The Best Ways to Practice Your Instrument

Practice is necessary for development as a musician regardless of whether or not you are serious, or you are just learning for fun. Sometimes practice can be stress inducing because we want to have fun, we can't focus, we're easily frustrated, or for other unmentioned reasons. Here are some great tips for how you can control your practice sessions without feeling overwhelmed or upset.

1. Follow your notes. Your teacher should be an excellent note taker. Bring a practice book to lessons with you, and ask your teacher to write down your assignments, and leave you helpful tips, strategies, and information. Your notebook should be a study guide for success. Write questions in it, put in practice information, draw some notes in there, etc.
2. Don't pick and choose. As tempting as it may be to only do the things you like, or to quit when you get discouraged, be authoritative. Tell yourself "No, I'm going to do this until it's done." Treat the unpleasant parts of practice like your least favorite foods or chores: Do them first, and they'll be over with! Everyone has to start with the basics, just like you did when you went to school for the first time. Everyone had to learn their ABCs. Music is the same. You can't truly learn anything until you've given it your best. Plus, you might find something out in the process! Many people discover they're good at jazz or ear training this way.
3. Use the "Chunking" method. We all run into tricky spots. Save your time and energy by practicing only the measure(s) that you struggle with, then adding a little around it at a time until you can play the whole piece. My personal philosophy is play your chunk until you can do it 3 times in a row with no mistakes, then you can play the whole song again.
4. Practice backwards. Every student I say this to has this insane look of incredulity on their face that says "That' not even possible!" But, I tell you it is! Start with the last measure of your song. Then play the last 2. Then the last 3. So on and so forth. It'll give you not only a new perspective on the piece, but give you insight into the sounds that you're creating. Out of context, they will sound unique, or different. This can greatly assist your ear training skills in addition.
5. Practice in a variety of environments. No, don't go out on the street corner and play (unless that's your jam), but try playing when you're in a quiet room, alone. Then try when the room is full of energy, people, or noise. Practice with people staring at you. Practice with people in the same room doing a different activity. Practice with a pet bugging you, practice with the doors/windows open. Try everything you can think of to make your experience a unique one, or a challenging one. Routines can become ineffective when we become too exposed. Stimulate your senses in other ways by challenging yourself in how you practice. Spend at least 1 practice session a week in a different environment to hone your focus, and your proficiency.
6. Move past mistakes. Everyone makes them. Get over it. We can't learn if we never miss an opportunity for a total flub. Ignore all mistakes and come back to them with the chunking method (see above).  Ignoring mistakes is good performance preparation. because you can't stop and restart during a performance. Make the most of the situation by learning from it.
7. Take frequent breaks from pieces. If this is the 99th time you've practiced that darn Mozart piece, let it wait. Take a day or two off of it completely and work on something different. Coming back to it later can give you a refreshed perspective on what you hear, see, and feel. You may also feel renewed energy with your practice.
8. Reward yourself. My motivation was always to keep a copy of a piece of music I wanted to learn handy, and tried a few bars or notes at the end of practice, or in between pieces. Maybe your motivation is to place a cookie on the piano, and as soon as you've practiced 15 minutes, you can eat it. Find what works best for you. I you're a techno-junkie, try 30 minutes screen time, 30 minutes practice time. Remember, it's all work and no play that will require some serious happy pills!
9. Surround yourself with support. You don't have to be a musical genius to play music. Remember, your family and friends should be kind and helpful when it comes to listening to you, giving you feedback, or offering guidance. If someone is negative, it can affect your whole output because your mind isn't in the right place. Be cautious of this. Simply not liking a song, and saying "That's terrible" are two different things. One is a personal opinion that doesn't affect you or your playing, while the other is potentially damaging. Parents should always say something encouraging during a practice session like "That was really good energy, could you play it again just like that?" or "Your attention to detail was great, and I think the more you practice the better it will get!"

These are just a few of my great tips to help you get the most out of your time at your instrument. Remember that hard work really does pay off and if you keep at it, you could really do something amazing with music! 

What are some fun things YOU do during your practices? I'd love to hear!