Practice Tips

Do you find it difficult to put in enough practice time, or to stick to a regular practice routine? Mark Wingfield has a look at the psychology of practising and ways of making it more likely that we'll actually put in the time we need.

Most of us want to improve our technique Its a never ending task of course; the better you get, the better you want to be - the goal posts just keep moving. But I don't think that's a bad thing. As you relentlessly pursue your ever moving goal posts, you may never be satisfied, but to everyone else's ears, you'll be sounding great.

Its worth remembering that what ever level of technique you need when you play live or record, you should be able to play with a third as much again when you play at home. In other words, when you play live or record, you should never count on stretching yourself technically, that would be too risky. Make sure your level of technique is high enough above what you actually intend to do, that it will be easy for you. This gives you the all important room for concentrating on content and expression, because you're not having to concentrate on trying hard to get the technique right.

The problem many people seem to have, is actually getting down to putting in enough practice on a regular basis. Of course that's what it all comes down to (being a good player) - concentrated practice and how much time you can put into it.

One thing that I think really helps to maintain a good level of regular practice, is to calm down about the whole thing. Yes, you want to get better. But what is the biggest (quite possibly the only) obstacle between you and that goal? The danger that you might not put in the necessary practice time. Why might you not put in the time you were so determined to do? Frustration, disillusionment, a feeling that you'll never get there. These are your real enemies. If you can get round these reactions, you will put in the time (if you have the determination to begin with).

The typical syndrome is this: You start with lots of drive and determination, you put in your regular practice. A few weeks go by and you start to get impatient, you noticed some initial improvement, but it seems to be slowing down now despite your regular practice. You start to feel despondent about reaching your goals. Despite the best of intentions, you gradually slip out of the habit of your regular practice. Does this sound familiar?

How do you combat this syndrome?

Keep in mind the following analogy of chipping away at a big stone. Two people are each given a huge bolder to chip away at with a chisel, they are told they must reduce it to gravel. One person chips away for a few days and barely makes a mark in the bolder let alone deduce it in size. So they give up thinking the task is impossible. The other person just keeps chipping away a tiny bit every day, they don't worry how long its taking or how little they seem to be taking off the bolder. The first person goes off to do other things and comes back a couple of years later and finds the person who's been chipping away, has actually now chipped the whole bolder into gravel.

This is an obvious story, I probably didn't need to spell it out, but it really is the same with practising. Its no magic secret; the people who have good technique have simply been able to stick to the task...chip away for long enough...its that simple.

It helps to calm down and try to relax about it. You need the drive to make you want to do it yes, but try and distance your self from that drive, keep it in the background, pushing things along motivating you. But don't let it actually enter into your practice sessions. There, it is likely to get in the way, cause frustration and impatience and that can lead to disillusionment.

I know its easy to say this and not necessarily as easy to do it. Its something most very good musicians have had to, or still do, struggle with.

It also helps if you can get really relaxed before you practice. Try to get into a meditative state. A couple of hours of concentrated, relaxed practice can be a really calming, centring activity. Plus the fact that you'll feel you actually did something, if nothing else was achieved that day, at least you put in your practice time. That's enough for some of us (myself included) to make a day when we don't achieve much else, seem worthwhile musically. And of course it very much is!

If you are tense and frustrated when you practice, its unlikely to be an enjoyable experience, nor is it likely to achieve much. If your practice sessions are a drudge you have to force yourself through, it won't be surprising if you find it hard to keep them up regularly. So try to cultivate a calm, relaxed emotionally detached approach to your practice sessions. Save your emotion for the actual playing! Of course you need to have the drive and (some would say, probably quite correctly) the obsession to perfect your craft and hone your concentration onto every detail. This sort of intense concentration is essential to making practice sessions really productive. Staying calm and relaxed makes this kind of concentration a lot easier.

Mark Wingfield