Better Groove – Six Fun Practice Ideas!

Hey everyone! Hope this find you all well – all the best wishes in health, wealth, love, happiness and, of course, music!

Here’s some fun practice ideas that I’ve tried over the years – these are mostly focused on groove, though there’s lots of overlap between many different musical elements.

How Harmony and Groove Relate

For example, a specific note (say “A“) vibrates some where between 418-445 (depending on the tuning agreed upon) times per second (hertz = cycles per second).

A groove usually “cycles” 30-300 times per minute (bpm = the number you set on your metronome).

Part of what makes both the note and the groove sound so good are that they are in tune with themselves. Being in tune basically means that the speed of the cycle stays the same. So a note doesn’t change pitch, and a groove keeps a steady beat.

It’s an interesting concept to see how two big parts of music relate in a fundamental way.

Have Fun with the Practice Ideas!

While you could do each exercise in about 5 minutes, they’re all fun enough that you could dedicate much more time to focus on each of these (without really noticing).

Dancing, playing drums, and making backing tracks are a lot of fun!

I definitely look forward to doing all these things – the hard part is getting to the “practice room”. Once I’m there, I usually good for at least a few minutes!

I just try to sit down for a few minutes and have fun. Usually, it’ll take me somewhere cool & I’ll learn something and have fun, too!

Practice Makes Progress

Remember – practice makes progress.

So, I always try to practice a little bit each day. I’ll usually end up practicing more, but even just a little bit helps.

Especially when I am learning a new instrument – for example, violin – I find practicing just a few minutes a day can really help.

I started practicing violin every day for about 5 minutes in April, and within a few months I was already noticing progress. Practicing more per day would have helped, but I think extra time invested in practicing would have had diminishing returns.

In other words, it was more important to practice a little bit each day, as opposed to trying to rush the process and practice extra hard for diminishing returns – time and energy I could dedicate to other things.

• Musicality: Nature, Nurture & 10,000 hours?
• Remember to breath when you play

Groove & Time

I love to groove. At one point (a long time ago), I used to think it was “too” easy (since it was “just” quartet notes) and that it “wasn’t worth my time” to dedicate myself to practicing grooving.

I certainly have a long ways to go, but at least I feel like I am moving in the right direction.

Here’s some ideas to work on groove:

• Practice groove with a metronome
• Practice groove with a great song
• Practice Drumming (see below for this)
• Dance (see below)
• Make a backing track
• Count the beat out loud

The main things to focus on (for me at least):

• Steady time
• Lock into the beat
• Keep the groove – playing the same pattern in cycles of (usually, at least) 4, 8, 12, 16 – in other words, not changing the groove/feel too often.
• Accents – trying variations by just (subtly?) changing the accents
• Understanding how clave and 12/8 (and many other things) relate to many styles of music – in other words, understanding the roots of many musical styles
• Understanding (visualizing) how the dance relates to the music. This is true for European classical – for example, the waltz, the bouree, etc
• Really feel the downbeats, and the back beats
• Make the upbeats really pop!

• Jazz Guitar Ideas – How to Improve Time (and Groove) for Jazz Guitar – Count Out Loud!
• Groove and the backbeat
• Learning to groove with Rebirth Brass Band
• Practicing jazz groove, Lesson 1
• Practicing Jazz Groove, Lesson 2
• How to Play Drums (for Guitarists)!

Hand Drumming

Hand drumming is something everyone can do!

Whatever your instrument, drumming is a great way to practice musicality.

You can drum on a table, the ground, your instrument.

And, of course, if you have hand percussion, this is great, too.

I usually play along with a beat, a click, or a song.

You can also play the guitar as a drum. Not like an actual hand drum, but as a purely percussive instrument. You basically mute your strings and practice your strumming. You’ll be able to hear what’s working and what you can work on.

• How to Play Drums (for Guitarists)!
• Drum circle!
• Learning New Instruments for Enjoyment and Musicality
• Groove and the backbeat

Foot Drumming

Foot drumming is fun, too. It’s a little different than hand drumming because you can practice while playing your instrument.

In jazz, and many other types of music, I usually try to tap on the back beat. After playing/doodling around on drums for many years, I discovered that I could play the hihat as a tambourine on the ground on the 2&4. For a lot of gigs, this really helps to make the rhythm pop (assuming I playing in time:) )

I’ve definitely had a the opportunity to improve my musicality, while helping (hopefully) the music swing more with the addition of a tambourine.

I also, on occasion, will play the bass drum, 4 on the floor style, while playing the guitar. While playing the tambo on 2 and 4. This works for swing and rumbas pretty well. Plus, it adds energy and it looks cool, too!

Make Your Own Backing Tracks

I just made a video and wrote an article – Make your Own Backing Track (5 Minute Practice Ideas).

With the advent of the smartphone (or tons of other ways), it’s super easy to record a track (with a click or metronome).

To summarize:

1. Record a backing track (with a click, etc)
2. Play over the track (you can check out what you played, and work on something new, too)

Dancing

“Practicing” dancing is just really an excuse to dance. But if you do play a style of music that has a dance style associated with it (or did have a dance style associated with it), then maybe it’s worth it to check out the dance style.

You can practice your dance moves while learning more about groove, instrumentation, how different grooves affect the beat and the dance feel. If you record you own music and it makes you want to dance, then that’s usually a good sign!

Dancing is a like foot drumming. Some dance styles actually have foot drumming, like tap dancing, flamenco, for example.

Dancing/Stepping with “Polyrhythms”

This is like dancing, but you add extra layers of rythm by clapping, counting, and/or playing your instrument.

You’ll see a lot of people sing and dance. But also folks with play their instrument and dance.

It’s like dancing. But for me, I try even harder to lock my footsteps in with the beat!

This lady dancing and playing violin is but one of a multitude of examples.

(Daily) Practice Makes Progress!

Best wishes and hope these ideas help!

Please leave a comment or send a message to let me know if you have any suggestions, experiences with the types of practice ideas!