Sometimes there just seems like there’s so much to learn and so little time to do it.

 

That can be a stressful situation.

 

Whether you have an impending music exam or performance, there are times when there is a lot of pressure to learn.

 

So, how are you going to deal with that?

 

Even if you have whole days in which to practice, you can only learn as fast as your brain and muscle processes allow you to learn.

 

So here’s a few tips which can help you get through (and hopefully succeed) in those times of high pressure.

 

 

1.            Prioritise

 

My situation at the moment is that I have about five new songs to learn for the Band (rehearsing tonight) and a gig on Saturday night which I need to be in top shape for.

 

I therefore, have to prioritise the learning for the gig because it’s important to me that every public performance I do, I do my best.  However, there is an impending gig for the Band and there’s a lot of learning to do there as well!

 

Your priorities may be different to mine in the same situation.  What is important is that you are honest about what is most important to you (not anybody else) and focus on preparing your work in accordance with that.

 

Sometimes it will be a close call but the work you do for one performance will invariably benefit the other performances too.

 

 

2.            Practice Other Skills

 

Yes, you need to practice the pieces you will be playing but it’s also very wise to keep up the technical work, even if you are pressed for time.

 

This article outlines all the other exercises that are good to practice in order to support a successful performance.

 

 

3.            Break It Down

 

When you look at all the activities you have to accomplish in a week, it can seem daunting.  You may even feel like you don’t even know where to start, or have the feeling that all those tasks will be impossible to get through.

 

But when you look at what you have to do day by day, and just try to accomplish those tasks, those tasks seem much more manageable.

 

The same is true for a stressful music workload.

 

If you can, look at what you need to accomplish by the end of the week and plan out, day-by-day, using your Practice Diary, what you are going to do to meet those tasks.

 

Think about how much practice time you will have and plan what you will do in those practice sessions to get the maximum benefit.

 

A lot of time can be wasted with unplanned and unfocused practice.  However, with knowledge and planning on how to practice, you have much more of a chance of meeting your goals.

 

This article on time management has a great tip in the last video which I use all the time now and it works!

 

 

4.            Simplify

 

If there is really too much on your plate, there are several ways you can handle it:

 

1. Have a complete meltdown (not recommended!), but if you feel that is going to happen then….

 

 

2. Be honest, get someone else to do the gig, or shorten the repertoire, or cancel the date.

 

In other words, try to avoid getting yourself into a situation where you are going to let yourself and/or others down.  It’s just much simpler and better to be honest and let others know where you are at.

 

3. Sometimes you may be able to simplify the music and repertoire.

 

For example, shortening the form, or taking out some movements, or playing songs you already know.

 

In performance, always take the options you are most confident with.

 

 

Ok, well now I’m going to take my own advice and it’s off to the practice room!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared some of my personal learning experience with you.

 

It’s also time for me to do a review of my practice since February by going through my Practice Diary and filling out the Practice Outline.

 

So, I thought I’d put the two together and hopefully you can benefit from some of my insights over the last 8 months.

 

My goals set from the last Practice Diary were:

 

• To start improvising what I hear
• To start gigging
• To learn and use Pro Tools

 

Well, I have achieved the first two of those goals and I still want to continue learning Pro Tools but will put that on hold.   I started to learn the Program and then took on this blog project and there simply hasn’t been time to do both!  Also, it’s hard when I can use Garage Band so easily and quickly  (it’s a bit of a trap).

 

I’m happy with those achievements at any rate.

 

Now for the Practice Outline…. (this is the last page in the Practice Diary which needs to be filled out before starting a new diary)

 

From 9 February 2011 to 30 September 2011, I have achieved:

 

• More regular and frequent practice sessions
• Have started to gig and play with other musicians, joined a band and performing on piano and vocal
• Learned more repertoire
• Better and memorising chord progressions and song form
• Started using more resources and doing practice challenges
• Better focus and presence

 

 

My Practice Aims Are:

 

• To continue to grow with the band and get better at performing on piano
• To do regular gigs
• To look into Hakomi course to help my teaching and personal development
• To keep regular, consistent practice sessions going
• To get more singing lessons and maybe even piano lesson

 

 

During This Period Of Practice I Have Realised:

