Perspectives on Practice

Let’s be honest - practising your instrument can often feel like a chore. I wanted to share this blog post to hopefully get you thinking about how it can feel a bit less like that, and also explain my philosophy on what I’m actually asking my students to do when I ask them to do some practise. 

It’s easy to think of your (probably weekly) music lesson as a kind of deadline for getting a piece or a technique right, and one in which you’re going to have to perform this to your teacher. Then, if there has been any kind of struggle at all during the week, it’s more than likely that you’ll feel less than enthusiastic about this. In turn, that means you’re less likely to practise. Essentially, I think that viewing the lessons as the ‘main event’ and the practise as preparation for it isn’t actually that helpful. 

Instead, try and think of it like this - the main event, the main part of your musical learning is the work you do on your own. It’s like your own project - you are in charge. The lessons are check-in points, and a chance to get more advice and learn new things from a teacher. They should give you a bit of momentum so that you can carry on with your work during the week. While the idea of you being in charge can seem a little daunting, it actually gives you a lot more freedom and opportunities. I’m really keen on teaching my students not just how to play pieces or their instruments, but how to think about what they’re learning so that they can make decisions about what needs practising. If you can start thinking in that way, you’re well on your way. 

Let me tell you a little bit about my perspective as a teacher. I’m not looking to be annoyed at any mistakes a student makes when playing something, and I’m not looking for perfection. What’s really useful for me and makes for a really productive lesson is knowing what students are struggling with, what they’re doing well at, what they’re enjoying and what they’re not enjoying as much. Mistakes and struggling are not a problem - if they didn’t exist, nobody would ever learn anything and music wouldn’t be rewarding. I’d so much rather students practised and could have an honest discussion with me about how they are managing and feeling as an alternative to just playing everything perfectly or, as can sometimes be the case, getting so scared of ‘failure’ (which in your mind might mean making a mistake, something which actually helps learning rather than hindering it) that practise doesn’t really happen at all. 

It can also be a bit difficult to find time to practise enough when everything else in life is going on, so let me say this: be honest about that too. This is your project, and if you think of it as such I promise you will gradually start getting more and more out of your work and you will find yourself enjoying it more and more. And if you enjoy it more and more, you’re more likely to want to find time to practise. Of course, there will always be frustrating moments and times when you feel like you just can’t do it - and that’s fine too. Note it down and come back to it another time or talk it through honestly with your teacher. There should never be any pressure or embarrassment about not being able to do something in the way you might want to - because a proper discussion about it will mean you will get there eventually. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean that as a teacher I don’t have expectations. There are definitely certain things that need to be worked on thoroughly in order to make progress. Technical ability is really important, and so things like scales, studies and theory are always going to form part of the foundation of what is learned, and I do expect students to engage with that. But even with these things, it’s important to view them not as something which has to be done to be ticked off the list, but as something which you can see that will help your overall project work, and which you can directly apply to it. For example, in any piece, knowing scale or arpeggio patterns is going to help you navigate the patterns in it, even if they are a little different. Scales can also be used really imaginatively, and you can practise all sorts with them such as rhythm, technique, tuning, dynamics etc. A good question to ask yourself is ‘how can I use what I already know to help me learn more about how to do this?’.

Regular practice is also important, as it maintains how you’re doing. But you should be careful to set small, achievable goals for each practice session. I often get asked how often and for how long students should practise. I say three times a week minimum, but honestly that’s not the most helpful answer. The best rule to set yourself is to have small things you want to achieve within your project work, and sit down and try to reach them over a number of sessions. That will take as long as it takes, and if you run out of time - so be it. You tried. Often, progress will have been made in small amounts, even if you can’t see that yourself. That’s definitely something to remember -  I see it all the time - students making progress just because they had a go, even if they haven’t noticed.

My parents always used to tell me to stop making up my own tunes, and would often say ‘practice what you’re supposed to be practicing!’ Well, I’m here to tell you that if you want to make up your own tunes, and are willing to dedicate a few sessions to actually taking that seriously and making progress with it, then that is what you’re supposed to be practising. Often you might get other pieces and technical exercises in lessons - these are a great thing to include in your work in the week, as they can get you warmed up, or in the right frame of mind, and help improve your technical ability so that you can make up even better tunes, so don’t ignore them - find ways to make them work for you. 

There will always be more to say on this very important issue, but the point I want to leave you with is that as a teacher, when I ask you to go away and learn something over the week, I’m never expecting perfection, simply engagement and a bit of effort. I think lots of students would be surprised to discover how willing teachers are to be guided by them in terms of what you enjoy and what can be got out of the experience of learning things on an instrument. Enjoyment is the best route to progress, so go and have fun with your instrument using what you’ve learned - that’s what practice should really be about!