Week 3: How to Practise

Ideal Practice incorporates:

  • Good posture and physical preparation
    Always make sure that your body is performing at its optimum. If you slouch… your brain will start to switch off
  • Lack of distraction (phones, people)
    An obvious one! But try to turn the phone off for 15 minutes or so and dedicate the time to your practice.
  • Positive mental attitude (including mental preparation)
    What can I achieve in just 15 minutes?
  • Clear, attainable, but not too easy goals
  • Challenge yourself with a difficult but achievable goal: If it is too easy your motivation will reduce. If it is too difficult, your motivation will also most likely go down
  • Variety: Think of different ways to practise
    Here are some examples: Offbeat practice, away from the score, legato/staccato
    Different pieces, different moods, different sections, listen to piece with the score

Suggested Structure

  1. Warm Up: After a brief physical warm up decide what you want to achieve in the allocated time.
  2. Sound warm up: Warm up the fingers or hands in the technical style required for the piece you are studying. For example, scales for a classical piece
  3. Decide where you are in the development of the piece(s)

Are you just beginning a piece?
Look at fingerings, bowings, structure, musical line

Have you been studying the piece for a while?
Notes are learnt so now start to work on the technical difficulties in small sections with the goal of achieving a longer or complete section

Are you nearing a performance?
If so, then visualise and perhaps “practice a performance”?
Record yourself and listen back with the score and a pencil. You are the best teacher of us all!

Time Management

It has been suggested that you are actually only fully concentrated at your maximum for about 20 minutes.

Therefore:

  • Take frequent breaks to keep your mind and body refreshed and energized
  • Differentiate the practice by working on random parts of the piece: Beginning: 10 mins End: 10 mins
  • Be constantly aware of your critical but encouraging brain. Listen and question your output:
    Does that sound better than yesterday?
    What needs improving?
    What is the problem and think of a medicine to improve it?
    Did I play this section better than the previous practice session? If not, why?
    Always note whether your mind is wandering or you are repeating mistakes. If this is the case. Stop, reflect and find a solution.

Suggested Reading

  • The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green
  • Indirect Procedures by Pedro de Alcantara
  • The integrated string player by Pedro de Alcantara
  • The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

Loving Kindness Meditation

Below is a different kind of meditation that can help you be more empathetic in relationships, both as a musician and in normal life. It’s very short, but beautiful.

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