Hey music maker,
Here's the question I'm testing:
Can you use learning science principles to reach an intermediate level on two instruments in 6 months while working full-time, raising three kids, and running a business?
Not "can you grind harder." Not "can you practice 4 hours a day."
Can learning science beat grind culture for busy adults?
I don't know the answer. So I'm running a public experiment to find out.
The Experiment
Starting January 17th, I'm building the Practice Blueprint: a 6-month learning-in-public experiment using guitar and bass practice as the lab and learning science as the lens.
Here's how it works:
The Constraints:
5 hours/week practice (split between guitar and bass)
3 hours/week documentation
Father of three young boys
Running a business
No pretending I have more time than I do
The Goal:
Observable intermediate benchmarks by July:
Guitar: Comp full songs cleanly, solo with intent, perform curriculum pieces
Bass: Soul-style basslines with ghost notes, chromatic approaches, pocket control
The Method:
I'm following external curricula (Pickup Music for guitar, Full-Stack Bassist for bass), not my own systems.
The instructors tell me what to practice. I tweak how I practice using learning science principles: spaced repetition, deliberate practice protocols, constraint-based learning, meta-cognitive strategies.
The Rules:
Weekly Saturday updates starting Jan 17th
Ugly clips included (real reps, not highlight reels)
If I miss a week, I publish a postmortem
Every experiment I run gets documented: what worked, what didn't, what I'm keeping
I'm not trying to become a virtuoso. I'm trying to get decent, fast, using principles instead of grind.
What You're Getting (And What You're Not)
Starting January 17th, here's what lands in your inbox.
Every Saturday, you'll get a short Practice Blueprint update:
The specific principle I'm testing that week (spaced repetition, deliberate practice protocols, meta-learning strategies)
What worked, what didn't
What I'm adjusting next
One concrete takeaway you can test in your own practice
This isn't a practice diary or a "follow my journey" vlog series.
It's synthesis.
Think of it as an open research notebook for evidence-based music practice. You'll get frameworks you can steal, protocols you can adapt, and honest reporting on what actually moves the needle when time is limited.
What This Is NOT:
A performance showcase (you'll see ugly clips and bottlenecks)
A "quit your job and practice 8 hours/day" fantasy
Daily practice updates (weekly only)
A highlight reel (the constraint is the point)
I'm a father of three running a business with 5 hours/week to practice. That's not a limitation I'm overcoming— it's the whole experiment.
If you're curious about:
Practicing smarter, not just more
Learning science applied to real music practice
Leveling up without quitting your life
...then this might be for you.
If not, every email includes an opt-out link. You'll still get the regular Music Maker's Journal content (song analysis, harmony breakdowns, all the usual nerdy stuff).
Why I’m doing this
I'm just tired of:
Vague practice advice that assumes unlimited time.
Grind culture that treats busy adults like failed prodigies.
Perfectionism that keeps people from starting.
And honestly? I'm curious.
Can I test what I teach about learning science on myself, publicly, under real constraints?
I don't know if this will work. That's the whole point of an experiment.
But if it does, or even if it doesn't, we'll all learn something useful about how musicians actually get better when time is scarce and life is complicated.
First update lands January 17th.
See you in the lab,
Melvin ✌🏾
P.S. What are you working on in 2026? Hit reply and tell me. I'd love to know what you're experimenting with this year.
Know someone who might be interested? Share this newsletter with them
Join the music maker’s journal (free) 👉🏾 https://www.melvindarrell.com
