How to Practice
(for people who HATE to practice!)
Be honest now, when you hear your music teacher say,
“Practice, practice, practice!” isn’t there some part of you that just dies a
little inside? Me too! Don’t get me wrong, I love playing music, but
I’m not going to spend hours a day practicing.
I mean, let’s face it, I have a life, and so do you!
That’s why I created a whole new way to practice that is
quick, effective, fun, and you still get to have a social life! Here it is:
Step #1: Set a
place and time to practice.*
This seems obvious, but make sure you have a PLACE to
practice. This place should be free of distractions (like TV,
computer, phone, dogs, little brothers, space aliens, etc.)
(DON’T PRACTICE RIGHT NEXT TO THE TV WHEN YOUR PARENTS ARE
TRYING TO WATCH THEIR FAVORITE SHOW!!)
Set a regular time to practice. Make
it reasonable! DO NOT schedule your
time to be right during your favorite TV show or for when your friends usually
hang out. Otherwise, you will be tempted
to skip out of practicing.
Only set a start
time, DO NOT set an ending time!
I’ll explain why in a second.
*Sometimes parents cannot stand the sound of a young player
practicing, so it might be a good idea to let your parents help you schedule
that time. Otherwise, if you’re trying
to practice while Dad is paying the bills or Mom is making an overseas phone
call, they might shut your practice down!
Step #2: Set 2-3 SHORT, REASONABLE goals for yourself.
Pick 2-3 things that YOU CAN’T DO YET, but you could with
maybe 5-10 minutes of dedicated work.
They should also be goals that YOU CAN TELL WHETHER OR NOT YOU
SUCCEEDED. WRITE THEM DOWN ON PAPER!
Put a little box next to each one, and when you achieve your goal, check
it off! (I love that part!!)
After you’ve met your goals for your practice session,
STOP! Put the instrument down, and go do
something fun. Call your friends, watch
a movie, play with the dog, or take up model ship-building. Whatever you think is fun! J
If you didn’t meet your goals, the important thing is to
STOP and ADJUST! Don’t keep messing up the same thing over and over and make yourself
mad. In the end, that will make you
hate practicing. If you’re not getting
any better at your goal in 5-10 minutes of trying, you probably set the wrong
goal. Stop, ask yourself what the REAL
problem is, and try again. IF YOU’RE ANGRY, STOP PLAYING AND DO
SOMETHING ELSE! Anger will make you
make more mistakes, which will make you more angry, which will make you make
more mistakes, …Come back later when you’re refreshed, and re-evaluate!
Step #3: Set goals for your next session.
Again, make sure the goals are short, reasonable, and you
can tell whether or not you’ve succeeded.
Once again, WRITE THEM DOWN!
Writing down your goals and how you did has another
benefit. Ever get down on yourself and
think, “I’m no good at this instrument!” ?
In those times, go back and look at your practice journal to see how far
you’ve come. You’ll be surprised at how
much you’ve grown as a player in such a short time.
AND HERE’S THE BEST
PART…
You will be a better
player after practicing for 20 minutes than most players will be in 4
hours! Why, because you’re focused and
goal-oriented.
MAKING MUSIC SHOULD
ALWAYS BE FUN, EVEN WHEN YOU’RE PRACTICING!
