How to Practice Music Effectively and Efficiently
You got the instrument. You started taking lessons. You probably already started "practicing". Because of course, that's day 1 of picking up a new skill. But what does practice actually mean?
For many people the idea of practicing your instrument is sitting in a room and just start playing for 30 min, an hour, or three. But is that really it? Is that how all the greats got to being...well great? In most cases, that's just not the reality. What they did, knowingly or unknowingly, they practiced effectively and efficiently.
A lot of players who are just starting out do the same thing that everyone does: Start playing the song and if they mess up, they start over-- and hmm somehow you are still stumbling over the exact same measure every single time. Why is that?
What you are doing there is playing, not practicing. They are not the same thing.... like at all. Playing is the act of performing and creating sounds while practicing is an act of intentional and precise repetition to improve a skill and create a habit. Practice is a vehicle that leads to more playing.
If you are here, you probably have become very passionate about your instrument. Which, congratulations! Playing music is one of the most gratifying experiences anyone can experience and we hope we can share that with the world and I'm here to give you some tips on how to practice:
Dedicate a practice space
A dedicated place in your home where your instrument, music, and practice supplies are always ready to go can make a big difference in how easy it is to actually start practicing.
It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a space where you always keep the things you regularly need nearby so you can just focus and play.
Define What You're Working On
Do you have a plan or are you just hoping for the best? The easiest way to sabotage your own practice session is by just winging it.
As a teacher, I make notes for every single one of my students as I am teaching them-- In fact, it is a requirement for all my students to bring a notebook alongside all their materials. Because during a lesson, I write out their game plan for the week, and I am specific with what I'd like them to work on because I am targeting their weaknesses. They are free to do whatever they want after they complete their to-do list.
I know it annoys the mess out of them (at first) because I'm asking them to work on the uncomfortable-- Our brains are hardwired to find the path of least resistance. Our brains do not want to be uncomfortable but growth lies in the discomfort.
All this being said, if you have a teacher, start making some time to write down what they want you to work on and if you don't have a teacher, take a moment to write out your goals and work out a plan.
I promise you, this makes practicing a whole lot less overwhelming because you have an idea of where you want to go and some actionables to get you going!
Keep your Practice Routine Simple
Every single session, no matter the length I do the following:
Warm up | Whatever you need to do to get your body and instrument ready to play. For me warm-ups include physical stretches, tone, and pitch exercises
Technique | These are things like scales, rhythm, chord work, or any rudiments.
Etudes or Sight Reading | I like to swap these depending on my mood but this is any short study or new music that keeps things fresh.
Current music | Focus on the sections that need the most work
Play something you enjoy | Revisit an old song, improvise, experiment, explore your instrument, or just make some random sounds.
Planning this out, is so much easier when you have a private lesson teacher because your teacher gives you a specific routine based on your instrument and goals. But if you are going the DIY way then take a bit of time to plan out what you want to learn.
Plan Breaks in Your Practice Session
I used to practice for hours straight until my shoulders hurt, my back was aching and my eyes felt weak. Part of the reason was that I took my teachers advice literally: "Practice 3 hours a day". Of course I took that to heart because I wanted to get so much better. The problem was that I practiced for 3 hours straight without a break. I felt absolutely terrible after each practice session.
Looking back, those practice sessions were not actually that conducive to my learning because most people can only actively concentrate on learning for 10-20 minutes depending on a variety of factors such as age, topic, and interest. After that your brain starts to venture on to other thoughts or worse, you just go into auto pilot. When you get in that auto pilot mode, you are just playing, not practicing.
Point being, planning breaks in your practice session will help you practice more effectively and efficiently. Practice requires active concertation and great way to achieve that is to give yourself a break.
Practice Consistently
I hear this from students all the time; "I don't have time, I have all these things". And my response is always, you don't have 5 minutes?
Look I get it, sometimes life be life-ing. I don't have time to practice all the hours I would like to practice. I'm too busy! I love it when I can practice my flute for an hour but that's just not always possible BUT I always strive to pick up my instrument at least once a day. On the really tough weeks, I aim for at least 4 days.
You don't necessarily need an uninterrupted hour to accomplish something or even a half hour. The only way to grow as an instrumentalist... or really anything in life... is showing up and doing the thing consistently even if it is for a minute.
If you're having trouble getting started, make the goal ridiculously easy: Practice for five minutes. More than likely, you'll want to keep going! But if you don't, you did it! You showed up!
Focused time on one problem can accomplish more than 60 distracted minutes of playing through music. It is all about the intentionality. Practicing throughout the week gives your brain multiple opportunities to improve upon something.
Minimize distractions when you practice
I see that phone on that stand! Distractions will disrupt the quality of your practice time. Put your phone on airplane mode, turn off the TV, close the door so no one interrupts you; do yourself the favor. Practice time is precious and the less distractions you have, the easier it is to concentrate.
