Practicing your instrument is key for consistent growth and improvement. While the saying usually goes “practice makes perfect”, at Enrichmond Ave Music Studio, we encourage students to strive for perfect practice to make progress instead. Here are five pointers to establishing a routine to get you started on a successful practicing journey.
1. Scheduled Practice Sessions
Taking private lessons is an investment both financially and of your time. To get the most out of every lesson, you need to prioritize spending time on the new skills you are learning outside of the instruction. The best way to build a practice routine is simply scheduling it into your day. Find a time that’s distraction-free and stick with it! Give yourself grace if you miss a session or two, but the more consistent you can be, the easier it is to form any new habit.
2. Quality over Quantity
Time is a precious commodity these days and using it wisely is an absolute must. Now that you’ve scheduled your practice sessions in, you should strive to make the most of it. In most cases, this means focusing on quality over quantity time with your instrument. It’s more important to play for small, focused sessions each day instead of long, crammed sessions just a couple times each week. For the young beginner, this is especially important as fatigue can hinder proper posture as well as risk disliking practice of any kind! As you advance in your skills, the practice sessions will naturally increase in length overtime. Don’t worry about setting a timer; simply focus on what’s most important to spend time on.
3. Spot Practicing
So how do you exactly focus on quality practice sessions? The key is simple: spot practice! When you have a difficult passage that you continually struggle with, you want to isolate that spot when you’re the most alert. Start your session with a warm-up and then zone in on that passage with some repetitive spot practicing. Make sure you can also play into and out of your passage before moving on to something else. Then, once you’ve made progress with some short but focused hard work, reward yourself with something you love to play!
Don’t skip this part because it’s important to keep a balance of both hard work and fun when playing any instrument. Music is hard to perfect and important to think sharp when working hard on something difficult. However, a world without music is simply flat; don’t risk burnout and quitting if you don’t enjoy the fun rewards of music!
4. Rethink the Word Practice
Sometimes the word “practice” itself can feel daunting at times. Playing an instrument is hard work, but at the end of the day, you are simply “playing” some awesome music. Instead of thinking that you have to practice, changing the wording to you get to play can actually feel more exciting each time you start a session. If you’re needing that extra dose of motivation to get the work in, this is just a little mind trick that can go a long way!
5. Journal/Taking Notes
The final tip in this article is to simply keep a practice journal. Being able to reflect on the progress you’re making each day can be a wonderful tool to monitor your growth. You can also take your journal to lessons as a place to keep any notes you or your teacher makes during instruction. Not into writing? That’s okay! You can even record yourself playing in a practice session from time to time to listen to your progress instead. Whatever method you prefer, be sure to take time to acknowledge the work you are putting in on the incredibly rewarding journey of making music!