Written by Judy York, Class of 2023
We've all been there: Busy all week with exams, schoolwork, essays, and other deadlines. When you finally get to your lesson, you realize you've only actually practiced 2 or 3 days of the week. We all just love those awkward lessons when your teacher knows you haven't practiced, or maybe, you're one of the lucky ones who manage to get by undetected. Nonetheless, it’s not a comfortable place to be.
I think that one of the trickiest things to figure out is how to actually have time to practice whilst still being able to do all our schoolwork, have other commitments, and maintain a social life. It’s tough to balance everything and make time to practice (and have the energy to have an efficient practice session).
So how do I actually have time?
Have a solid morning warm-up routine. I know that long tones and scales aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re definitely there for a reason. Not only do they allow you to warm up your body and instrument, but they also let you warm-up and shift your mindset to practice mode. This will enable you to have much more productive and efficient practicing. When you have your busy days and can only fit maybe 30 minutes to an hour of practicing, don't just jump into that concerto right away. Spend that time warming up and on technique.
Break practicing into chunks. It’s much easier for our brains to focus and concentrate on manageable sections than doing all your practice in one sitting. When you break up your practice session, it’s much easier to really give each area you work on your best attention. Of course, the length of each chunk will look different for everyone, but a good rule of thumb is no more than an hour at once.
Plan out your practice. The first 5 minutes of practicing can be the most essential part of your routine if you use it wisely. Before even picking up your instrument, write down your goals, and develop a POA for your practice session. By targeting specific things to work on, your practice session can become much more focused and efficient.
Work smarter, not harder. We all know someone who complains (but basically is bragging) about practicing x hours every day. From what you hear, they may sound amazing, but is it really due to that high number of hours? Possibly, but maybe not. Our brains get tired throughout our practice sessions and can't work as fast as they did towards the beginning of the session. Working "harder" by measuring your practicing in minutes rather than work accomplished may not be the most effective to go about improving. Instead, working smarter by organizing your practice session, setting goals, and planning ahead will not only help you improve more efficiently, but will also help cut down wasted time in the practice room.
Listen to your body. Playing and creating meaningful music requires both physical and mental energy. If you feel any physical (fingers, shoulders, embouchure) tension, take a break and reset. Pushing through the pain, or literally muscling through your practicing is definitely not the way to go in practice. When we get so focused on our playing, we often tend to forget to check in with our bodies, resulting in unwanted physical tension or even repetitive injuries. Remember, your muscles need a break, too.
Don't try to work on everything every single day. As preprofessional and professional musicians, we have countless things to work on from etudes, scales, technique work, solos, excerpts, ensemble music, and so on and so forth. If you were to try to tackle all these things in a day, you would most likely become stressed over time, which results in developing the unwanted “burnout.” My suggestion would be to pick only 2-3 things to concentrate on each practice session.
Don't Practice. Now I don't mean you shouldn't practice ever. I think as musicians, it's often stigmatized that if we take a day off from practicing, we'll “get behind” or we won’t improve. Not only is that mindset incredibly toxic, but it's also pretty inaccurate. It's completely alright to skip a day of practice every once in a while because we simply don't have the time. When we try to fit in practicing when we feel that we don't have enough time, our practicing becomes stressed and, truthfully, not that efficient. That time might be better used to organize yourself, collect your thoughts, destress, and then go along your day.
Of course, like changing with any new habit, changing your practicing schedule and mindset can be difficult at first. When I changed my practice to have a more organized structure and a calmer attitude, I found that I could make much more progress, and I actually looked forward to practicing!
I hope this blog post will help you and your music-making, and I miss seeing and hearing everyone’s fantastic music! Best of luck this semester, and keep making great music!
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