 

• I stopped doing reflections in my book because I was doing them more in the blog but it’s much more beneficial to take the time at the end of each week to do reflections in the practice diary.
• Practice makes me feel good.
• I often used to need extrinsic motivation to get me to perform, e.g. money, but that has now become intrinsic (I just need to share music) and that has been much more successful for me.
• Was great to do a vocal lesson and I should do some kind of lesson more regularly, even once every two months.
• I don’t like performing with music in front of me any more.  Much prefer learning songs.  It makes music much more enjoyable when performing.
• Sometimes life does get too busy and practice takes a back seat.  That’s ok, just get back on the horse!
• Writing the blog has been great for my own development.
• This reflection is worth remembering:

 

7/4/11

 

I still get those times when I feel I’m not getting any better at music but have come to know that is a false idea and I have to look at this feeling and turn it around to “work is being done” – I’m laying foundations for the next improvement.  At these times I just have to stay with the physicality of playing, stay centred – just listening – just doing and enjoying the peace of each and every session.

 

Reading that reflection really makes me want to practice and be with the music.

 

Now I have set my goals, I’ll let you know how it goes in about three month’s time.

 

I’ve learned a lot, as always, from doing this exercise and I hope it illustrates for you how useful using the Practice Diary can be beneficial and motivating for you.

 

It makes me feel good  to look back on the work I’ve done, to see the changes, improvements, realisations and achievements of goals and to set goals for the future.

 

If you haven’t already done so, join up to the Newsletter  (t0 the left of this article) to get your free Practice Diary template and e-book.

 

 

Just sit for a moment and imagine a world without music.

 

No music on films, television, advertisements or radio.

 

No music in the school play or your games.  No nursery rhymes.  No music anywhere.

 

It is a pretty difficult thing to imagine but now you are probably aware of how much we listen to music in our everyday lives.

 

Music is an incredibly important part of human society and culture, used for expression, entertainment, socialising and sharing.

 

Not only does music enrich our lives by simply listening to it, by learning to play it we can also:

 

1. Connect to other people both living and dead (e.g. composers);
2. Broaden interests and learn more about history and the world;
3. Challenge ourselves and achieve;
4. Problem solve;
5. Express complex thoughts and emotions;
6. Find inspiration in the work of others;
7. Have fun;
8. Develop a sense of pride;
9. Create a “world” where we can escape the everyday and relax;
10. Become more aware of our body, mind and spirit.

 

All of the above outcomes of learning to play music help to give meaning to life through connection, challenge, self-expression, enjoyment and awareness.

 

“Meaning in life is not just a theoretical or philosophical construct, but it has a bearing on human health and well being … to live without meaning, goals, or values provokes considerable distress …

 

Meaning serves a number of important functions in human lives (Frankl, 1992). Firstly, meaning provides a purpose for our lives. Secondly, it furnishes values or standards by which to judge our actions. Thirdly, it gives us a sense of control over the events in our life. Lastly, it provides us with self-worth. When people are unable to find meaning for any of these functions or when they lose or outgrow the meanings that they once had, they become distressed. Many emotional problems result from a failure to find meaning in life and can be resolved only through finding something to make life worth living (Frankl, 1992).” http://www.all-about-psychology.com/the-importance-of-meaning-in-life.html

 

You could therefore say that learning to play an instrument, no matter what the outcome, is one of the healthiest activities you could pursue in life.

 

But, of course, as outlined in a number of articles on this Blog, in order to feel you are experiencing the above outcomes, you need to be learning music in a healthy fashion.

 

Making sure you are:

 

1.            Forging connections through your music.

 

This can take many forms.

 

The first relationship you forge is with your teacher.

 

It is ok, to teach yourself but it is also definitely worth finding someone to help you learn music.

 

When you have a good teacher and a good relationship with them, you will often find that they become a mentor in your life and a person who can give you guidance in many other things besides music.

 

So, just be aware that it is really important to choose a teacher not based on how well they play but on:

 

• How well they communicate,
• How welcome and comfortable they make you feel,
• How organised and professional they are,
• Their awareness of your needs and your boundaries, and
• Their ability to help you achieve your goals and broaden your horizons.

 

Later on your musical path, you will hopefully get to play with others.

