Seven tips for effectively practicing an instrument 🎧🎸

Good Morning you lovely Community.

"Talent is good and helpful" - but - "If you want to go further, you will never pass up practicing"
Here comes seven tips for effectively practicing an instrument:

1. Find out your own personal conditions

How much you should practice depends entirely on you:
• How long can you concentrate?
• How much time do you have left?

And above all: what goals are you pursuing with your instrument?
With a lot of practice you progress, according to the motto "Much helps a lot". In order to use your time as effectively as possible, you should think about what you want to achieve. It can then result, what you z: B. want to practice on a particular day.

2. Practice regularly

Exercising irregularly is a common mistake that slows learning progress. It is important to practice regularly for effective and speedy progress.
"That means, if I do not have that much time, I'll try to spend at least 10 minutes every day doing my exercises." This is far more effective than practicing 70 minutes at a time once a week for a total of the same amount of exercise time per week.
"The best way to practice while sleeping". It is the case that learned things are better memorized by practicing regularly over night. If you want to make faster progress and have enough time, you can of course practice for an hour or more every day. But that only makes sense if you still come to practice regularly.

3. Set priorities

Music is made up of different elements, and mastery of an instrument requires different skills. Therefore, it is important to practice these skills individually, such as rhythm, intonation or musical expression. If you have specific deficits in an area, focus on that.
"If somebody is on a level in all areas, it might make sense to do some rhythm practice for a few minutes, perhaps a right hand punch on the guitar, then perhaps read notes for a few minutes and then practice ear training. "

4. Plan smaller units

Do not hesitate to ask yourself if you are working on improving the sound of your instrument or if you are more interested in understanding the theory of harmony better.
"It makes sense, after a short period of practice, to address other areas of the brain, so that one says to oneself: now I'll let it sit overnight and devote myself to the next topic." Ideally, all aspects of the music are practiced every day in short periods of time.
"But this is a very well-designed exercise plan, similar to a gym, with one hour of training and muscle and counter muscle training." But practicing this style does not have to be the best for everyone. If the plan spoils the fun of practicing, it may be more of an impediment to effective progression on the instrument.

5. Do not try to pay attention to everything at the same time

If you practice a new piece, divide the piece. "For example, in piano lessons, in the early years you start practicing your right and left hands very slowly one by one, first of all you have to be clear about the pitch and the rhythm, and step by step, the playing becomes automated."
"Then I have to stop thinking at some point, like driving a car." At first, quietly separate the rhythm from the melody and practice both for yourself. The better you get on your instrument, the more processes are automatically executed, the more you can finally pay attention.

6. Start slowly

Practicing slowly is very important. "I have more time at the moment to focus on musical parameters." And once you have acquired a wrong way of playing and has automated this, then it is all the more difficult to learn again. "Speed does not have to be practiced anyway, that happens on its own".
So one of the biggest mistakes in my opinion is to practice too fast. Many students would want to reach too much too fast and process too much information at once.

7. Stay motivated

Practice for a goal. If you have a concert or a prelude in the music school in front of you, this can additionally motivate you, because you know what you are practicing for. "That's why there are lecture evenings at many music schools, and that's actually something I'd recommend setting a goal for yourself." Even a prelude to your own family can be motivating.
If you are dissatisfied with your instrument, have no motivation to practice, it is worthwhile even thinking about changing the instrument. Especially if the decision for your instrument did not come from you, but was influenced by parents or music teachers, it may be that another instrument suits you much better.
With new motivation you might make much faster progress. According to Wenz, it is important to be able to identify with his instrument. "Many students learn an instrument that they do not have much to do with working towards a different instrument, and that's where motivation comes in, because the student actually wants to learn something different out of his own interest.
Therefore, it is crucial to choose an instrument, which is also fun, even in the moment. "Only with very young students it is sometimes better first to learn a simpler instrument, which allows faster success experiences." For a five-year guitar is already to learn a pretty big challenge, even with a little guitar. "

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