How To Practice
Are you taking music lessons and wondered why you might not be progressing as fast as you would like? Well, most of the time, it is because of the lack of practice. What if you are practicing everyday, and you are still not progressing? This is caused by how you practice!
“Practicing with intent” is my motto when I first describe practicing to my students. Practicing with intent means you are practicing what is assigned to you with a purpose. Whether it is paying attention to a detail that you need to fix or working on that specific problem spot, make sure you are not just “playing”.
One great thing you can do to be efficient in your practice session is to isolate your problem spots and work on them separately out of context of the exercise, song, or piece you are playing. As you isolate, break out the metronome, and play the excerpt at a tempo that you can play correctly the first time. After, practice that excerpt three times consecutively at that tempo. If you can play it correctly three times consecutively, then your body is able to move the tempo faster. Only move the tempo faster one or two “clicks” on the metronome.
This works for all instruments, and this is the fastest way to fix a problem spot or gain speed on that tough lick you are learning!