 

It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to connect with people through playing music and you can achieve this by:

 

• joining a choir,
• organising a jam with your friends,
• going to open mic nights, or
• forming a band.

 

If you are a musician who learns composed pieces, find out about the composer and their life.  That way you will understand the meaning behind the music and how the times they were living in impacted upon them.  It’s so interesting to know a little about life in the past and history.

 

If you want to read a little more about this you may enjoy this Article series.

 

 

2.            Broadening Your Interests

 

Forging connections with others and investigating the lives of people we admire will inevitably broaden interest in the world and in history, making you a much more interesting and knowledgeable person.

 

When we talk to other people, or play music with them, we discover new ideas, concepts and thoughts that can lead anywhere we wish to take them.

 

I think you would agree this makes life much more exciting and enjoyable.

 

 

3.            Challenging yourself and achieving goals.

 

Life would be incredibly boring if everything was easy.

 

Challenge is one of the best paths to self-discovery and learning music is one of the greatest, never-ending challenges you can meet.

 

You never get to the finish line when you learn music, so it is something that can hold your interest for the rest of your life.

 

The thing I love about learning music is that at every stage there is challenge and there is achievement.

 

These two aspects need to be well-balanced in order for you to continue enjoying your learning.

 

So, again, having good guidance from your teacher and using useful resources, such as the practice diary, which encourages self-reflection, is highly important for healthy learning outcomes.

 

 

4.            Problem-solving

 

Problem solving is such an important skill for any person to develop if they are to become self-sufficient and confident in life.

 

It has been proven in many studies that the music helps children to develop this skill.

 

“A small study was done two years back involving ten three-year-olds who were tested on their ability to put together a puzzle and the speed at which they could do it (“Learning Keys” 24).

 

After the initial test was taken, five of the children were given singing lessons for 30 minutes a day and the other five were given piano lessons for 15 minutes a week (24). The lessons were conducted over a six- month period of time, and after the six months, all of the kids showed substantial improvement in the speed at which they could put together the puzzle (24).

 

The researchers understand this skill in putting pieces of a puzzle together as the same reasoning that engineers, chess players and high-level mathematicians use. In this study of inner-city kids, their initial scores were below the national average, but afterwards their scores nearly doubled (24).

 

The term they give to the type of reasoning and thought that goes into putting pieces of a puzzle together is called abstract reasoning. By teaching music, people exercise the same abstract reasoning skills that they use for doing math or some other exercise in which the people have to visualize in their head.

 

An eight month study was conducted by Frances H. Rauscher of the University of California at Irvine, in which 19 preschoolers, ranging in age from three to five, received weekly keyboard and daily singing lessons while another 15 preschoolers received no musical training at all (Bower 143).

 

At the start, middle and end of the study, the subjects were tested on five spatial reasoning tasks (143). After only 4 months, scores on the test to assemble a puzzle to form a picture improved dramatically for the group with the musical training, while the control group didn’t, even though both groups started out with the same scores (143).

 

It can be understood that this kind of improvement may not be substantial enough to alter the way people are fundamentally taught, but its results cannot be ignored. Rauscher explains, “Music instruction can improve a child’s spatial intelligence for a long time, perhaps permanently” (qtd. in Bower 143).” http://www.reversespins.com/effectsofmusic.html

 

For adults, learning music would have the same affect but would perhaps take longer to recognise because our brains have already been “hard-wired” in certain ways.

 

However, it has been proven that our brains are “plastic” and therefore always able to change and improve to meet the challenges of our circumstance.

 

 

 

 

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

 

 

In my experience as a student, I often didn’t know what or how to practice. It all made sense in the lesson but when I got home I just felt defeated.  I know I was not the only one to feel this way and it was the reason I ‘stop started’ in music.  Therefore, as a teacher I implement a Practice Diary to help students learn how to practice and a part of the lesson is always dedicated to discussing what is going on in the practice room.

 

WHEN TO PRACTICE

We are unique Beings and therefore need to discover our unique way of practicing.  For example, I find I like to do my technical exercises early in the morning and my creative work later in the day but this does not always fit in with my work schedule or even the way I feel sometimes, so I need to be able to adapt my practice to ever-shifting circumstances.  The Practice Diary, which will be detailed later on this site, will help you to explore what works best for you.  Discuss with your teacher the challenges of making practice a part of your life so they can give you some good ideas on how to tackle them.  The best time for you to play your instrument is when you can relax, find some privacy and when you don’t feel too tired.

