Advice on Practising

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“10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” – like it or not, a good practice regime is the backbone of success in learning any instrument. The greatest teachers, the most perfect love of music, the finest ear in the world…you can have them all, but without the day-in, day-out routine of practice, you may as well chop the piano up for firewood, flog your flute and save the singing for Sundays.

The problem that most people have – even the most seasoned and successful professionals – is that they get BORED!

INSPIRATION

DISCIPLINE

Now you want to do it, what happens when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Practice time is sacred time. There are some hours in the day when you sleep, some when you eat and some when you practice. That’s the end of it. You are not a normal person anymore, you are a musician and you will just have to make allowances. Think about your day, work out when is best, set a time of the day for practice that won’t cause big problems and stick to it like glue.

NO EXCUSES!

The following are common excuses that are usually made by deadbeats, losers and wimps and certainly not musicians:

· “I have homework / SATS tests / school exams / a work presentation blah..blah..blah” Lets be honest about this – if you slack on practice, chances are, you slack on the lot. (That homework is probably 20 rushed minutes in front of the television anyway.) Don’t make excuses! You might have a lot to get through, but you can do it all and do it all well if you get yourself organised. Think about the time that you waste each day and worry about that for starters.

· “We have had family / friends to stay blah..blah..blah” Not much to say about them if they really have messed up your routine and, while we are on the subject, do they know that you are blaming them for being a lazy good-for-nothing?

· “Next door’s dog died and I have been a bit upset blah..blah..blah” Oh come off it – you still watched television, played computer games, went to the cinema and ate ice-cream.

· “I am on holiday for the next four weeks, so I won’t be doing any practice blah..blah..blah”. If you really do allow that kind of interruption in your musicianship, you really will be taking two-steps forward and one step backwards. It’s your choice – do you want music to be fun or frustrating? So be brave and don’t let anything put you off. If 6-7pm is practice time every day, then try to stick to it. Just tell your friends that you are busy and meet them later. It is not such a big deal.

HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS

Above all, family and friends should be supportive. It is not fair if everyone else is having a party whilst you are downstairs in a grimy cellar with a candle and a book of exercises. Try to make others appreciate the fact that you need to stick to a regular practice routine and not to organise things that conflict with this. It is all too easy to get into the routine of saying to yourself ‘I’ll just do 5 minutes today because so-and-so is coming round, but I’ll do 90 tomorrow’ – this is the slippery slope to achieving nothing!

THE MASTER PLAN

Measure your practice in achievement and not in time. You need to decide if you are a zombie or not. Zombies look at the clock and start on their instrument. Exactly thirty minutes later they look at the clock again and stop. What did they play, learn, enjoy? Who knows and who cares. It was all a waste of time anyway.

If you have decided that you are not a zombie (good call), this is what you should be doing:

First decide what you want to work on. Always begin with scales and exercises. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE. Planes have wings, cars have wheels and musicians have scales. If you can’t stomach it, give up now. A sample plan might be like this:

a. Two scales and arpeggios. Work on them until they are even, accurate and clear.

b. Work on a technical exercise or study. Choose a section, a page, a few bars and solve problems, improve fluency, memorise etc

c. Repertoire Piece 1: ten bars on page three, semiquavers on page 4 and the first and second time bars on page 5.

d. Repertoire Piece 2: work on stamina in performance – play the whole piece over at a slow tempo trying to keep things steady and relaxed.

Work through your plan moving on only when you are happy that you have actually made progress. Don’t set too much for yourself and concentrate only on making things better. Forget how much time it takes. Twenty minutes of smart practice is better than 20 zombie hours.

Always throw in the unplanned stuff. There must be film tunes, show songs, classical pieces, jazz songs, pop songs that you want to play that you would not take to a music lesson but just want to have a go at. Not everything that you do with an instrument has to be structured. Just dive in and see what you can manage. You will learn more than you can possibly imagine (especially sight-reading) and the thrill factor when you ‘nail’ a piece is one of the best there is.

PERFORM, PERFORM, PERFORM

You have to ask yourself why you are a musician? Is it to practice or is it to perform? The whole point is surely to play and entertain (even if really you are just performing for yourself!). Therefore you should ALWAYS be looking forward to the next performance. That means a real date in your diary, something on the calendar in the kitchen, a memo on your PC…

5. Competition (there are lots of these for all levels – don’t be put off by the word “competition” – you do these things to learn to perform. No more. Music is not about “winning”, it is about thrilling, soothing, calming, exciting in live performance.)

7. Day / weekend / holiday courses – lots of these going on all the time. Ask your teacher, look in libraries, music centres, shops and magazines and of course use the Internet to find out more.

8. Exams – Graded music exams are very helpful indeed. Some very experienced and talented musicians have put these together to help you make solid, steady progress.

9. Concert with friends / other musicians. You don’t have to perform as a soloist – a concert in an ensemble is always a great experience.

There is nothing like a performance in the diary to make you get on and practice. Most people get nervous about playing in public, but that is all part of being a musician and with the nerves comes the excitement and exhilaration of achievement. It is more than worth the effort.

If you feel the need to link - feel free but please respect the fact that this is my own work - the result of many years teaching and performing and should you wish to use any of the material ~