Practicing doesn't have to be a chore. Here are 10 tips to make your practice sessions more enjoyable and to help you reap the rewards from all that hard work.
1. Think Positive
Practice because you want to, not because you feel you have to. If you approach your practice sessions with the right attitude you'll get a lot more done -- and feel better about it.
2. Make a Plan
When you sit down to practice, have a plan in mind. You might want to practice a scale, part of a new piece, some chord patterns, or whatever. Focus on improving one thing at a time and you'll make progress a lot faster.3. Practice Chords and Scales
Most of the music you play contains chords and scales. To make sure you feel comfortable with them, practice chords and scales separately. Set aside a few minutes a day, or use a couple of scales as a warm-up to your session. Pick a different scale or chord every day for variety and to make sure you play them all.4. Play With Others
You don’t always have to practice alone. You could learn a duet with another student, accompany a singer or other soloist, play in a band, or join a local orchestra or music group. As long as you're playing you'll be learning something. And working with others is always fun.5. Hands Separately
Avoid trying to learn everything at once. If a piece is difficult, work on one hand at a time. Keep doing so until you're confident you've got it. Then slowly bring the two hands together. Sooner or later it will all fall into place.6. Take Your Time
If you can, try to practice in small chunks of time throughout the day, rather than in one long session. For instance, it might be possible to practice for ten minutes in the morning and twenty minutes in the early evening. That way you won’t get bored and you'll be less likely to run out of steam.7. Spice Things Up
PDI from Wikimedia Commons
To keep your practice sessions from getting stale, add some variety. Practice things in a different order. Try playing a piece you know well in a different key. Find out what it would sound like in a minor key rather than a major one. Play scales as fast or as slow as you can, or all staccato, or with a jazzy rhythm, or leaving out every fifth note. Use your imagination to put some pizzazz back into your practice routine.
