How To Practice - . . . better music practice

A practice future?

Mike Saville — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:03:33 +0000

It's been a bit quiet here at HTP lately, don't worry we're not going anywhere We've just been giving some thought to the direction the site should take in the future.

Since we began this site in 2006 there have been some fundamental changes to the way that people digest information online. Back then no one had even heard of facebook or twitter and interactive content was very limited. Fast forward to 2011 and we have the ability to develop highly interactive sites that are available on a multitude of devices from anywhere.

These factors are all in our thinking as we move forward with the site. Whilst we work on new functionality and ideas you can still access all our great content and buy our fantastic Music Practice Diary.

If you have any ideas for great content, new features or practice aids that you'd like to see we'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Enjoy your practice! Read more . . .

The Music Practice Alphabet - Part 4

How To Practice — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:35:08 +0000

We want to help you practice better. Our newsfeed will keep you up to date with regular advice. Free personal help is available in our practice clinic and new news and offers can be found in our newsletter.

Moving swiftly along - it's part 3 of the Music Practice Alphabet series

Teacher

Who is your teacher??

98% of you got it wrong!

Whilst, there may be a person who you see regularly for lessons your most important teacher must be you. Think about it. How long do you spend in a lesson?

30 minutes? An hour?

How long do you spend practising on your own? Everyday?

If should hopefully be clear that in order to make the most progress you need to learn to be your own teacher. Learning to practice effectively is one step. Try imagining at every step of your practice what your other teacher would say. What would they tell you to improve? Which bad habits would they correct?

Uniform

Not something you wear but your approach to practice. Always be dilligent. Always persevere. Always focus on the practice in hand. Always strive for better. And always enjoy what you are doing.

Vitality

Effective practice requires many attributes, time, patience, knowledge, skill and others. Make sure that you give your full energy and vitality to everything you practice. Read more . . .

The Music Practice Alphabet - Part 3

How To Practice — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:45:06 +0000

Moving swiftly along - it's part 3 of the Music Practice Alphabet series

Mental

Not all practice needs an instrument. In fact you can get a lot of practice done without your instrument, on the bus, at lunch or in the bath!! Simply spend time thinking and imagining in detail your perfect performance. You can also use mental time to memorise notes, scales and fingerings - all useful stuff which will be invaluable once you get back to your instrument.

Notes

The right notes are kind of important. Try to ensure that you play correctly more often than incorrectly. Just because you played something right once doesn't mean you can play it like that every time.

Options

Keep your practice fresh and inspiring by ensuring that you always have options in your practice. Try doing things in a different order, learn new music, select music at random or improvise. Read more . . .

The Music Practice Alphabet - Part 2

How To Practice — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:28:25 +0000

Time now for part 2 of our tips in the Practice Alphabet series

Honesty

Honesty is most often missing in the practice room. We are just not good at being honest with ourselves about the mistakes we make. We're also not good at being truthful about how focused our practice is, how much we achieved and how good we really are. Remember, a little honesty goes a long way.

Interesting

You don't have to do the same old things in the same old way when you practice. Mix it up, try different things and take a few moments to play things you really enjoy. You can find lots of ideas on this site, such as bag full of scales, roll up roll up, practice signals and many others. Read more . . .

Spring Music Practice Links

How To Practice — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 08:55:59 +0000

It's seems like a very long time since our last collection of links - it's high time for another. So without further or do, here is our regular round up of music practice links.

Don't forget if you run a piano blog, guitar tab resource or any other site that has some practice related information then we'd love to hear about it.. Read more . . .

How many hours a day should you practice - Bullet Proof Musician
The habits of musicianship - Robert Duke, University of Texas
The Nature of Expertise - Robert Duke - University of texas
Working Solo: Problems & Solutions - Getting There
Performance Oriented Practice - Musician's Way
Musical Memory - Level One - Susan Paradis
Practice, then practice some more - Wolf Trap Opera
Learning When to Listen - Music Think Tank

The Music Practice Alphabet - Part 1

How To Practice — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 18:16:35 +0000

Stuck for some inspiration on which direction to take your practice in? Why not let our alphabetical guide to practice assist you

Analyse

Make sure to understand what is wrong with your playing and how you will put it right. Don't make the mistake of plowing through endless repetitions with out analysing your playing between repeats.

Begin

Often the hardest part about practice is getting started. If you are someone who finds it difficult to practice regularly don't get hung up on how much practice you need to do. Instead of thinking about minutes just set yourself the target of picking up your instrument and at least starting to practice every day. Read more . . .

How is your new year's practice going?

How To Practice — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:24:30 +0000

Free and yet constrained by habit

How To Practice — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:13:08 +0000

I have often thought how strange it is that I can be sitting at the piano in my own living room completely alone and free to do anything I want and yet fall into some habitual and unsatisfying way of working.

— Madeline Bruser

Bruser, Madeline., The Art of Practicing (Bell Tower, 1997), p.10

Total Sensory Immersion

Mike Saville — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:40:06 +0000

Are we all blind, unfeeling and without emotion?

Of course not!

Why then do a lot of musicians only use their hearing sense when practising? Yes, listening properly is VERY important. Make use of the other senses as well and you can make your music come alive, have more fun and learn things more quickly.

Sight

What can you see? Do you have music? What does it look like? In a performance take time to notice your surroundings.

Touch

Playing your instrument is NOT a purely mechanical process. What does your instrument feel like? Can you touch it in different ways? Where do you experience most pressure? Where is your touch the lightest? Is you instrument hot? Cold? Sticky? Soft? Read more . . .

Help decide what content appears on HTP in future. What type of content would you like to see more of on HTP?

How To Practice — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:58:20 +0000