We believe any time spent on your instrument is positive but there are some key differences between Practising and Playing – and both are equally important…
We consider Practice or Practising as time spent on your instrument with a focus dedicated to acquiring or refining a musical skill. For example; this could be you learning a new song or musical piece or refining a technique.
For musicians, practising can be repetitive, intense and challenging – sometimes both physically and mentally!
” ‘Deliberate practice’, as defined by Ericsson et al. (1993), is conceptualized as goal-oriented, structured, and effortful…”
Susan Hallam MBE – Professor of Education and Music Psychology, reference – K. Anders Ericsson – Swedish Professor of Psychology
The importance of playing…
Playing is an essential part of your growth as a musician, whether you’re getting ready for a live performance, preparing for a musical grading or jamming to your favourite tunes in your room, the development of fluency is essential.
Play = ‘to engage in (an activity or game) for enjoyment.’
5 tips to help you practice effectively…
– Warm Up –
This can include stretches before you start playing or
simply starting off with something less demanding before moving onto to your
latest song or a more challenging exercise
– Attention to the Basics –
Keep checking and pay attention to your general technique, tone, position and posture throughout
– Tuning–
Simple but really important, not only because you’ll actually sound better when practising but
this will also help you with your musical ear and developing the skill of relative pitch in the longer term.
– Incorporate a mix of ‘Practice’ and ‘Playing’ –
maybe try a 50/50 split for your own overall enjoyment
– Be efficient with your time –
learn to start from different places within a piece of music, for example – instead of starting from the very beginning (if you’re already familiar with it) try to playing for a specific section or bar number etc.
Thank you for reading our ListenLoveLearn blog on how to practice effectively.
If you’re interested in learning more about our online music lessons you can get in touch for more info
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