As a musician, practice is an integral part of the process to efficiently learn and improve at your instrument. It’s what we spend the majority of our time whilst studying doing and in order to make the most of the practice time we have in busy schedules, it has to be an effective use of time. Perhaps surprisingly, practice can be successful in short spaces of time, and below are some tips I have found useful to help maximise your time. As many of us have such busy lives, you may find these tips transferrable to your chosen field of work or to generally improve productivity.
More isn’t always better
Practising for hours on end doesn’t always equate to a better musician in the long run. It is more important for practice to be productive, concentrated and efficient rather than for the sake of doing it. The best way to ensure this is by tackling the time you have with a structured plan, including a warm up, both physical and on your instrument, followed by technical work, scales and exercises and pieces in whatever order is necessary for your goals. Choosing whether to focus on small sections, difficult passages or musical and performance elements depends on your short term goals, but planning out how to make the most of your time in advance will make practice a more effective use of your time as well as allowing you to make more time in your day.
Breaks are necessary
I used to find that if I took breaks whilst practising, guilt would creep in and I would feel as though I was skiving or wasting time. However, concentration levels tend to drop if you spend a large amount of hours back to back working or practising. In fact, it’s proven that concentration cannot be maintained at the same level for more than 20 minutes – the average British attention span is a measly 14 minutes. This can be difficult especially if you’re trying to focus on a number of technical and musical aspects. In order to combat this in practice, it is important to take regular breaks – to reassess, move after long stationary periods, clear your mind and relax, allowing practice to continue at a high quality.
Find your optimum time
From personal experience, I know I can be more productive practising at certain times of the day. For me, the evenings are generally less successful as I am often tired, so ideally, as a morning person, practising in the morning means I can get more done in a shorter amount of time. This, however, could be the complete opposite for you. Finding your ideal practice time can benefit your practice routine more than you might imagine.
Take care of yourself as you would your instrument
Finally, don’t neglect your body when it comes to practising. Playing an instrument is incredibly physically demanding, and it is all too common for musicians to cause their bodies unnecessary strain and injury. Warm up effectively before every session, move regularly, stretch after and never ignore or persistently practice through aches and pains. Ultimately, your physical health can determine whether you can make a career as a musician, so make sure to take it seriously.
Until next time,
Abi x