The first thing to recognise is that practice means repetition.
In reality the time we spend on practising is becoming more and more limited due to the busy lives that we now lead. For this reason alone it has become even more essential to learn how to practice efficiently and effectively.
It is through habit that we learn most of our life skills. To form a habit we use a great level of concentration. In doing this we can effectively make actions a muscular habit. The same rule applies when practising a musical instrument or singing. If we play a phrase enough times then we can learn to do it more automatically without the conscious direction of our brains. This does not mean our brains are then left to wander – instead they can focus on other musical directions such as articulation, dynamics and interpretation.
Numerous short, concentrated bursts of practice are often much more efficient than fewer, longer sessions.
Here is a list of ways to increase your practice productivity:
- Make sure your environment is quiet and your mind is calm.
- Choose a section of your music, not the whole piece, that you wish to improve. This can be 4 bars or one phrase or a particularly awkward section that keeps making you stumble.
- Repeat slowly for as long as it takes to fix any problems that arise. These could be examples such as fingering issues for pianists, or pitch issues for singers.
- Move on to another section of the piece and work in the same way.
- Repeat and repeat until you feel a sense of automatic muscle memory kicking in.
- It is always important to end a session with a good play or sing of a piece that you can already play well. This will boost feel good endorphins and make you return more regularly to practice.
- Reward!! Rewarding yourself for a good practise session is a priority for boosting a sense of achievement. As simple as a good cup of coffee or chocolate digestive nibble can really encourage practice.
It is important that any student, whether adult or child, feels that they are supported in practise by either a parent or their teacher. How to get into the habit of practise is a whole new topic and much more related to routine, discipline and commitment.
This blog only brushes the surface of many different ways to practice. In exploring just these basic rules of practise you will start to see progress more quickly and this will lead you a much more rewarding learning journey.
…..and now I’m off for a good cup of coffee! Happy practising 🙂
Bea Pinol
13/02/20
Great blog Debbie 🙂
I’ll use the tips I promise !
Anna
13/02/20
Great first post! Looking forward to seeing more x
Amber Reddin
13/02/20
will make sure to eat lots of chocolate digestives 🙂 , can’t wait for your ‘ day in the life’ blog
Mark
15/02/20
More coffee, more chocolate, repeat slowly ????
Anne
18/02/20
Now that I know chocolate is involved, I will probably practise more and will become an addict!
Tess
28/02/20
Absolutely amazing, love the fonts can’t wait for the next one;)
Katie
04/03/20
Really good first blog Debbie! I’ll definitely try these tips – especially the one about digestive nibbles 🙂