Getting yourself or your child to practice is a mental battle every time. After over 25 years of practicing and 10 years of teaching, here are a couple of practice strategies that I have found really work. As an additional gift, here’s a weekly practice schedule log you can download and use to keep track of your weekly practice progress.
Make a space specifically dedicated to practice without distractions. Just like anything requiring concentration and focus, we do our best work in an environment free of distractions and specifically dedicated to the task at hand. Try to create a practice space at home away from phones, other people, and other work that may be calling to you. Ideally, this is a room with a closed door and just you, your instrument, and your music. If you can’t have a specialized practice room, carve out a practice corner somewhere private. If you have access to individual practice rooms at a music institution, schedule time to go there specifically for your daily practice sessions when you can.
Have a fixed practice structure that makes getting started feel mindless. Like many things, starting your practice session is the hardest part. Plan exactly what you always start with when you open your instrument to practice. For example:
- One major and one minor scale with arpeggios, focusing on intonation and tone, 10 minutes
- Etude, focusing on clear string changes, 10-15 minutes
- Five minute break
- Piece of repertoire, going over hard spots 3 times each
- Click here to download my weekly practice schedule log PDF.
Value short practice sessions as much as long ones. Even if you only have 15 minutes to practice, it is still better to play for that short period than not to play at all that day. It is essential to practice regularly in order to see improvement when learning an instrument. Even 15 minutes a day will instill techniques and habits over time. Skipping days of practice because you feel you don’t have enough time will get in the way of your potential progress. Practice is a form of exercise for both the body and the mind. Just like other physical exercise, short sessions regularly will create long-term progress, whereas intensive long sessions irregularly can cause injury and will not yield the same results.
Find a time during the day that you have consistently good focus. Motivation is easiest when you respect your natural daily rhythm. Allot an amount of time that you expect to practice daily and incorporate it into a time that fits your daily routine.
- For kids: practice around the same time that homework is scheduled after school.
- For adults: plan your practice sessions during the time of day that you are most focused and alert.
Accountability is key to following through. Tell someone else in your household when your practice time is, or have a friend or family member check in to see if you’ve done your practice session today. Telling someone else you’re going to practice will make you less likely to let yourself off the hook and skip it.
For each activity or exercise that you finish, reward yourself with a small treat. I like using jelly beans or gummy bears, but if sweets aren’t your thing, popcorn or trail mix might do the trick. Be careful with non-edible rewards, like time on your phone or a break, as sometimes those are just distractions and it may be hard to get back into the rhythm of practice afterwards. Humans are simple creatures, and we enjoy an activity more when we teach ourselves that doing that activity results in a reward.
Make picking up your instrument as easy as possible. Generally speaking, it’s best to keep your instrument in its case when it’s not being used, but a closed case can often be the biggest barrier to practice. If you always practice in the same room, and you can maintain a very well regulated humidity and temperature, you can try leaving your instrument out on a dedicated stand to make picking up the instrument to practice feel easier. This may seem like a very minor barrier, but it can often be the difference between steady practice habits and not playing at all between lessons. The most important thing to remember with this is that string instruments are very vulnerable to temperature changes or dry environments, so if you do choose to keep your instrument out of its case, be very diligent about maintaining regular humidity and temperature in the room where it is kept.
For more practice tips, you can contact me for a lesson inquiry. Happy practicing!