Read through these 10 Practice Tips. In the comment section
(the blue link at the bottom of the post), discuss one of these tips that you
will try to add to your own practice sessions. Why do you think it will
improve your playing?
From NPR's Deceptive Cadence blog by Anastasia Tsioulcas:
These tips are effective for anyone who plays an instrument or
sings.
1. Find somewhere quiet. This
seems too obvious for words, but not only will you be far less likely to
succumb to all sorts of distractions, but entering a special practice area,
whether it's a certain room or just a corner of the living room, will help
prepare you mentally for this very particular kind of work. Mindful intention
is everything, and having the ritual of going to the same place every time can
help set that intention.
2.
Have your supplies nearby. I
really love cellist David Finckel's "Cello Talks" 100-video series on
YouTube; you don't have to play cello to get a lot out of many of them. Some of
what he covers seems like impossibly basic advice — as in the discussion of his
practice space. Part of his advice is to keep a pencil sharpener and a very
clean eraser within arm's reach, along with a pencil to mark up your music.
Simple, right? But those little things are easy to forget, and if you have to
go searching for them, add up to a big waste of time.
3.
Technology can be an amazing
aid — as long as you don't spend too much time futzing with
it. Three free or low-cost apps I have on my phone and iPad: a metronome, a
tuner and a timer, which are all essential tools for practicing. And I always
have my phone with me.
4.
Begin with the end in mind:
Have a goal for each practice session before you start playing. Just
playing through your music isn't the same thing as practicing. Before you start, think: What do I want to
accomplish today? If you're not sure what you need to focus on, ask your
teacher for a few concrete goals to work toward before the next lesson — and
write them down so that you can refer to them during your practice sessions.
5. Map a practice session out like a workout. Lots of musicians start with a few actual stretches and breathing exercises before they pick up their instruments. Even if you don't go quite that far, a pretty common scenario is to start with scales as a warm-up, to loosen up your muscles and get your brain thinking about technique; move on to the "working" part where you analyze and try to solve problems; then cool down by improvising or revisiting some music you already know well.
6. Practice
smarter, not necessarily longer. You'll probably
accomplish a whole lot more in a short amount of time if you have a very
focused objective — and science tells us that we have a limited
amount of willpower to draw upon anyway. So make the most of the time you
have. Say you are having trouble with two very tricky measures. Set your timer
for a short period (like five or 10 minutes), and then work just on one problem
in as many ways as you can — break it down into even smaller and more
manageable bits, go super slow, try to play the passage backwards, change the
rhythm, whatever. If that trouble spot is still giving you agita, then make yourself a mental note to come back to
that section again tomorrow. Chances are it will be much, much easier the next
time around.
7.
Don't always start at the
beginning every time. Remember what I said
about maximizing your time and your willpower? This. It can feel really good to
hear yourself playing the beginning of a piece beautifully, but you may wind up
wasting the limited time and energy you have. (Also, it leads to performances
that start strong and then, well, wilt.)
8.
Challenge yourself —
physically. Especially if you're trying to wrestle down an element
that you find problematic, scientific researchers say that if you add a
physical challenge to the difficult task, such as trying to play that part
while standing on one leg or while walking, your brain is likely to start
carving out new neural pathways — and the original task will be easier when you
return to just doing that.
9.
Practice away from your
instrument. Many musicians use visualization in the same way that athletes
do: They run through their music without touching their instruments. Try
bringing your music along with you (either on paper or a mobile device) when
you know you'll have some downtime, such as a car or train ride, and read
through the piece silently.
10. Reward
hard work — in positive ways — to help your brain automate good habits. That
sounds like out-and-out bribery, but again, science! Finding something that
your brain likes helps it remember the "habit loop,"
writes Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit.
69 comments:
Wen Yan Toh period 2
For me, the one tip that can help me to make my practice time more effective is to practice in an environment that is less distracting. It's definitely easier now that i have no siblings around... Also, I can get really distracted by obnoxious noises, and then i loose my train of thought completely and it goes downhill from there....:) staying in a quiet place will definitely help me too have a more effective practice session.
