How To Practice - Motivation

Waiting Game

Mike Saville — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:13:32 +0000

Don't you just hate waiting for things?
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No matter how organised you are you'll find yourself waiting for things most days.

Waiting for the bus.
Waiting for your tea.
Waiting for school to start.
Waiting for your favourite programme to come on TV.
Waiting for the kettle to boil.
Waiting for other people.
Waiting in a queue.
Waiting for the phone to ring.

Yup, there's an awful lot of waiting going on. Read more . . .

Moments Notice

How To Practice — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:16:52 +0000

Photo courtesy of Acutance

Use this method to begin practice quickly without the usual setting up.

As soon as you return home after your lesson or a rehearsal you need to do the following:

Remove all the clutter from your practice area
Leave your instrument out of its case ready to play
Make sure it is oiled, tuned & working properly
Set up a music stand & leave your music open on it

As well as doing your regular practice sessions, every time you walk past your instrument pick it up & play a few notes - you will be surprised at how much extra time you spend practising just by having things ready. Read more . . .

Roll Up, Roll Up, Roll Up

How To Practice — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:04:45 +0000

Photo courtesy of sgs_1019

Use this method to add some variety and an element of surprise to your practice routine.

At the start of each session roll a six-sided dice to decide what you will practise. Discuss with your teacher the aspects of playing that you need to improve and give each one a number between one and six. Here are some ideas you might use: Read more . . .

Technique
Memory
Metronome
Sound & Tone
Sight reading/Learning a new piece
Free choice

Take A Holiday

How To Practice — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:49:30 +0000

Now don't get too excited, this does not mean that you need to pack your suitcase! But what it does mean is that you can take a break from practice. When planning your holidays you normaly spend a number of weeks thinking about it beforehand - you wouldn't simply decide one morning to go!. You might also find yourself saving up in order that you can afford to go.

Well you can apply this to your practice as well. Imagine that this week you are planning to take a holiday from your practice on Thursday. This requires some planning - you don"t want to get to Thursday and simply take the day off - this would just be a missed day. What you can do however is to get yourself ready before Thursday so that you can take a holiday on that day.

So how do you do that? Read more . . .

Practice Signals

How To Practice — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:19:35 +0000

Many people find it hard to practise as they see it as something they MUST do everyday weather they feel like it or not. How about a system which could mean that you don"t do any practice at all?

Here"s where the practice signals method comes in. You only need to practicse when you receive the correct signal. When you receive the signal you need to stop whatever you are doing and practice your instrument for 10 minutes. This must be 10 concentrated minutes working on whatever your teacher has set for the week. Once you have done 10 minutes then your practice is over for that particular session. Read more . . .

Location, Location, Location

How To Practice — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:57:28 +0000

Many people get fed up with doing the same practise everyday. Unfortunately there may be some technical excercises that need to be repeated everyday to help build muscles. There are things that you can do to make the practise sessions a little more interesting whilst maintaining a good routine.

Lets assume that you have a practice routine where you practice the same time everyday and that for the week you need to play the same technical exercises everyday. One of the simplest ways to make the practice more interesting is to change the place you practice. Read more . . .

Two's Company

How To Practice — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:25:25 +0000

One of the best things about playing a musical instrument is being able to play with other people. Many people really enjoy playing in bands and orchestras but can"t seem to build the same enthusiasm for individual practice. If you are one of these people why not turn it to your advantage.

Instead of practicing on your own invite a friend round to practice with you. You need to be smart about this though and make sure that you use the time effectively " don"t just play through band music or tunes you know. This is the ideal chance for you and your friend to practice another very important skill " listening. Here"s how . . . Read more . . .

600 Seconds

How To Practice — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:47:25 +0000

Does the prospect of doing half an hours practice fill you with dread? Are you put off before you start because it seems like such a long time to practice. Try using this practice method and it will seem much quicker . . .

Your task for each practise session is for you to play for just 600 seconds. Is that all you might ask? Yes, just 600 seconds. Once you have played for 600 seconds your practice is over for that session. You do need to make sure that you spend each of these 600 seconds really concentrating and practicing hard as it is not much time to get all the work done that your teacher has asked you to do. Your teacher will understand if you do not get everything done in that time just as long as you have tried really hard for those 600 seconds.

The second part of the method is this: You need to repeat this 3 times a day " 600 seconds is such a short period of time that everyone can find time to do it 3 times per day. You do need to concentrate though.

By using this technique you have made a deal with your teacher " they will not insist on you doing half an hour a day as long as you do 3 good practise sessions per day of 600 seconds each. Read more . . .

Get Connected

How To Practice — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:02:22 +0000

Did you realise that you can become a better player without touching your instrument? There are sometimes you may not actually be able to play your instrument, for example you may have RSI, a sprain, bruise or other muscle injury.

A lot of your musical ability is made up of things that are not directly related to instrumental technique. To be a good musician you need to have an awareness of theory, history, other players and a whole number of other things. This method will allow you to develop your knowledge in those areas. This in turn will help you to become a better player on your instrument. Read more . . .

10 Things

How To Practice — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:54:37 +0000

Remember how excited you were when you first decided to learn to play your instrument? The anticipation of getting your first instrument out of its case? The elation after having your first lesson or playing your first piece? No? Well we need to fix that.

During the week you will create three lists of 10 things:
10 things you like about the music you play on your instrument.
10 things you like about music.
10 things you like about your instrument. Read more . . .