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Knowing How to Practise
Everybody is told from a young age that 'practice makes perfect', and it's true that you can't expect to improve at anything, particularly a musical instrument, unless you're prepared to put in the necessary practice. However, knowing how to practise efficiently can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to assimilate new ideas. Simply playing through the same pieces again and again is unlikely to produce the results you're looking for, but often teachers don't spend enough time explaining to their pupils how to best go about their practice.
So, here are some suggestions on how to improve your practice:
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Always warm up. Playing an instrument is a physical as well as mental activity, and you can't expect to play as well as you possibly can when you first pick up the instrument for the day! Play some long, slow notes to get started.
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If you find a part of the music difficult, take it out of context and practise it by itself, before putting it back into the piece. For example, it's often just one bar in a passage that causes problems, so practise just it before trying to play the whole section.
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Always know what you're trying to achieve. Decide before you start playing what you want to practise that day, and make sure you don't get distracted by other things.
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Finally, if you're getting tired and frustrated, give yourself a break. Practising when you're in a bad mood is generally unproductive.
Hopefully these will help you make your practise more effective! Always try to remember that you're just trying to get better at your instrument, and practice should be a satisfying and interesting process to achieve that goal.
