Music Practice Tips
5 Powerful Shortcuts to
Successful Music Practice Times
Here are 5 simple things you can do that can
make a huge difference in how you progress on your musical instrument. These
techniques apply to all instruments -- not just piano -- from flute to drums to
guitar to voice to singing.
Put them into practice today and stick with them.
They are entirely logical, and after awhile you'll wonder why you didn't always
practice this way.
1. Practice using spaced
repetition. Don't practice for 2 hours a day in one session -- break
it up. If you intend to practice 2 hours a day, great, but break it up into
bite-sized capsules so that you can digest the material without getting bloated
or bored. And remember that "the brain can only absorb what the seat of
education can stand."
2.
Practice slowly. I once witnessed a great classical pianist (whose
name you would immediately recognize) warm up before a concert. He played a
simple scale extremely slowly and methodically, staring at each finger as it
played each note. He could have played that scale a hundred times faster, but
there is genius in "slow". Something happens in our brain and makes the
connection when playing is slow and methodical. There is a time later on for
rapid practice, but most of the time, practice slowly and methodically. Remember
the old story of the turtle and the rabbit? Who won? Right -- not the
speedy rabbit, but the turtle.
3. Practice small bites.
One of the worst practice habits I see students make is to practice the
entire song from start to finish, errors and all. Not a good idea. Analyze the
song, and learn one phrase at a time. Play that phrase over an d over slowly,
then a bit faster, then finally up to speed. Then start the next phrase and do
the same with it, and so on. It's like the old joke: "How do you eat an
elephant?" Bite by bite.
4. Learn music theory.
Don't just practice playing notes -- try to understand what you are playing. Is
a chord being broken up? How long is this phrase in terms of measures? What is
the form of the piece or song? What are the dynamics -- the louds and softs --
the crescendos and decrescendos? What key is the song in? What sharps or flats?
Does it have accidentals? Are there repeat signs?
5. Set short term and
long term goals and reward yourself when you reach them.
I am constantly surprised that music students don't set goals to
achieve. Why not? Nothing is more common among athletes than setting goals.
Nothing is more common among salespeople or teachers or professional people in
diverse areas setting goals. So why don't music students set music practicing
goals? I don't have a clue, but you can give yourself a HUGE advantage if you
will do it. Make it your goal, for example, to learn section A of a piece by
next Tuesday, and section B by the following Friday, and the entire piece by the
following Wednesday.
There are many other practice tips we could get
into, but these 5 will take you a long way toward successful practice of your
music. Hope this gives you some ideas of your own!
If you have always wanted to play the piano but never
had the opportunity, the very best way for adults to learn to play the piano
is to use a combination of methods -- a synergy of reading the melody (the tune
of the song) and then adding the harmony by knowing and understanding chords and
chord styles. For the very best course on the subject, go right now to:
Crash Course In
Exciting Piano Playing For Beginning Adults