I think the "practice smarter not longer" tip will help me practice better because I think it will be more effective to know that I only have to practice for a short amount of time effectively. I believe I will become a better cellist if I do this because I will spend less time sulking that I have to practice and actually practice.
I think mapping out my practice session as if it were a workout session would improve my playing a lot. A lot of times when I practice my cello, I lose a lot of focus. Mapping it out before hand of which piece I should play will focus me more on the piece I am supposed to play. Reading those 10 tips is going to help my practicing and playing a bunch.
Matt Evans^^^^
I am drawn towards the fourth suggestion about practicing with a goal in mind. Often times when I practice, I find it difficult to determine when I have really accomplished what I had set out to accomplish at the outset of the practicing session. This can make practicing seem endless and it can also make playing music a lot less enjoyable. By establishing some concrete goals the next time that I am practicing, I feel as if I could maximize my practicing experience.
I think I'm going to use the 4th one listed as well I'm practicing, I don't really know a good place to stop or a place where I'm satisfied stopping. I think setting a goal will tell me what I need to work on and I know to practice until I finish that goal.
I'll try practicing away from my instrument more, especially with listening to the music I'm learning, played by different artists. A lot of the time I sit down with a new piece and try to sightread it without really remembering how it sounds, or I listen to it played by one person and think "wow, that's the only way to play it now." When I do listen to different recordings, I feel much more inspired. I need that feeling more.
I think that not always starting at the beginning each time will help me practice. I will help me get my work done faster and improve on the certain part of the piece I need to practice.
I believe the seventh tip for practicing will most help my performance. I usually start at the beginning of the piece whenever I practice, which leads to much wasted time. If I work on the areas that need the most help, the piece as a whole will sound better, instead of just having a strong beginning.
I am going to try and work on step 4. I will set goals for myself and work really hard to reach them every time I practice. By doing this, I will get to know the music and become better at it. Thinking about how I want to sound and how I want to perform the piece at the end will help me practice so I obtain the goal that I have set for myself.
I think beginning with the end in mind would help a whole lot with my practicing, because most of the time I just play through and not get much done. If I begin with certain goals laid out, such as perfecting the intonation of a section, or memorizing a page, then by the end of the practice session I can evaluate whether or not I was productive. Also, accomplishing goals gives me a sense of fulfillment and pride.
I think that the 9th tip for optimizing practice would be most helpful to me. Practicing away from my instrument would be a good way to expand my practice, and drastically improve my skills, allowing me to think about the piece rather than just play it. This technique, similar to visualization techniques in sports, is something that could provide vast benefits to my playing ability.
I think that practicing with all of my supplies within my reach will help me improve my practicing skills. Often I have to stop halfway through practicing to hunt down some rosin or find a pencil, ruining my focus. Therefore by having everything I could possibly need before I start, I will keep my focus and not waste as much time hunting.
I think I really need to work on my time management while I practice, and tips 4, 5, and 6 help me with my problem. It seems as if I'm always busy so having a goal, mapping out my practice sessions, and focusing will help me utilize my precious practice time.
For me, following tip number six will be the most helpful. I think that we're raised to think that by spending a lot of time on something then improvement will be guaranteed – which can be true in many cases, but for an instrument, if you try to practice for the sake of practicing long and not focusing as much on working on what's difficult for you, then your practice will all be in vain. This year I want to practice more the way tip number six recommended, by taking a piece step by step.
Adrienne Dean Period 4
Practicing with a metronome will really help me maintain tempos throughout pieces. I tend to rush through easy parts, and slow down when fingering becomes more difficult, or through shifting. This also coincides with practicing smarter, because it can improve my playing.
I really liked the fourth suggestion about practicing with a goal in mind. Sometimes when I practice I just play through the piece skipping the hard parts because I think I won't be able to learn them. However, if I come into practice with a goal to learn those hard parts, I think I will become a much better player because of it.
I think the fourth tip will be extremely helpful in my practicing. This is because I don't normally set out to practice with a specific goal in mind, and I think that if I choose something that I want to focus on/improve (like a part of the piece that I'm having trouble with, the dynamics, or whatever I need to work on) I will be more motivated to accomplish that one thing in my practice session. I think that this will help me become a better player and help me better understand the pieces I play.
