Tri-M
MOTIVE MODE MOOD

“Balance the control instead of controlling the balance.”

You are in the center and the center signifies your happiness.

Tri-M is a methodology.

Most of us think that learning how to play music by going to school or taking up classes is done with the objective of acquiring knowledge, especially since music falls under the Mode category. But Mode consists of the theory of music scales and harmonies, and makes up only 33% of music creation.

Mood is underpinned by dynamics and rhythm – the flow of music playing or writing intrinsically linked to the human essence. This forms the other 33% of music creation.

But the most important component in any music creation is that of Motive.

Motive is the work of the heart which inspires you. It becomes the reason you pick up an instrument, write a composition, become a performer, etc. With Motive, you are pushed to reach your goals and progress.

So Motive takes up 33%, leaving us with the last 1%, and that 1% is you.

From my perspective, I will drive that 1% towards Motive, because Mood and Mode will be on our creative palette and they will help complete the picture.

PRACTICE PLAN

There are many steps to learning but the most crucial and essential are these 4 points:

Genre study (gather, immerse, study, define, read and revise)
Music Theory
3 pillars of writing improvisation

• – Technique (the instruments and musicianship)
• – Genre repertoire (the standards/songs)
• – Genre language (by ear and listen in-depth e.g. from micro phrases into big picture)

Practice Plan (which is what I will talk about here).

The diagram below will give you an idea of how you can plan your daily practices, which we will divide into 8 blocks.

The key is to cover EVERY block, imprint it in your head, even if it means just 5 minutes spent on one block. Never leave any block out.

One can argue that a beginner may not be able to cover all 8 blocks every day, but the key is to do something about it, even if it’s just reading up on how, who and why on that particular topic, e.g. composition. Keep up with that habit, get inspired and motivated until you are able to start penning that first line.

Do NOT miss any blocks because micro habits are the keys to success.

Next, let’s look at the common understanding of progress – the Pyramid of Progress.

PYRAMID OF PROGRESS

Most of us assume that success and progress is denoted by the pyramid on the left. But the hidden truth is that progress is an inverted pyramid – the more you learn, the more you realize you do not know. It may seem discouraging but let us look at why it is the most correct way to grow.

You start off not knowing much. As you move upwards in your procurement of knowledge, your level of interest widens too. That means we can’t just look upwards, we need to also look around us and be aware of what we can explore while keeping the interest growing. To have the attitude that there is always more to learn and explore. The concept is to never stop learning! This applies not only to picking up an instrument or hobby, but very much to Life as well.