Not only is Bob a great teacher and mentor, he’s one heckuva good human.

Here’s the deal about lack of time to practice. My teacher and mentor Cornelius Bumpus told me 40 years ago” it’s better to practice ten minutes a day than to practice 5 hours on a Saturday. “That statement has proven to be true in my life. Even when I’m not gigging I get with the horn for ten to twenty minutes a day. It’s amazing what you can get done in that amount of time. Everyone can find ten minutes a day for their passion

Beautiful, I struggle with this too. There are a lot of feelings of guilt and failure around not practicing. Be kind to yourself and your situation, but also realize that blowing air through the horn and just making sound is a healing and joyous act no matter what.

I struggled with this for decades. Now I practice daily. Consistently. I am a single person who manages a household and works full time plus. My life sometimes feels like insanity. The music has become my respite. Regardless, how did I get to this place where I play every single day? I started very similar to how you explained, Bob. Only I committed to 10 minutes. That's all I had to do was 10 minutes. (And if that seems like a lot, I recommend 5 minutes.)

The idea is this establishes the HABIT. I became the kind of person who played my sax every day. It started with 10 minutes, but soon became more. Some days all I did was 10 minutes. I leave my horn out on the stand, in the living room, so all I need to do is put on a mouthpiece and a reed, and I am off to the races.

Now I typically play from 45-90 minutes, depending on the day. (Longer on weekends) But I have become that person who plays every single day. And it has made such a difference in my life as well as my playing.

Now I am not super woman. If I am sick or so extremely exhausted, I may only play 20 minutes. Even if it's back to 10 minutes, it's OK. I played that day and I remain consistent and the habit continues. One day at a time.  Today I played. That's what I want to say when I go to bed. Today I played my saxophone.

I highly recommend getting an audio version of the book Atomic Habits and listening while driving. Super helpful. This is where I got the idea and motivation to do this.

Best part- I started getting into the Studio and doing the monthly challenges! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I have laid out a couple months, but I have been working on Hank's solo on my own! (I just don't have anything to post.) The Studio is so worth your time and money. Plus I think it's a BARGAIN for all the knowledge and wisdom Bob shares and all the folks in the studio too. So if you're on the fence, just do it! :). And definitely start becoming a person who plays the sax every day!

Youtube should have a repost button. This is golden!!!!

I appreciate the humanity and compassion in your response!  "If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn!"

I want to play, but my neighbors don't want me to

I have followed your channel for several years and as a music teacher and gigging musician, I have found a tremendous amount of inspiration in your approach to music. But I think that what has inspired me the most is your approach to life itself, the struggles we all encounter. The fact that you take your time to answer such a personal question and does it with such empathy and vulnerability just shows that you’re not just a great musician but an amazing human being. Thank you 🙏

When I built a house fory family I built a sound proof room into the basement so that I could practise every night when everyone else is in bed... we've been loving here for almost 5 years and I hardly ever use it ... I signed up to Bob's studio in October to get me going....I have watched maybe 10 videos so far...

People struggling with this probably also need to give themselves permission to be bad (compared to what they want to be able to do on the instrument), or permission to let something else drop in order for them to slot 10 minutes of practice in its place.

Well that hit home in a way I wasn’t expecting. Been wrestling with this question for a long time!

The more I play the more excited I seem to get about playing. I also find the opposite is true.

This is the best reset  Instead of scrolling stupid videos (EXCEPT this one!) I started picking up my horn first thing. Coffee, horn. Irreversible tragedy (work). Gig Saturday, and I want to be ready, can't cram on Friday. Doesn't work. thanks, Bob Reynolds.

“It’s healing!” That’s the key to the whole thing. Thanks Bob. We’ve all been there. Really useful insights.

Interesting question and response. I learned how to play sax while I was in college. I played for a few years. After getting married I was still playing. At one point: my sax getting stolen, professional constraints and parental responsibilities caused a major pause (20+ years). I bought a used sax, which I played occasionally. When my youngest child finished high school and moved out, I got my horn overhauled and re-started (at age 60) and have been playing regularly since then. (I will turn 78 this year.) It's never too late!

One of the reasons that I don't play my horns (bari and sop) as much as I used to is because I started playing guitar 2 years ago. But, you are correct, sir!!

Therapy

My first time seeing Bob was in the "We Like It Here" Snarky Puppy video! I was blown away!

The thing that keeps me interested in playing every day is melodies. On sax I like to play along with vocal recordings. On brass instruments, where I am at more of an intermediate level, I spend more time reading fake books. My goal is to play any tune by ear in any key. Playing by ear with recordings gives me exposure to every key. I do also play scales and arpeggios to improve my sound but playing tunes is what makes me want to pull out the instruments every day.

I really appreciate your humility and honesty.  it's very valuable.