9 Steps to Efficient Practicing
Discover techniques the pros use to sing in various vocal styles and learn to create those sounds.
Make Every Moment Count
by Meredith Laing
1 Have a goal.
Structure your practice session around goals rather than a set time frame. Although you might have a general idea of how much time you have available to practice, you need a more specific plan than “I’m going to practice until 6:00 p.m.” Instead, decide exactly what you want to accomplish and how you’ll go about it. If you continually set and meet goals, you’ll stay motivated and productive.
2 Break it down.
If there are several different issues to work out within one section of music, be sure to separate them. Pianists and drummers, for example, can work on the right and left hands separately. String and guitar players can separate bowing or picking technique from left hand technique by bowing or picking open strings before adding in the notes. Similarly, wind players can break down a difficult passage by first tonguing a difficult rhythm on a single note. In the
long run, things will come together more quickly and you won’t become frustrated, if you’re patient and avoid the
temptation to tackle everything at once.
3 Take it slow.
When learning new music, always start well below the final tempo; half-speed is good as a general rule. If you play through things too fast, too soon, you’ll ingrain bad habits into your muscle memory that will be difficult and time-consuming to unlearn. Use a metronome to keep your pace steady. Then, once you can play accurately at a slow tempo, gradually increase the speed, one metronome click at a time.
4 Isolate issues.
Too often, people want to simply play their music start to finish, but this is an extremely inefficient way to practice. Really, it’s not necessary to play straight through your repertoire until a couple weeks prior to the performance. Until then, isolate very small sections. If you’re working on something like dynamics or phrasing, you might take a couple of measures at a time. If you’re working on intonation, you might take just two notes at a time. It may seem like a slower way to work, but you’re actually getting a lot more accomplished than you would by playing larger chunks.
5 Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Once you’ve isolated a tricky section of music, repetition is key. Clearly, the more times you play something, the more likely it is to stick, so aim for perfection every time. Think of it this way: let’s say you’ve played something incorrectly nine times, and then on the tenth time, you play it right. At that point, you might think, okay,
I’ve got it, and move on to something else. But unfortunately, the problem will likely sneak back the next time youplay, since your brain and muscles are still more used to the incorrect way. Instead, practice the section until you can repeat it at least 10 times correctly. That way, you won’t be starting from scratch again the next day.
6 Make it harder than it is.
If you use little tricks to make your music temporarily more difficult to play, it will feel simple later on. For example, if you’re having trouble keeping a passage of eighth notes steady and even, try altering the rhythm. Instead of playing straight eighths, change the rhythm to alternating dotted eighth notes and sixteenth notes. You’ll feel how much easier it is when you return to the straight rhythm. For fast moving notes, try working up to a speed a few notches above the final performance tempo. Then, when you bring it back down, it will feel nice and relaxed. If you usually read from sheet music, try memorizing difficult sections. When you put the music back in front of you, you’ll find that you barely need it.
7 Listen.
It might seem obvious, but sometimes people forget one of the most important parts of music making: listening. If you catch your mind wandering or shutting down, concentrate on visualizing exactly how you want each note to sound. Then, if that doesn’t match what you’re hearing, brainstorm what you can do to fix it. Mindless practicing is a waste of your time; always keep your mind and your ears active and engaged.
8 Get a second opinion.
Without a teacher, conductor, or someone else to give you feedback, you might have a hard time critiquing yourself. In that case, you’re simply playing through your music without making significant progress. Try recording yourself. When you listen back, you’re guaranteed to hear things that you didn’t notice before. Also, try practicing in front of a mirror to catch problems with your posture and set-up.
9 Time it right.
It’s a good idea to practice soon after a lesson or rehearsal, when any problems that need to be worked out are still fresh in your mind. But at the same time, don’t try to practice after a stressful day or if you’re exhausted; you’ll just be miserable and unproductive. It’s much better to start fresh, when you’re relaxed and focused, than to worry about skipping a day or two.
