Practice Before You Practice!

Sorry I haven't posted very frequently. I have been wrestling with a long post for a week or two. So in the mean time I will leave this short word of wisdom.

I have been thinking about the idea of practicing before you practice. This is specifically aimed at musicians, but it may apply to other areas too. I will consider this the musical equivalent to "measure twice, cut once."

It is helpful to me when preparing for rehearsal to walk through each song in my head, and perhaps on my guitar so I have an idea of what direction I am going with it. I also can brush up on specific riffs and make sure I start on the right fret. When I do this, I can play what I intend to play during rehearsal without messing up (too bad), and I can hear if it works, and the rest of the worship team have a solid example to try their performance against. Then, if anything needs adjusting, it can be adjusted more easily and confidently.

I don't always do this, and it shows. I would encourage everyone to take 5 minutes when they see the set list to think through it so we can bring our best and be unified in our efforts.