What do Jimi Hendrix, Micheal Jordan, or Bill Gates all have in common? They all put in a lot of time into practicing their craft. Practice is a necessary tool that leads to the path of greatness.
So what does a good practice session look like or consist of? How do you get the most mileage out of your time invested?
There are so many ways to structure practice but let's first focus on frequency and length.
How Often and How Long
Practice time will often depend greatly on age, how much time is available, and your specific goals. Therefore, a professional's practice routine will likely be longer and more involved than a six-year-old who is just starting out.
For the sake of simplicity, here are practice schedules based upon experience level:
- Young Beginners: 15 - 20 mins a day, five days a week
- Older Beginners & Intermediate Players: 30 mins a day, five or six days a week
- Advanced Players: 45 mins a day, five to six days a week
- Professionals: as much as possible but not so much that you cause injury
What to Practice
There are many ways to structure the practice session itself. The goal is to make the best use of your time (efficiency) and to make steady progress (effectiveness.) Although there is no one right way to practice, there are some common strategies that you can start with and then build upon that solid foundation.
Here's a basic practice template that breaks your practice session into three sections:
- Warmups 5 mins: Begin each practice session with a short warmup to get your fingers and brain primed. Have a few different warmups available that you can cycle between over the course of a week like scales, finger patterns, chords, and sight-reading.
- Focus Material: This is where the bulk of your time is spent. If you take formal music lessons, this will include lesson assignments or preparing for an upcoming performance. Work on overcoming specific challenges and trouble spots. Break things down into small chunks and use repetition. Keep tabs on what you've worked on and what still needs attention so that at the next practice session you can pick up where you left off.
- Review Repertoire 5 mins: Repertoire, your song catalog, is the backstock of material you have previously learned. Review your favorite pieces so that it stays fresh in your memory. Play these songs as if you were performing in front of an audience. Then do a quick review of any section didn't go so well. Keep a list of five to ten songs to rotate between.
Additional Practice Tips
- Make it a Habit: Consistency is key so start with short, regular practice sessions. Build a solid routine, then work on increasing the practice time/frequency.
- Less is More: Long practice sessions are rarely as useful as short, regularly scheduled sessions. Better yet, try multiple short sessions spaced throughout your day.
- Be Organized: Have the tools accessable (i.e. turner, music, etc.) Know what you need to work on and have a plan of attack.
- Zen-like Focus: Pay attention to what you are playing. Listen to it and think about it. If you become unfocused or too distracted, take a short break. Attention is like a muscle, you need to exercise it in order to build more stamina.
- PPMP: The old sayin "practice makes perfect," should actually say, "PERFECT practice makes perfect." In other words, if you play the same problem spot 100 times incorrectly, the 101th time won't likely be any better. Slow it down. Figure out what's not working and how to fix it.
- Practice VS Play: Practice is deliberate effort put forth to improve something specific. Playing is jamming on a whim and having fun. Do both but know when you are practing and when you are playing.
- Put In the Time: Practice is hard work and it takes time. There's no way around it if you want to be any good. If there were a shortcut, everyone would be an amazing musician.
Experiment
The practice room is your lab and you are the scientist. Experiment! Try different things out to see what works and what doesn't. What gets you results? Be curious and get creative.
Whatever it is you are practicing or playing, just make sure that it's musical and you are having fun!