The power of practice

No one can really just pick up an instrument and play it perfectly but we know how hard it can be to find time to dedicate to practice. Below we explore a few different ways to practise and ideas on how to make your practice more enjoyable and effective in general.

Small and often

Don’t worry about finding spare hours to get going with practice. It’s far better to practise little and often than to wait for that spare chunk of time that may never come. Practising, even if it’s only for 5 minutes a day, is likely to help you progress and remember what you learn from one lesson to the next.

Target difficult areas

It's all too tempting to ignore the bits that you have trouble with in favour of getting to the bits you can play with confidence. But they won't stop being hard by magic! Pinpoint what you are struggling with and work on it until it feels easier. Draw all over your music, practise difficult rhythms on one note, prastice difficult notes with other rhythms, play it backwards, play it slowly, play it even slower, but whatever you do don’t just ignore it.

Structure your practice

Creating a plan for your practice and choosing one specific goal for each practice session is a brilliant way to keep motivated. You could focus on many things including: one phrase, one technique, one piece, the speed you can play at, breath control, your ability to understand and play rhythms, dynamics, or tuning.

Join a group

Practice is something that can become a chore if you let it and however good you are, it is often a lonely activity. One way to add some variety to your practice, give yourself a reason to keep working at those difficult skills, and hopefully make some friends in the process, is to join a group. For an exhaustive list of all Making Music member groups in your area, use our find a group tool.

As always, get in touch if you have any questions or need any help!