For some musicians the word “practice” brings with it a feeling of dread. The notion of spending hours on end running through scales, arpeggios and piece after piece does not appeal to a lot of musicians. It was the same for me when I started out until I heard a wonderful phrase:
“Work smarter, not harder”
You see it’s a matter of productivity. You can spend all day doing a task or complete it in an hour. It’s all about how you use your time. Here are 5 tips to make your practice sessions more productive:
1. Set a time limit and stick to it
It’s a simple fact that if we have all day to do something it will take all day to do it. To counteract this, set a boundary. Decide on a time-frame to do your practice; start on time and finish on time.
2. Start with the end in mind
We have all heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect” but what exactly are you trying to get better at? Without a goal you’re simply sitting in a room making noises. Set yourself an objective for the session and your session will suddenly have structure.
3. Warm up
Much like the marathon runner will stretch and run slowly to “get into the game” a musician should also have a warm up routine. Run through some scales or even a few simple songs before you kick into the heavy stuff.
4. Play in front of a mirror
Q. Why do dance studios have a mirrored wall?
A. So the dancers can see what they are doing.
Practicing in front of a mirror makes you conscious of what others will see when you perform. As well as giving you an impression of the overall “look” of your performance it also increases your awareness of your posture, how you position your fingers, hands, arms etc. etc. etc.
5. Record yourself
One of my teachers once said, “You’re on the wrong side of the guitar to know truly know how you sound”. He was right! Most smartphones come with a voice recorder app so load it up, place your phone a few feet away, play and then listen back. You will be amazed about how much you miss while you’re playing. If you do not have a voice recorder app, start up the camera. If you don’t feel like filming yourself, simply place the smartphone with the camera facing down and it will pick up the audio.
Conclusion:
Simply put, following the above tips will help you practice more effectively. In turn you will also find your confidence levels rise.
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