Music BlogPracticing In Between Your Music Lessons

How many times have you heard “practice makes perfect”?  What a cliché! Well, they call them clichés for a reason.  The truth is you absolutely must practice in between your music lessons.  Unless of course you really don’t want to improve but that seems unlikely.

Now that we’ve established that practicing music is important how do we go about it?  Here are a few great tips to help you develop solid practice habits.  These are not instrument specific so they apply to piano, guitar, violin, ukulele drums, or any musical instrument you’re learning.

Find the right time to practice your music

Everyone has their “best times” during the day when they are more alert and primed for learning.  This is often first thing in the morning but not always.   If it is in the morning then schedule your practicing right after breakfast every day.  If you can maintain this schedule for several weeks you will begin to develop a habit.  It will actually feel strange not to play your piano or guitar right after breakfast once it becomes a habit.  It does not have to be in the morning.  You can schedule your practice anytime but you should tie it to another activity.  If you play piano right after supper or immediately following your homework you will be tying it to another habit which will help you maintain a schedule.

Set a goal

Play this piano song 10 times and that guitar scale 5 times.  Once you’re done, you’re done.  It’s a good idea to have a practice log so you can mark  them as complete every day.  It always feels good to “check the box”!

Start with short practice sessions

For a beginning music student 20 or 30 minutes can feel like 2 or 3 hours.  It’s actually more important to play music every day even for shorter periods of time.  The magic is in the consistency.  Your budding music student will do just fine with 5 or 10 minutes a day as long as it’s done every day.  You can gradually increase the time as they get more advanced.

Stay positive and encouraging

This may be your child’s first music lesson experience.  One of the best things you can do for them is encourage and support them.  Here at Brampton School of Music we have several programs designed to support you child’s music lesson journey but there will never be anything as powerful as a pat on the back from mom or dad.