Monet Takeda per. 4
I think number 6, practice smarter not longer is the most helpful tip in the list. I find that sometimes my practicing is not very focused but long and tedious; I think I should concentrate my time on parts where I have the most trouble on for more efficiency.
For me, I believe a mixture of both steps 6 and 7 will help my practice time more efficient and effective. Today it is stressed that "Practice makes perfect" and therefore the longer you practice the better you play. In doing this, I tend to start from the beginning and therefore never focus on the problematic parts. If I focus on the parts I have more trouble with, It is more likely that I will get better.
I think 6 is most helpful because it allows you to concentrate on what you need the most work on. It is more effective to focus on what you do not know so you can practice it more and fix the problems. This ties in with number 7, reiterating the idea that breaking down the music piece by piece can be more beneficial than running through the whole thing from start to end multiple times.
I think that number four is the most important because if you start playing having a goal of perfecting the hardest measures in a piece, or playing through the piece a certain number of times, will help the piece run more smoothly when you play it. If everyone in the orchestra does that then the piece will be much better than it would be if only a few people did so.
I believe the fifth tip would be to best thing for me to work on. I rarely ever map out my practice sessions. I lose focus on what I'm doing and will stop playing in a very short amount of time instead of working on the elements I might have had difficulty with. This is especially true when I'm practicing a more challenging piece. As a result of not mapping out what I need to do, I don't gain anything from practicing. If I can do this, I will increase my ability as a musician substantially.
The tip most helpful to me is to find somewhere quiet to practice because with 2 pets and 3 brothers my house can get pretty crazy and loud and it would benefit my practicing if I could find that one place where there were no noise distractions so I could practice efficiently
The tip about technology being a useful aid is helpful because installing a metronome, a tuner, and a timer will minimize time being wasted on pulling them up online. Also, if there is no tuner or metronome available, i'll usually just practice without one, and it'll sound really bad and be a waste of time. However, if i install these apps on my phone I can easily access them and have a meaningful practice session.
Three of the tips that stood out to me were 1, 3, and 7. I think finding a quiet spot to practice will be very beneficial for me because i will be able to focus on my music and cello. Tip number 3 mentioned using technology as an aid, but i think when i practice i am going to have to put any technology away so i don't feel the common urge to aimlessly scroll on the internet and waste the few minutes i have to practice. Also tip number 7 was funny, but true because sometimes i play the parts i know well over and over again instead of playing the parts that i need to work on so i know them well too. But all of these can only happen if i actually practice, so i am going to have to start with that!
Alice Chidley period 2
I think focusing on one specific part of the piece that I have trouble with during a practice session will help me practice better and more efficiently. If I just go through the piece and try to play what I can, then I won't actually be getting anywhere. But if I focus on the small, difficult parts of the piece, I will gradually be working towards mastering the piece. This way of practicing will actually help me to improve instead of just wasting time.
Erika Dodge per. 4
For me, I think that having an end point or goal in mind before beginning a practice session will be most beneficial. This is because I will be able to get more of what needs to be done and I will be able to stay more focused.
I have a bad habit of restarting a piece when I make a serious mistake so I think 7 really applied to me.
I think the most helpful tip is the sixth one, to focus on having more productive practice sessions rather than longer ones, because I often find when I practice for longer periods of time I loose track of what I originally planned to do.
Don't practice one piece (or whatever) for all the time you have. Try practicing other things to spice things up, so you'll much more fun than playing the same thing over and over. The "Smarter not Longer" advice was very true. Playing 15 min of hardcore practicing is way more effective than an hour of plucking an easy scale.
I feel that tip 4 would be the most beneficial to me when practicing my instrument. Like it says, just playing through an entire piece at once will get me nowhere. If I set goals prior to practicing, then I will most likely accomplish more than I would if I attempted to continuously sight read the music.
I'm going to start going to a quiet place to practice. I usually practice in my room, where I'm easily distracted by my phone or computer. However, sometimes I go to a different room to practice, and I find I get a lot more accomplished, so I think I'll do this more often.
Kevin Klarer
I believe the first one of the list will definitely improve my practicing because it is probably the most important one! Since i have so many siblings, i should make sure to not get distracted by them. Simply by going to my room and practicing will defeat all the random noises my brothers make. My room is pretty quiet most of the time so hopefully nobody interrupts me.
