5 Practice Habits You Need

Perhaps the bane of every aspiring musician's existence is practicing. Ugh! I remember setting the kitchen timer for 30 minutes and sitting down to drill finger exercises and songs that were just plain boring. It took quitting piano lessons 3 times before I finally started practicing because I wanted to!

Lots of teachers have their own philosophies about how students should practice. 30 minutes 5 days a week seems to be the most common. The problem with this practice method is it turns your hobby into a job. And once your hobby is a job, you stop enjoying it!

That being said, frequent and consistent practicing is vital for every musician, whether they've just taken up an instrument or play in a symphony! You have to think of it more like brushing your teeth than riding a bike. It's hard to make up for lost time.

I've discovered some ways to make practicing both meaningful and enjoyable! Here's 5 of them:

- Practice until you've had enough and then do it once more

- Reward yourself with fun music

- Speak to yourself kindly

- Practice more than once a day

- Remember your end goal

First, practicing until you've had enough and then once more is a technique I discovered while taking a college-level Organ class. Most of the materials we were learning seemed to easy to me and it was hard to get motivated. Instead of pushing myself to spend the amount of time I thought I needed to, I decided to listen to myself and only practice the amount I wanted. With this method, sometimes I only played a piece twice in a week; one play-through and I'd had enough, so I played it once more. Adding that once more onto the end of your practice is vital. Playing music is so psychological, and it's important to teach your brain that practicing isn't a burden. If you overdo it, you'll start to lose the enjoyment of playing. If you under-do it, you probably won't progress, or at least not at the pace you're hoping. Listen to your brain and body to know when you've had enough. Adding one more play through of your song or exercise can break down psychological barriers you might have that's stopping you from playing the way you want.

Rewarding yourself with fun music is the next important step for a good practice. If you reward your hard work with ending your practice, and grabbing a snack, eventually your brain will start longing for practice to be over! Instead, reward yourself with a song you enjoy playing. It could be anything! It could be picking out the melody of a song from the radio, an old song you've had memorized for years, or something completely different from your practice. This way, your brain will associate practicing with fun, joyful music, instead of perhaps the laborious finger exercises you just forced yourself to do.

Kind self-talk is important in every aspect of your life, but especially in music practice. It's so easy to start beating yourself up when you miss the same note over and over. It's tempting to bully yourself into a longer practice or only doing the "boring" stuff. No! Music is an art, and its purpose is to bring the listener and the performer joy. Don't associate critical words with your practice. Instead tell yourself "every great musician misses a note from time to time" "I'll do one more finger exercise and then leave it for tomorrow when I feel more fresh" "Having an off practice doesn't make me a bad musician". Try it, your brain will thank you.

Often, setting aside a big chunk of time to practice is unrealistic. Whether you're a busy kid with homework and friends, or a busy adult with obligations and a work-life balance, finding an hour 5 days a week can be crazy! And if it's a burden to sit down for a long time, it will eventually stop being a priority. Instead, sit down for a minute or two while your breakfast is in the microwave. Go straight to the piano for 10 minutes once you get home. Make it part of your bedtime routine. Long practices don't necessarily mean good practices.

And finally, remember your end goal. Where do you see yourself in a few months or 10 years? Are you preparing for a recital? Do you want to play in a jazz sextet? When you're in the throws of a tedious practice, a simple reminder or a 30 second visualization of where you're heading can help tremendously. Remember, your teacher is assigning you these things to help you grow as a musician, not just as busy work to fill in your practice time.

Did I miss one of your favorite practice techniques? How do you like to reward yourself for a good practice? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Practicing!