“How To Get The Most Out Of Your Practice”
I want to cover some concepts that I hope will stick with you for a long time. Actually, they are “ATTITUDES” you should possess when it comes to practicing. There are 8.
Practice must be:
1) Purposed
You’ve heard it before... “Without a vision, the people perish.” It’s true here too. It’s absolutely impossible to reach for GREATNESS without a clear vision of where you want to go. It’s one thing to just get out of the house and lollygag aimlessly down the coast to get some fresh air, not knowing where you’re headed. It’s another thing when that approach constantly gets applied to your playing.
And sadly, that’s what most of us do... not just for some “fresh air”... but ALL THE TIME. We pull out our instruments and lollygag pointlessly, hoping to get better. We just sit down and play something in the name of “practicing.”
I have news for you...
If you’re always sitting down and playing only stuff you already know, then it’s not practice... it’s REHEARSAL. It’s PROCRASTINATION. There are times and places for “rehearsal” but if you want true momentum, it starts with having a long term vision (purpose) that you can break into smaller, more digestible chunks (goals) you can work on during each 30-90 minute practice session.
You know that feeling you get when your room is just messy? When things get out of control? (Come on! Don’t act like things don’t get disorganized in your life!!!)
Now... you know the feeling when you finally get things straightened up, organized, nice-looking.
Feels good doesn’t it?
What if practice felt that way? What if there was a strategic plan and every time you sat down, you knew you were positioning yourself closer and closer to the end goal? Wouldn’t that feel good? Having “purpose” and organizing everything around it feels good and is the first step to effective practice.
2) Planned
There’s another saying... “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I know some people are spontaneous and being on the edge works for them. And I also know there are many ways to peel an “orange.”
Having purpose and vision will only go so far if you don’t take action by planning your practice. Research studies actually show that when you carefully plan a routine activity (like exercising, laundry days) and do it as close to the same time, EVERY TIME, something magical happens.
You “habitualize” the activity and it becomes a part of your life rather than a “chore” you have to do. So, if you can (and I realize everyone’s schedule is different), try to pick a time and make it an “event”... Something you plan and keep and watch your growth skyrocket!
3) Pushed
Practice must also be “pushed.” This means you have to get outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Most musicians want to merely “rehearse” what they already know rather than push themselves to learn new stuff (like playing in unfamiliar keys, learning bigger chords that are hard to reach or weird for the fingers to play). For some reason, there’s just something about “harder stuff” that gets boring for musicians who fall into the rehearsal trance. They feel good knowing they can play what they know (remember “CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE”?). But when it comes to playing something that’s challenging, if they can’t do it in 5 minutes, practice is over.
Does this sound familiar?
If so, make it one of your priorities to consciously keep practice PUSHED and watch how far you get.
4) Pumped
This one may sound foolish but keeping high energy is important. Have a spirit of expectation and anticipation, knowing that you’re going to tackle something you’ve never tackled before (...well, that is, if you’re making your practice “pushed”).
Be excited about practicing. Don’t look at the 30-90 minutes per day as a mundane task.
Get pumped up!
Change the association your mind has to practicing. In fact, it’s the same thing as exercising. If the mind links the part of your exercise where you feel like you can’t go on…(you know? That part at the “tail end” when you’re thinking about giving in)... well if the mind links that to “pain,” then the experience will be gruesome and you probably won’t stick with it for long. But if your mind links that part of the exercise to “triumph” and “overcoming this last part of the battle,” then what was seen as pain is now a meaningful goal to reach... a battle to conquer.
If you want to shatter the glass ceiling that’s holding you back from getting to the next level, you must first get pumped or you won’t build enough passionate momentum to ram through the glass.
“You’ll end up with a big knot upside your head.”
...to be continued
Practice must be:
1) Purposed
You’ve heard it before... “Without a vision, the people perish.” It’s true here too. It’s absolutely impossible to reach for GREATNESS without a clear vision of where you want to go. It’s one thing to just get out of the house and lollygag aimlessly down the coast to get some fresh air, not knowing where you’re headed. It’s another thing when that approach constantly gets applied to your playing.
And sadly, that’s what most of us do... not just for some “fresh air”... but ALL THE TIME. We pull out our instruments and lollygag pointlessly, hoping to get better. We just sit down and play something in the name of “practicing.”
I have news for you...
If you’re always sitting down and playing only stuff you already know, then it’s not practice... it’s REHEARSAL. It’s PROCRASTINATION. There are times and places for “rehearsal” but if you want true momentum, it starts with having a long term vision (purpose) that you can break into smaller, more digestible chunks (goals) you can work on during each 30-90 minute practice session.
You know that feeling you get when your room is just messy? When things get out of control? (Come on! Don’t act like things don’t get disorganized in your life!!!)
Now... you know the feeling when you finally get things straightened up, organized, nice-looking.
Feels good doesn’t it?
What if practice felt that way? What if there was a strategic plan and every time you sat down, you knew you were positioning yourself closer and closer to the end goal? Wouldn’t that feel good? Having “purpose” and organizing everything around it feels good and is the first step to effective practice.
2) Planned
There’s another saying... “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I know some people are spontaneous and being on the edge works for them. And I also know there are many ways to peel an “orange.”
Having purpose and vision will only go so far if you don’t take action by planning your practice. Research studies actually show that when you carefully plan a routine activity (like exercising, laundry days) and do it as close to the same time, EVERY TIME, something magical happens.
You “habitualize” the activity and it becomes a part of your life rather than a “chore” you have to do. So, if you can (and I realize everyone’s schedule is different), try to pick a time and make it an “event”... Something you plan and keep and watch your growth skyrocket!
3) Pushed
Practice must also be “pushed.” This means you have to get outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Most musicians want to merely “rehearse” what they already know rather than push themselves to learn new stuff (like playing in unfamiliar keys, learning bigger chords that are hard to reach or weird for the fingers to play). For some reason, there’s just something about “harder stuff” that gets boring for musicians who fall into the rehearsal trance. They feel good knowing they can play what they know (remember “CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE”?). But when it comes to playing something that’s challenging, if they can’t do it in 5 minutes, practice is over.
Does this sound familiar?
If so, make it one of your priorities to consciously keep practice PUSHED and watch how far you get.
4) Pumped
This one may sound foolish but keeping high energy is important. Have a spirit of expectation and anticipation, knowing that you’re going to tackle something you’ve never tackled before (...well, that is, if you’re making your practice “pushed”).
Be excited about practicing. Don’t look at the 30-90 minutes per day as a mundane task.
Get pumped up!
Change the association your mind has to practicing. In fact, it’s the same thing as exercising. If the mind links the part of your exercise where you feel like you can’t go on…(you know? That part at the “tail end” when you’re thinking about giving in)... well if the mind links that to “pain,” then the experience will be gruesome and you probably won’t stick with it for long. But if your mind links that part of the exercise to “triumph” and “overcoming this last part of the battle,” then what was seen as pain is now a meaningful goal to reach... a battle to conquer.
If you want to shatter the glass ceiling that’s holding you back from getting to the next level, you must first get pumped or you won’t build enough passionate momentum to ram through the glass.
“You’ll end up with a big knot upside your head.”
...to be continued