The KEY to mastery and freedom

This concept is so simple and genius , and really common sense if you think about it, that I wanted to share it :

Play something : Observe what your mind first think about. Write down that first thought. That thought is a barrier for feeling the music, and needs to be removed (if your goal is to express yourself freely). Isolate that one thing, solve it, and move on.

The awesome stuff about this is that you know what to practice (the first thought), and what order ( first thought is what you need to remove first )

Example : You improvise. The first thought you come up with is " the playing is sloppy, the notes are covered by noise". Then you know what to sit down and isolate.

This is the key masters do consciously or unconsciously.

Good practice.

I will try this Magnus... Thanks for the tip!

This is so simple it as to make sence :) Thanks for sharing.

Uh, ok... but what if my first thought is "wow, this sounds great!"? I mean, there's got to be a point where we can be happy with what we're playing, right? Honestly, a lot of times I'll hear accomplished players over-play stuff... its as if they just cannot resist the urge to add complexity simply to show off their chops, when a simpler, more under-stated line might really have been the better choice.

If I had to put my finger on probably a more practical tip, especially given the example, "sloppy playing" is that much of the time we don't practice slowly enough, myself included. Its taken some real self-discipine for me to slow stuff waaaay down, so that I'm not practicing mistakes, to realize that is actually the shortest path to playing fast & cleanly.

Thanks for the Free INFO!! Much appreciated

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Excellent advice that I will definitely apply! ♪•*¨*•.¸¸.•*¨*• [/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Yes, sometimes simplicity is best. Thanks for the practice advice too ♪•*¨*•.¸¸.•*¨*• [/FONT]

Slipin Lizard, I think you nailed this perfectly. Making mistakes due to the desire to play quickly is my personal demon. If I play something 60 times and get it wrong 45 times due to speed, the 45 versions become the version. This leads me to get better and better at making these same mistakes until I have it perfect(ly) wrong.
It's sort of like driving too fast in the dark on a winding road you don't know. But that's just my take on it.
Jim F