It has been mentioned in a few blog posts that practice makes perfect but does it really?
There can be no rules when it comes to playing music. Similarly, when practising an instrument, there can be no rules either. There are no specific ways on how you should practise. In this blog post, we will offer you tips on how often you should practise, as well as a complimentary method to physical practising.
Does practice makes a difference?
credits: http://www.riseofthemasters.com/composers/mozart/
The difference between professionals and amateurs is the amount of dedication and time they spent on practising. When Mozart was 6, he had already clocked up 3500 hours of practising. Tiger Woods started when he was 2 years old. Serena Williams started playing at 3. These all just show that practice can indeed makes a difference. With hard work, perseverance and long hours of practice, you will be able to succeed!
How often should you practice your instrument?
For beginners, consistency is more important than the quantity of practice. Daily regular practice is better than a long period of practice once a week. It is better to play your instrument for 10-15 minutes every day rather than to play it for 3 hours straight during the weekends. The reason why so is that your muscle memory gets developed when you practice.
By practising every day, your muscle memory gets honed and whatever you had practised the previous day can be remembered by your brain to be showcased during your next day's practice. If you only practise once a week, your brain will not be able to remember what you had practised the previous week and you will end up practising the same thing week after week.
It can be frustrating when you feel that you are not progressing much even though the accumulated hours of practising seems so much. Hence, what you can do is to mark out the days you are going to practise on your calendar so that you will not forget to practise!
What happens when practice gets boring?
In a broad sense, practising means repeating the same action over and over again to improve one skill. Let's read that sentence five times. Do you feel bored already? If just reading one sentence gets you bored, what's the effect of playing the same segment of a piece 10 times consecutively? You will get bored!
Hence, what you should do is to motivate yourself.
Steps to motivate yourself:
1. Set a goal. Tell yourself what you want to achieve by the end of your practice session.
2. Give yourself a reward. After your practice session and after you have achieved your goals, give yourself a reward! Eat your favourite cookies and chill on the sofa.
Are there any alternatives to practising?
There has to be more to practising hard consistently. Here's what it is - mental rehearsal.
Mental rehearsal is also very important. It is the practice of visualising. Essentially, you don't have to do anything! Just find a quiet spot, make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and visualise an actual practice with your instruments. Although it will not improve your skills in playing the instruments, it will help to maintain the current level of your skills!
Now, you know what to do when you have some free time on hand! Either mentally practise your instruments or do it physically. In the long run, you will be able to see the results of your hard work so do not give up! If you are having trouble getting started on learning musical instruments, you can join our music workshops.