I feel that beginning with the end in mind could greatly improve my practice sessions. Sometimes, when I'm pressed for time while practicing, I will run through my music without a goal and end with a feeling that I have not achieved anything. This can be demoralizing, and it would probably be best if I learned to adopt my practicing to allow for a superior outcome by planning out my lesson and establishing basic goals.
Personally, many a time I start to practice and just play through my music a couple of times, and not really go back to work on particular sections that give me trouble. For the future, I will start mapping out a plan or even just a brief outline of my practice time to maximize my effort in the time that I have. I think this will help me not only improve my playing on the particular piece I am working on, but it will help me become a better musician and make my practicing more efficient.
The seventh tip, don't always start at the beginning, is what I believe will be the most helpful tip to improving my play. Often when I practice, I will only play through the piece from start to finish. However, this can end up being inefficient if I already know one part of the piece better than another. If I only play a certain section that is troubling me, not only will my time be wasted on parts I already know, I will also improve my play at my weaker areas in the piece.
I am going to work on number 8, Challenge yourself — physically. I feel that this will help me improve in my playing ability, because I will want to play for longer. I find that just sitting down and playing for too long saps the enjoyment out of playing, but if I was to practice standing up or walking I would find it easier to practice for longer. I also think it would just be more fun to walk around than sit.
One tip that I will add on to my practicing is creating a goal before I practice so that every time I practice I know I will accomplish something.
Tsioulcas' sixth tip stood out to me the most. It is easy when approaching a practice session to say, "i'll practice for half an hour today," or "I'll practice until dinner time." Instead, this article articulates the point that the length of practice time is not the most important element in becoming a better musician. Rather, one must focus more on the thought of practicing until some sort of specific goal has been reached, whether it be a particular measure, segment, or even an entire piece mastered. By approaching each practice session with a musical goal (not a time goal) in mind will pay large dividends in improving the efficiency of the practice. Such practice is the fastest way to reach noticeable new heights in musical ability.
The "Have your supplies nearby" tip is especially important for me because more often than not I leave my violin at school. This year I think that if I invest in bringing home my instrument then I will practice more and become a better player.
I think that I will try to work on Step 4. Many times, I just practice for the sake of practicing and I don't accomplish much by the end a session. If I accomplish a goal every time I practice, I'll be improving, especially if I make them harder each time. It's a simple yet effective way to improve my performance drastically.
A tip I will attempt to add to my own practice sessions is practicing smarter, not necessarily longer. Oftentimes, I find myself distracted when doing schoolwork, and as a result, getting what I plan to get done takes quite a while longer that I ever anticipated. Orchestra is no exception to this habit of mine. However, if I am able to determine a goal in mind before I begin practicing, and build self-discipline, than hopefully I can accomplish a lot more than if I were to not stay focused on a certain goal.
I think that "practicing outside of playing" is a great tip. I always have a much easier time learning and playing a piece of music if i know how it is meant to sound. For example, i had a very easy time learning Purple Haze, but when we started learning Danny Boy, I wasn't sure of how to play the piece just right, but simply hearing the piece on youtube or iTunes helps me tremendously. I'll be sure to do this with every piece we play.
When I practice i will try not starting from the beginning of the piece, because when I do the beginning sounds good, but then I get bored and the ends doesn't sound as good. It will help me make the whole piece sound better. I also think it would be fun to do the "challenge" but don't see how I could do that on the cello.
I am going to try to practice away from my music by listening to songs. This should be helpful when I am trying to learn a rhythm that I may not know, also it will help learn how I am supposed to be sounding, which makes playing go smoother!
For me, I think tip number 7 would help the most. I always start practicing my piece from the very beginning and eventually run out of time to practice, which, overtime, results in a very polished beginning a less-prepared ending. It's more fun to work through the piece from the beginning, but it causes me to neglect hard passages near the end. Varying my practicing so that I sometimes work backwards would really improve my performance.
