Pick one 10 minute block today. No negotiations. Start when you said you would.
- Play a simple groove and focus only on note length. Even. Intentional. Clean.
- Be clear on the subdivisions. Keep your foot tapping steadily and independently. Do not tap what you play.
With groove,
Ari
PS: If you’d like to join us for live Practice, click here to join Live Practice with Ari
FAQ
Why does my time feel worse when I slow things down?
Because slow tempo exposes whether you actually understand the groove. In other words, whether you can align it with the subdivision.
At medium tempo, momentum can hide uneven subdivision. Slow it down to 50 percent, and the truth shows up. Can you still place the notes cleanly? If you start losing your footing, you are not “bad at time.” You are unclear about the grid.
Most players are not bad at time. They are vague about where the subdivision lives.
The fix is to find the subdivision and commit to it physically. Count out loud. Feel it in your body. Move left to right if you need to make it obvious. Tap your foot steadily and independently of what you are playing. Do not tap what you play.
Every note starting, every note stopping, every dead note, every slide: it all has to land inside that grid. That is a big part of what makes a pocket deep.
And you want it so deep that if you dropped your keys in it, you would not find them until Christmas.
