Written by Veronica Kulek, Class of 2023
Being musicians, we all know the struggle of finding time to practice. This struggle can take many forms, from occupied practice rooms before a chamber performance to just not having the motivation to pick up your instrument at home. Zoom fatigue has only added to this struggle, and with midterms starting so soon, we could all benefit from using these weeks before to buckle down on our good habits. Speaking from experience, I am no stranger to having to study multiple instruments in a semester. Spring of my freshman year, I studied horn (primary), piano (secondary), flute/clarinet (woodwind tech), and bassoon (chamber): and the spring semester of my junior year is looking very similar already. Although we enjoy learning new instruments as music education majors, these secondary lessons and instrument tech classes can quickly become overwhelming. I’ve compiled a list of tips that have helped me through the years and help you avoid spreading yourself too thin.
Setting Minimums
I found that setting minimum practice times (example: horn 1 hour per day) helped me out a lot. We all have tough days, and it makes me feel accomplished when I can work through a few pieces even if I don’t spend all day practicing. Musicians tend to get very self-critical regarding practice, and many of us in school are in that group. I’ve noticed, too, that sometimes after putting in a productive hour, I’ll find the motivation to keep working through new material.
Scheduling Practice Times
This tip might seem obvious, but it can be a huge help if you haven’t already implemented it. I use Google Calendar primarily (and there are a wide variety of other planning apps that exist), but I am also a huge proponent of the whiteboard. Sometimes I’ll write out to-do lists, but mostly I’ll rely on my whiteboard to keep me on track.
A huge help in balancing tech classes and secondary lessons can be setting aside separate days for each instrument. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, I practice violin for string tech, while Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I practice flute for my secondary lessons. I also said that I also set a minimum of 1 hour of horn practice a day in the previous bullet point. This schedule currently leaves me at 2 hours of practicing daily, and on Sundays, my only requirement is an hour of horn.
Previously, when I was a freshman 2 years ago and navigated similar courses without a schedule, I would get done with my schoolwork and stress out immensely over my tech, chamber, and secondary instruments. I never knew exactly what amount of time I was putting in daily, and I always felt overwhelmed. Breaking your scheduling down into hourly terms for practicing can
really help give yourself some free time you never knew existed as well as helping eliminate exhaustion.
Define the “End of the Day”
This is a big tip, which I wouldn’t have learned without CAPS' help here at Rutgers. We all can relate to rehearsals ending late on a Tuesday, practicing after, and then staying up way too late working on aural skills or theory. My first and second years of school were plagued with stress and constantly wondering how everyone else could handle music school. I’m thankful for having reached out for help when I needed it and encourage anyone else in a similar boat to do the same. This tip is all about letting yourself relax and defining a point in the day where you’re done with work/assignments/practice. In all honesty, that point might be 11 pm on some busy nights, but it will help to allow you to have some time to yourself.
Be Kind to Yourself
Here it is, the most important tip of the list! I cannot stress enough how this global pandemic has made college more difficult. Hopefully, these tips above can help with time management regarding practice time for tech classes, chamber groups, and secondary lessons. Giving yourself some time to relax is a worthy investment, and we can all benefit by taking time to breathe every now and then.
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