What do we, as musicians, need to be mindful of when practicing our instruments? One crucial aspect of practicing is to set specific goals before we begin.
The questions that we can ask ourselves are as follows;
How long can I physically handle to practice?
What are my priorities?
Have I allowed time for warm-up?
Should I work on my technique, such as doing exercises, or continue practicing a particular piece in my repertoire?
Am I still in the note-learning stage, or have I progressed beyond that?
How much time will I spend on all these activities?
Answering these questions can set the tone for our routine. For instance, there is no sense in working on our repertoire when we have yet to warm up. Just as nutrition or when someone eats, a healthy approach to balancing one's diet is required; in practicing a musical instrument, it is essential to warm up first, then do scales or exercises called etudes, and then move on to repertoire.
Getting to the practice room and immediately playing one's repertoire pieces is not advisable. The warm-up phase of practicing is critical.
Once we have warmed up through scale routines and etudes/exercises, it is best to identify our problem areas. We can isolate technical passages and intonation issues and practice until they sound fluent. Therefore, we should play slowly from the beginning. We must take our time to work out these passages and use the metronome as needed.
It is not beneficial to play sections after sections in tempo when we are not technically ready. There will be little progress when we play a section fast and sloppy. So, when faced with difficulties, we may repeat the correct version slowly instead of practicing the incorrect way over and over quickly. Also, when we play passages nonstop without correcting our mistakes, this habit does not help us progress and improve our playing. If we want to improve, we must put meticulous and diligent work into our practice.
Consistency is also of utmost importance. It is reasonable to continue practicing approximately the same daily hours and gradually increasing.
It is better to build upon previous days' hours and continue growing. Our day's work determines the length of time for the next day's practice.
Another aspect to be mindful of is to divide a three-hour practicing schedule between morning and afternoon by doing an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon. If that is not possible because of other engagements, doing the three hours straight would require taking breaks.
Practicing requires patience, and musicians should be willing to put in that time if they want to play an instrument. Children often begin learning an instrument and give up too soon because it takes time to learn those skills. Lack of progress may cause frustration at times. However, exercising patience with ourselves and learning and practicing Music is equally vital.
In addition, we need to check and see if we are relaxed while playing. For example, in the case of string players, the body and the muscles should be relaxed; the energy must flow easily through the player's body. Otherwise, the sound becomes constrained. Consequently, we can check and be mindful of relaxation during our practice hours to prevent tension from building in the body. When we are eager and anxious to accomplish something, we might get tense and not even realize it. Sometimes, relaxing and getting rid of tension can make a huge difference when things are not happening.
Lastly, we need to check our posture and hand positioning to ensure everything is in order. We can also double-check these in the mirror once in a while. That way, we can stop doing something that does not help us in improving our playing skills.
Sometimes, putting all these things together will take days. We should play the technically tricky passages slowly for several days, even a week. Then, we can check to see if we have mastered the skills. Generally, if we can play it well at a slow tempo and feel the rhythm and the Music, it is time to get to the actual tempo marking established by the composer. One cannot remain in the slow tempo forever, either.
Next time you practice, establish your goals, then proceed. This way, you ensure success and make your practice more enjoyable.
Do you follow a similar routine? Please comment below.
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