The Virtual Academy - Hal Galper On Practicing

Main ideas / concepts / lessons

• The core question of practice:

  • “What should I practice?” is presented as the biggest mystery most musicians face.

• Practice must start from listening (not theory):

  • Many people mistakenly assume they must begin by learning vocabulary (rhythmic, melodic, harmonic).
  • That vocabulary is best obtained through the oral/aural tradition—learning “by ear,” copying, and memorizing what you hear—rather than primarily through transcription or analytical study.
  • The oral tradition emphasizes learning a sound (how it feels and sounds) more than learning a theory.

• Unremitting listening is a prerequisite:

  • A “selective process” for what to practice should be driven by what you listen to and respond to.
  • The prerequisite is constant, intensive listening so your ears remain “fed,” sounds stay available internally, and you can recognize truth when it’s taught.

• External learning should reveal internal material (not replace it):

  • Instead of the model “external information → internalizing,” Galper suggests the reverse:
    • External study helps bring out your own internal information.
  • Attraction to an artist signals a resonance between you and the music—an emotional and psychological connection.

• Art as self-discovery:

  • A key definition quoted: Art teaches you something about yourself you didn’t know before.
  • Music becomes a process of learning how you hear (self-knowledge), not learning how another musician heard.

• Your emotional/intuitive responses are “clues” for what to practice:

  • Test approach: play a Coltrane solo and ask students to choose their favorite lick.
  • Different people pick different licks—not because they’re wrong, but because the licks reflect their own emotional relationship to the music.
  • Therefore, your preferences are clues about what you need to develop.

Methodology / instructions

• Choose practice material based on emotional response

  • Identify what you respond to emotionally and intuitively.
  • Treat those responses as “clues” about how you hear.
  • If you like an artist (example: Keith Jarrett), you should:
    • Study that artist deeply
    • Engage with their sound until you’re truly immersed.

• Follow the “first rule of practicing”: practice what you like

  • Do not practice material that makes you bored.
  • If you become bored:
    • Stop that practice focus
    • Move to something else you’re genuinely interested in.

• Avoid rigid linear schedules; use non-linear practice

  • Don’t force a fixed hourly sequence (e.g., “one hour of this, one hour of that”).
  • Prefer jumping between topics according to engagement and interest.

• Assume improvement transfers globally

  • Improvements in one area reinforce other areas (“change is global,” like “knee bone connected to toe bone”).
  • Example transfer from his own experience:
    • He was rooted in post-bop / influences like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett.
    • He later felt pressure to develop intervalic pentatonic playing (based on what others in New York were seeking).
    • When he joined Phil Woods’ band (“real boppers” / “stone bop”), his pentatonic approach felt mismatched.
    • He tested a different approach on the spot—pushing keys without preconceptions—and found that his “bop” came back as improved as if he had been playing it for 15 years.
    • Conclusion: working on one musical direction improved the others; linear-specific sequencing isn’t required.

• Don’t practice without focus

  • If you’re not interested, concentrating, and focused:
    • you won’t learn
    • you’re essentially wasting time.

Speakers / sources featured (as stated in subtitles)

• Hal Galper (main speaker)
• Miles Davis (referenced via “new Miles record”)
• Ted guys / individuals in the Berkeley story (unnamed)
• John Coltrane (example solo for the “favorite lick” exercise)
• Keith Jarrett (example artist to study if you like him)
• Chick Corea (referenced as a stylistic influence)
• Herbie Hancock (referenced as a stylistic influence)
• Phil Woods (bandleader; his band is referenced)

Named musical references

• Miles record, Coltrane, Jarrett, Woods, Corea, Hancock.
  • No other named speakers appear.