Monday, July 5, 2010

How Important is Good Discipline and Smart Practicing

Practice makes perfection! That is just a FACT! it is so true that when you work hard in anything that you do you are going to be successful. When you are practicing your instrument you are changing bad habits for good ones. That’s it! There you have the magic of good playing. The main purpose of practice is to sound good, we do it by repeating the same thing over and over. But here is the thing, we cannot repeat just for the sake of repeating, we have to repeat with conscience. We first figure out the problem and then work on it. Take the piece in a comfortable tempi and feel comfortable with it, know that your playing is as perfect as it could get even if it slow. Then speed up 5 clicks on your metronome and do the same thing. Repeat the process until you reach your desire tempi. Always keep in mind the basic things like your sound production, intonation, tempi, rhythm, dynamics, etc.


Sometimes it is very hard to even think about opening your case. When we have to practice, all kind of human necessities show up. We have to go to the bathroom, we are hungry, tired, in pain, just about everything. Once we start everything turns smoother and sometimes you will feel like you want even more and more. But the truth is that if we don't practice we are not going to be better musicians. We have to follow a daily plan and a smart routine. If you want to become a great artist you have to work incredibly hard, but I’ll promise you that all your efforts are going to be worth it. Start by creating a routine for every day and some objectives. If you don't feel like practicing one day you are going to promise that you will force yourself to start with scales and keep going with the rest of your repertoire. No successful person is known by working when he/she feels like, they are all known by taking action at the moment. This is going to be intensive and well planned. I propose you start by setting up your long and short term goals.


This is a list of some of the things that I believe it could improve your practice time


Things to do before practice:
  1. Eat well
  2. Take a nap
  3. Go to the bathroom
  4. Drink something
  5. Listen to a recording of what you are about to play
  6. Read the biography of the composer
  7. Make sure your instrument is ready to go!
  8. Tell your family not to bother you
  9. Remember what you worked on the day before
  10. Prepare yourself for practicing (practice mode)
Things to do when you are practicing:
  1. Focus!
  2. Create daily objectives
  3. Follow your objectives
  4. Don't leave before you finish your objectives
  5. Force yourself if you have to
  6. Take breaks, they help your brain to think smarter and efficiently
  7. Use metronome
  8. Try different tempos
  9. Remember the basics
  10. Set your mind to be alert 100%
Things to do after you practice:
  1. Look for inspiration to keep practicing
  2. Go to concerts
  3. Support a fellow musician
  4. Listen to all different kinds of music
  5. Study the score and the instrumental part without the recording
  6. SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG, I add the Subscribe via Email option! :)

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