Julia Canora Period 2
I think the tip that would work best for me is to work on one measure that I have trouble with so I can get it and the next time I play it I won't have trouble with it anymore. But when you play the whole piece it doesn't really allow you to focus on my mistakes
One tip that I find the most helpful is practicing smarter. I usually try to play big chunks of the piece and lose focus because I'm not making any progress. Picking out just the small difficult parts will work for me because I'll improve on something, and progress usually helps me keep focus.
Practicing in an environment less distracting is key for my success practicing, Im Add, so any noise can get me distracted. When I practice, I always need to be secluded away from the fam.
The goal from the post that I could use for myself is begin with the end in mind:Have a goal for each practice session before you start playing. I'd use this goal because I'd just practice a piece of music without a conscience,now I can break down the music into small parts and make my sound better.
I think i will use the 9nth tip because I think that if i can memorize the tune and fingerings without the instrument it will be easier to use them in real life and my playing will improve a lot.
I will use tip #9 because i carry my music around everywhere and if i study it without playing with the fingerings without the instrument i think my playing will improve a lot.
Jack Consolini Period 2
Well whenever I practice I generally just would play each piece a number of times, and play right through my problem areas, without going back to focus on them. So I think that I could try using tip number seven, so I improve on the areas where I am having difficulty most.
Kai Bjornstad
Definitely practice smarter not longer. i usually sit there for like an hour and do maybe 25 minutes of actual playing. I gotta make it so i sit there for 30 minutes and do at least 25 minutes of playing. I'll definitely become better and feel more rewarded when stuff pays off.
For me, step 4 would be the most useful because actually having a goal makes me want to work towards that goal. Sometimes when I practice I just sit there like, "Uhhh...what do I do now?" Having a certain goal for each day's worth of practice would definitely be a more productive use of my time.
Alex Ostberg P2
I found the 4th tip particularly helpful. Without a goal in mind, practice is ineffective. Next time I'm practicing, I will make sure to set a goal for that session, allowing me to work towards something instead of mindlessly practicing. I will write down a goal and then taylor that session towards the goal.
One practicing tip that will help me to become a better violist is to practice smarter rather than longer. This tip means to use you time more wisely, so that you get more out of it then practicing for hours. A major reason that i don't practice that long is because i don't have the time. But with this study tip i will get more out of the time that i do use practicing.
Ellie Taney
I think that the most useful study tip here is to practice smarter, not longer. If you practice for a long time, it doesn't matter if you don't get a lot out of it! After reading this useful tip, I think that I will be a lot more productive when practicing.
Jesse Stewart Period 2
I think bullet point number 6 will help me to practice. It will help me because I will be able to spend more time practicing and be able to fit it into my schedual as well. By spending short periods of time practicing I will be able to improve in my playing alot more.
Jacob Levy
Bull point Number one is the best helpful out of all of these tips, If I am in somewhere quiet but if I can hear someone else, than I get distracted and I tend not to play as well as I could have.
I think that the tip that will help me the most is to not start at the beginning every time. I find that if I start at the beginning and get to a part that I have a hard time with, then I become frustrated that I have to start all over again. Also, practicing this way makes the start of the piece sound really good, but then the ending doesn't get any practice because chances are I have started over many more times than I have made it all the way through the ending. This tip will not only help me to get to all of the sections of the music instead of just the beginning but it will also keep me from getting frustrated when practicing
Something that I really need to work on is budgeting my time while practicing. When I start practicing I normally don't make a plan by the hour so I begin thinking that I will have plenty of time to get everything done. In what seems like 10 minutes 2 hours have gone by and I have gotten through half of what I thought I would have accomplished.
I find the 6th tip very helpful. Often when I practice I try to play the whole song through over and over rather than focusing on specific measures that I struggle with. If I try and do little bits at a time, it could really improve my performance on each song and in each concert.
I think that the find a quiet place is the most important and relevant practice tip for me. I find that I get very distracted in loud and crowded places and when i sit back in a quiet place with my bass I can actually get work done. i am focused, skilled, and efficient and the source of all this success is my environment.
I think number 6 will help the most because it will be a more effective practice done in a shorter amount of time. This will make practice easier and shorter.
I think number 6 will help the most because it will be a more effective practice done in a shorter amount of time. It will prepare me better for concerts and classes. This will make practice easier and shorter which will make me a better musician.
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