Ms. Kenesha’s Top 5 Practice Tips!
Practicing your instrument can be frustrating, and it’s tempting to just play all the pieces you have already mastered instead of painstakingly developing new skills. So with that in mind, what can be done to truly make your practice time meaningful? I have compiled a list of my favorite practice tips to help you keep improving your skills!
Isolate isolate isolate. If there’s a particular section of your piece that you would like to improve, isolate as many different ways as you can. If the finger pattern is difficult try isolating that! If the bowing is difficult, isolate that! Or maybe the rhythm is the part that is giving you trouble, clap it out! Work on the piece in small sections and focus on looking for improvement instead of how many repetitions you have done or how much time has passed.
Slow and steady. As much as it pains me to say it, practicing slowly is crucial to improving. I like to practice difficult passages with a metronome slowly speeding up the tempo once I start feeling more comfortable. Speeding it up with the metronome really helps because if you speed it up incrementally, it feels much more natural, and by the time you get to the actual suggested tempo, it won’t even feel that fast!
Review older pieces. Make sure you retain what you’ve previously learned by reviewing, You can try out your new techniques on older pieces, play around with articulations, bowings, dynamics, and transposing to keep it fresh.
Brush up on sight reading. Taking time to work on difficulties in our pieces is a skill in itself, but working on sight reading will improve your ability to pick up on new pieces more quickly. Take some time when you practice to visit sightreadingfactory.com and brush up on your skills!
Listen to more music! Practicing can become monotonous and it is important to remember what we are aspiring to. Take a few minutes every day to explore the musical possibilities that are out there and imagine the ones that you can create as you go on your own musical journey honing the craft. Make sure you aren’t just stuck in the practice room going over music that’s frustrating you. Listen to music that excites you and inspires you to keep practicing!
Practicing isn’t always fun, but with a little creativity you can mix things up and make it a more enjoyable experience. What’s your favorite practice tip that isn’t listed here?