 

Many school children have after school activities making it difficult to find a time to practice. Consider the times after school, either just after a snack on returning home or just before dinner or just after dinner.  For parents, practice times to consider are just before the end of the school day or early in the morning or after children are in bed.  I prefer the latter, even though I am tired, I approach my practice time with the knowledge that it will be relaxing and rejuvenating.

 

For many reasons, it may take a while to find the time and space in your life to practice.  Try starting with very short sessions when you first begin learning your instrument, say, five to fifteen minutes at a time.  As you progress, you can lengthen these sessions, or do several short sessions throughout the day.  Consistency is the key.

 

A very common problem is the thought that “if I can’t practice for at least half an hour or an hour it isn’t worth me sitting down to it”.  Instead of giving into this thought, grab five or ten minutes throughout your day and you will feel content that you have connected with your music and be surprised by how much you can actually progress with these short times.

 

WHERE TO PRACTICE

 

Making your practice space supportive to your work can improve its quality.  Compare your working space to a best friend that is welcoming and there for you at all times.  Try to make it a place where everything you need is easy to access without having to set up or search for resources and equipment.  You don’t need a whole room for this.  It can just be a corner of one room dedicated to the task of learning your instrument.

 

Ideally your practice space should have:

 

• Privacy (and most likely quiet, though you may choose to have music or some other background noise)
• Your instrument (and other equipment such as music stand, if needed, CD player, and metronome)
• A clock or timer
• Pens (to write in your Practice Diary)
• Resources  (e.g. printed music, reference books, tapes, videos, CDs etc.)
• Practice Diary
• Heating or cooling to a comfortable temperature
• Ornaments which calm, inspire and please your aesthetic taste (e.g. posters, incense, flowers, books, sayings etc)
• Drinking water

 

Privacy

 

To be present with your activities you need to be able to concentrate so that you can fully absorb the learning taking place.  If other people or animals are in your space they may cause distraction.  Ideally, peace and quiet should be available to you – both inwardly and outwardly, so if you do find that you have something pressing to do and you can’t quite concentrate because you keep thinking about it (e.g. eating, washing, paying a bill etc) do what you need to do and come back to your session later, that way the quality and enjoyment of your playing will be better.  If there is too much disturbance in your practice environment, try to find ways of escaping it e.g. can you use earplugs or headphones or, try coming back to your work later.

 

Your Instrument

 

Obviously, it is very important to have the instrument and other equipment you need, however, the reality is that when you are beginning to learn, you may not be sure you will want to continue or you may not have the money to invest in buying whatever is needed.  There are often ways to overcome this and maybe your teacher can help by lending you some equipment or putting you in touch with government schemes or other students who are selling their equipment.  I have known drummers who have begun to learn co-ordination exercises with phone books and sticks, or pianists who have been able to play the keyboard at their local church or a friend’s house.  Sometimes it can be beneficial to start without the basics because you will find ways to be creative and inventive.

 

A clock or timer

 

It is important to know how long you spend on each exercise and make sure you do not spend too much time on any one aspect of your music while sacrificing time spent on another.

 

Often ten to fifteen minutes (and sometimes less) is enough time spent on any one task because you will only improve in this amount of time.  If you spend more time, say on trying to get the fingering right for scales, you may start to actually get worse at the activity after five minutes.  This is an observation I have made from my own practice and that of my students, i.e. that there is an optimum learning time.  For example, you may improve on an exercise but if you continue for too long, you may get worse.  I call this a ‘saturation point’ because, like a sponge, we can only absorb so much in any one sitting.  You will know when you have reached a saturation point because you will start to ‘lose’ what you were able to do a couple of minutes ago and begin to feel frustrated or even tired.  When this happens it is vital you move on to another task.  When you come back to the activity in your next session, you will find an improvement and you can work on it again.

