How to practice an instrument is one of the most underrated and least talked about topics when it comes to learning an instrument! There are lots of ways to practice, lots of techniques, and lots of tools you can use. But – the first thing to consider is enjoyment!
If you are not enjoying your practice then you are going to really struggle to gain any amount of meaningful progress! However you have to set yourself up for an enjoyable practice session… it might not happen naturally.
The Science
Lets look at the science for a moment. Happiness comes to humans in the form of chemicals and hormones. The chemical Dopamine is released in the body when we achieve a goal or feel good about some work we have done. So this is the key to efficient and enjoyable practice!
Making Practice Work for You
You might ask, “how does this apply in the real world?” . The answer lies in the small attainable goals that you set out for yourself along the way. Pick a goal that you know you can definitely achieve with a bit of time and effort. Something like:
- learning a beat
- learning a riff
- learning a scale at a certain speed
- learning a new chord
- learning a new technique
Celebrate!
Take the time to sit down and work to your goal using small chunks of practice (5-10 minutes at a time). Once you have achieved the goal it is important to celebrate it – you don’t need to run around the room cheering – but take a moment to appreciate that you just achieved what you set out to do. Do NOT say to yourself “yeah but look how much more I’ve got to do”. There will always be more and there is always time to do it. What’s the rush? Take your time and soak up that dopamine from your achievement, you’re learning!
Keeping the Practice Going!
From that point on it’s easy: you keep repeating the same process and watch your progress. It’s also worth recording yourself at intervals along the way, every couple of months or so to track your progress, it also helps you get used to playing in front of a camera! If you’re happy to be featured, we love to share our students’ progress on our YouTube channel!
I mentioned to do 5 – 10 minutes practice sessions. That’s because it’s important that you don’t over-do it! If you’re really into and it’s going really well, and you’re having a great time, then by all means keep going! Otherwise small “bitesize” practice sessions are great. New skills are learnt by repeatedly building and strengthening new neurones in the brain and this happens best with REGULAR repetition. Sitting there for 2 hours one day and then nothing for a week is going to be far less effective than 15 minutes every day!
It’s worth remembering that this advice is targeted to those that struggle to find the motivation to practice