“Practice.”

v. To perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency.

n. The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to the theory or principles of it; performance, execution, achievement; working, operation.

- Oxford English Dictionary

I am a lifelong student, and not simply because I’ve yet to finish my dissertation. Practice, in all its forms, gives me a reason to be. What do I practice? Everything. There are obvious, quantifiable things: drums for instance, for which I can sit and exercise physical mechanics and codify my results with numerical measurements. And Bikram yoga, another practice somewhat assessable vis-à-vis tangible, embodied accomplishments. I am forever working toward a PhD in ethnomusicology that too has required reading, responding, grading.

But all of the above are gateways. As I deepen my practices I move beyond the physical and the quantifiable toward the cerebral and conceptual, and in rare special moments there is no difference. Learning to deepen my breath improves yoga, drumming and life writ large, and processing a bit of Saussure grants me a bird’s eye view of what I might be attempting to say with it all. My focus on the fulcrum my thumb and index finger create for my drumstick can propel me toward both a cleaner double-stroke roll and “nada brahma,” a Hindu phrase translatable as both the “Sound of God” and “Sound is God.”

The greatest successes of my professional practices as a performer and educator have come at the crossroads of all of the above. But there is never a complete arrival; every great moment leaves behind more ideas, questions, and things to think about and to work toward. That is the beauty of practice: there is no conclusion. As much as we use our practice to put forth the fruit of our engagement with the act of practicing, there will always be more practicing to do.

Here on “Practice” I’ll be sharing moments from those crossroads. I hope that what I share relates to your crossroads as well and that you’ll join the discussion.