There’s
no point to practicing music simply for the sake of practicing music. For best results you’ve got to practice with purpose. So...how
exactly does one make that happen? The ZOEN polled a group of music teachers
to learn how to get the most out of music practice time. Here are 15 tips
straight from their lips:
#1 Get Into It
Good practice begins with an honest, wholehearted commitment, like going to the gym to get in shape. - Dan Foran, Voice
#2 Be Prepared
Gather your materials. Have a metronome handy (a smartphone app is great!), and a pencil. - Anna Fagan, Piano
#3 Ask Why
Make sure you know why you are practicing. You need a reason to practice. Are you practicing for yourself or someone else? You need to know this. - Jay Sandifer, Guitar, Drums, Piano & Voice
#4 Have a Plan
Have
a plan, and make it a SMALL one. Working just a few measures with a
goal to play them several times in succession with two mistakes or less
will give you satisfying progress in a short period of time. - Anna Fagan, Piano
#5 Build a Routine
Break
your practice time up into thirds - for example, warm up, scales and jam time. Even if you only have 15 minutes to spend on your instrument, 5
minutes of practicing each section correctly will yield great results. -
Matt Brechbiel, Guitar
#6 Take 5 Minutes
Say
you only have five minutes to practice today. That's it. What's the
one thing you need to work on that you can work on in 5 minutes? Work on
that. The thing is, we all know what that one thing is. It may be half a
bar of music, a tricky chord change, whatever, but there's always a
very specific thing that's holding you up and there's really no reason
to work on anything else. - Stephen Dick, Acoustic Guitar
#7 Get Inspired
Use
YouTube for some inspiration. It's fairly easy to find good recordings
of just about anything that you are working on. Even a BAD recording
can help you, in illuminating things that you want to avoid doing! - Anna Fagan, Piano
#8 Practice Without Practicing
#9 Record Yourself
Make
a video of a run through of what you’re working on at the end of a
practice session. Review. Take notes. Adjust. Repeat. - Phil Amalong, Piano
#10 Know Your Limits
Sometimes,
it’s far more beneficial to just leave the music for a day and get a
good night of sleep. Know your limits, don’t be too easy to let things
go and above all enjoy the music you have the pleasure to perform! - Dan Foran, Voice
#11 Experiment
So often we become overbound to a formal approach to our instrument that limits spontaneity and naturalness. Carve
out a few minutes in your longer practice sessions to just “mess
around.” Improvise, try new sounds or techniques, do something goofy or
radical to help cultivate a boundless, effortless relationship with the
instrument. - Phil Amalong, Piano
#12 Build Mental Discipline
Sometime,
things just don’t want to work right and no matter what you do, you
cannot seem to make progress in your practice. These days are very good
for building your mental discipline. Play through your music mentally
and go through difficult passages in your mind. If you feel so inspired,
try your instrument again for a time and see what happens. - Dan Foran, Voice
#13 Track Your Progress
Record
yourself. A smart phone is a great tool for this! If you record
several days' practice in a row, you will begin to hear your progress,
and this can be very encouraging! - Anna Fagan, Piano
#14 Visualize Success
Going over a piece mentally shortly before going to bed for the night does wonders! - Dan Foran, Voice
#15 Get it Done
Make
sure it gets done! Set a time to practice and make it a priority. That
way your family knows and you know when it's time to practice, it's time
to PRACTICE! - Fran Beaudry, Clarinet
Bonus Tip: Find a Teacher
Find a great music teacher who can work with you to create a practice
routine that works for you. Their individual attention is invaluable and
they know know just about every trick in the book! Ask them anything.
Sometimes, for me, getting students the music they want entails me transcribing a particular pop song for them, that involves a lot of decisions for me about trying to be true to the original melody so the students can play along with the track (key, rhythm, register, etc) or transpose the piece to an easier key and with a simplified rhythm which will enable them to play it more easily. Sometimes giving them a very difficult transcription which is clearly beyond their current abilities is an excellent motivator, and sometimes it isnt, every student is a unique individual who responds to a wide range of positive or negative reinforcements- some will rise to the challenge and work their butts off to be able to conquer the piece and some will curl up in a little tearful ball and quit. One parent came up with an excellent motivator for her daughter (who was a very commercially minded girl), she paid her $5 for every day that she practiced on her own for 30 minutes or more- but at the end of the week the child had to pay for her lesson herself. Pretty quickly the student realized that if she practiced 7 days a week she would be turning a $10 profit weekly, and promptly doubled her efforts at home. Everyone is different, and part of our job as teachers is learning what makes each pupil tick, and helping them develop good discipline which will reward them with a wealth of achievements, both in music and life. This is the way we do it at my studio, http://www.nassaubaymusiclessons.com... anyway...
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