 

Pens/pencils

 

These will be needed to fill in your Practice Diary and note any questions or reflections/conclusions which arise when you are learning alone.  Note things down as you experience them because often, if you leave it until after your session, you will forget important realisations or what you wanted to ask your teacher.  Keeping track of what you have done in each practice session ensures you will not forget to do the work you have set out to do between your lessons.  You may also want to note down ideas that come to you during your session, even if they are not related to music.  I often find I remember I have to do certain chores when I am practicing.  Just note them down in your Diary and you won’t have to worry about remembering to do them.

 

Resources

 

It is always good to have your resources organised and readily available to you.  If you receive handouts during the week from your teacher, keep them in good condition by using folders and make sure you know how to find them quickly. The information you receive on how to practice each task must be implemented as precisely as possible because if you practice something incorrectly, it will take you double the time to break the habit and relearn to do it the right way – so refer to your notes.  If you don’t understand your resources, you can leave that work for the week and clarify it with your teacher at a later time.

 

Practice Diary

 

Your Practice Diary helps you to keep track of what you are doing and note down important information to bring to your teacher next lesson so they can better guide your learning.  Keep the Diary in your practice space and use it to your best ability.

 

A comfortable temperature

 

If you are uncomfortable, too cold or too hot, it is going to be a lot harder for you to concentrate and achieve the best mental state required for progress.  So, if possible, regulate the temperature of your environment to suit you.

 

Ornaments which calm and inspire

 

Keeping in mind the practice space should be a place you want to be in, you may like to use sensory objects such as pictures, music or incense which help you to relax and inspire you.  I noticed that when I moved recently, my singing students were complaining I had no pictures on the wall to look at while they were singing.  They said that looking at the pictures I had before helped them be more present with their music because their mind didn’t wander.

 

Drinking water

 

Playing your instrument or singing can often make you thirsty.  Having some water to hand saves you from breaking the flow of your session to go elsewhere for a drink. Water is also good for concentration, performance and endurance.

 

HOW TO PRACTICE

 

What does it mean to practice well?  Mainly it is that you endeavor to cover all aspects of music such as technique, harmony, creativity and rhythm while ensuring your practice time is ACE.

 

Achievable

Challenging

Enjoyable

 

 

Achievable

 

This means setting realistic targets for yourself, for the future and present.  For example, if you have just started to learn your instrument, you wouldn’t hope to play a Bach fugue straight away.  This would be unrealistic because you have not yet developed the skills required for it, but you may set a target of learning how to read music on the stave and working on your scales so that later you will be able to play the fugue.

 

Making your practice achievable means knowing how to go about your learning. Your teacher will help you with this but if you always think about breaking down your work into small, manageable chunks you will be successful.

 

Challenging

 

If your practice is too easy you will become bored and if it is too hard you may start to feel incapable. However, you need to be challenged so you are interested and motivated to keep learning.  In order to find the ‘challenge’ in your work, have something in mind that you strongly desire to do.  It could be to learn a piece you particularly like or want to perform.  Work with your teacher and explore how you can best achieve this goal, firstly by doing exercises relating to this task, then building upon the exercises.

 

Enjoyable

 

If you can relax and just be present with the process of learning to sing or play your instrument, you will be able to fully enjoy music.  After some time of teaching a student I will ask them if they can imagine what their lives would be like without playing or singing.  When they say they can’t imagine not doing their music practice, I know they are on a healthy path because music has become a life-enhancing pastime and not something where they are competing to get to the finish line.

 

Sometimes you may feel pursuing music is all too much. You may feel disheartened or demotivated and even want to give up.  This often happens when you compare your ability to others and realise how much time and work you need to do in order to gain a certain skill.  But at these times try to remember that there is no end to what you can achieve and the process just takes as long as it takes.  It is better not to put a time limit on anything you are learning and just aim to get whatever you are doing to a level of ease.

 

You will get results from all the work you put in, especially if you know how to practice.  Try to keep in mind what you love about music and focus on those good feelings, whether you are playing a scale or a sonata.  Simply by being fully present and attentive to every task you carry out in music, you will reap rewards.

 

It is helpful if you can regularly look back and see how far you have come since you began learning.  You could play for several lifetimes and still not exhaust your musical possibilities.

 

Subscribe to the RSS at top of page for regular updates and activities to inspire your music practice!