Why is practice so important? In some form or another, this is a common question. As a music student, the teacher always says practice and the student promises they will. However, as the week progresses when the student sits down to start to practice, they don’t even know how to begin. For some students, they go into the practice room with distractions: phones, computers, other people, or mentally bringing baggage into the room. It’s so easy to get distracted and not practice or when you go to practice you just don’t know where to start. Here are some practical tips to get you started:
- Schedule. Treat your practice like a class. Schedule it into your calendar and keep it consistent.
- Put the phone, computer, and/or device away. Or turn off notifications so you can focus.
- Pick one piece. Play or sing through it one time looking for trouble spots.
- Find the areas that you struggle with. Isolate those spots and practice. Once you begin to get those spots, add more measures to them.
- Another option is t
o find a phrase towards the end of the piece and work from there to the very end. Then keep movingbackwards , adding more phrases. - One thing people don’t always say is
make sure to check how you’re feeling while practicing. Do a mental body scan and see if you are tensing or if you are still mentally engaged with practicing. - Don’t be afraid to move. If you are singing and you aren’t getting it, move around the room as you sing. Let your mind stop over thinking.
Last but not least talk to your lessons teacher about practicing. Be honest with them and ask questions. They’d rather you admit you don’t know how to practice than pretend you do know and actually don’t.
Just remember you’ve got this. Practice is for you.
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