Make sure to have Practice Tools
A few simple tools can make practicing significantly easier and it is recomended that you own these things as a musician:
A metronome
A tuner
A pencil and notebook
and whatever instrument needs you have!
Here's a more extensive and exhaustive list about What every musician needs (Blog in progress)
Practice Techniques
I have yapped a lot about the framework around practicing but what about the practice of practicing?
Ease into Practice
Warming up is the key to all practicing and it kills me when I hear someone running scales or just starting to go at it when they first step into a practice room especially when they're just starting their music journey. You have to give time for your body and mind to lock in. It needs a moment to process proper form and technique and prepares you for the quality of repetitions you are going to do.
Made a mistake? Start there.
Every student falls into this trap: You start at the beginning and you keep playing until something crashes and burns. Then you stop and go all the way back to measure one?!?
Congrats! You are becoming really good at measure one. Cool. What about the part you bombed? Are you just hoping it will fix itself or what? You will just end up wasting time and practicing the thing that does not need to be practiced.
If the problem is in measure 27, start at measure 27. When you zero in on the part that is giving you grief, you have a chance to explore the actual problem. Maybe your fingers are moving at a different speed, or perhaps you blank on how to play that note, regardless of what it is; you'll be able to explore the difficulty and practice the places that actually need your attention.
Once you're a bit more comfortable, add the note before and the note before that and so on. Gradually put that section back into the larger piece and voila! Measure 27 is no longer a problem and you can actually play the whole song.
Break It Into Tiny Pieces
This goes along with the previous point. You don't have to do everything each practice session and much less a whole piece every single time you sit down. If two measures are giving you trouble, work on those two measures. If the problem is from note to note that is giving you trouble, then only work from note to note.
This practice technique is called chunking. Chunking, helps with fluency and memory by breaking down large pieces of information into more manageable bite-size pieces. Breaking down music down from note to note then applying it to the context will go a long way compared to just playing through and hoping you get it right.
Change the Rhythm
If you're struggling with a fast passage or a string of even notes, try playing the same notes with a different rhythm.
Let's say you have a run of eighth notes or sixteenth notes that just won't cooperate. Instead of repeating them exactly as written, change the rhythm:
Long–short, long–short, long–short.
Then reverse it:
Short–long, short–long, short–long.
You can also experiment with different groupings, accents, or rhythms depending on the passage. I know you are wondering: why you would even change something that you're supposed to play evenly?
Our hands can get used to repeating the same movements—and the same mistakes. Changing the rhythm forces you to experience the passage differently and build a faster reaction. It gives you more time to prepare certain notes, exposes transitions that aren't as comfortable as you thought, and helps you focus on the movement between notes.
Once you've practiced a few rhythmic variations, return to the rhythm as written. You will be surprised by how different it feels.
Slow. It. Down.
I know, you want to play it at full speed but unfortunately, your fingers have other plans. If something is sounding funky and you just have no idea as to why, slowing down gives you time to explore why.
My students sometimes come in frustrated about a section in their music and all I do is ask them to slow it down. And I mean slow it down to the point it is almost unbearable. And as soon as they hit the problem, their jaw drops because they're so surprised on how simple of a fix it is!
My rule of thumb is that if something falls apart every time you speed up, that's a sign that you aren't quite ready for that tempo yet.
Repeat with Intention
Yes, repetition is a huge part of practicing. But you have to be intentional with it.
If you are repeating something ten times incorrectly, then you are just practicing the mistake.
I only start repeating something when I need to build the comfort of something new. After I've applied all my practice techniques, and I have successfully executed the passage well, then I start the repetition process and gradually increase the speed alongside a metronome.
Again, only when I played it correctly I repeat the section.
Internalize the music
One of the most useful things you can do when practicing is learn the music away from your instrument. Sometimes as musicians, we get so engrossed in our own minds and practicing ways that we forget some of the simplest things like:
Listening to the music you are practicing is a form of practicing
Reading the score is practicing
Tap the rhythm
Sing it
Air play it
If you are able to interpret the music in different ways within your body, it makes it easier to play it.
Visualize it
Here’s something that is a little out there: when you know what the problem is, take a moment and don't even touch your instrument and just envision yourself performing the action well. Walk yourself through, step by step. Visualization as practice is such a powerful and underestimated tool.
What If I Don't Know How to Fix Something?
Take lessons! I promise you that private instruction is personalized for a reason: your teacher can help you build skills around your goals, experience, and learning needs. It takes a lot of the guess work out and you have mentor who is note only bring your attention to details you miss but also is cheering you on away. And if you're in the Chicagoland area, well Melody Mart is around the corner!
About the Author:
Comments