7 tips for effective musical practice
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8/4/2019 7 Tips for Effective Musical Practice
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Thequalityofyourpracticeismuchmoreimportantthanthequantity.Theoldsaying"practicemakesperfect"isonlytrueifthepracticeitselfisperfect.Hereare7tipstohelpmakeyourpracticemoreeffectiveandefficient.Practicemotionsslowly
Themuscularmemoryofourbodiesallowsustophysicallycarryoutpatternsof
motionwithlittleornoconsciousinvolvement.Examplesofmuscularmemoryincludewalking,ridingabicycle,typing,andofcourseplayingamusicalinstrument.Inordertodevelopthismemory,themusclesrequiretrainingintheformofrepeatedconsciousguidancefromthemind.Firstthemindmustlearnthepattern.Thenthemindmust"teach"thepatterntothemuscles.
Themindinitiallymustcontrolallthemotionsofthemuscles.Themorecontrolledandprecisethemotions,themorequicklythemuscleswilldevelopmusclememory.Slowpracticealsoallowsthemindtoteach"antagonisticmuscles"torelax.Antagonisticmusclesarethosethatmoveinoppositedirections.Byrelaxingantago
nisticmusclesyoucanreducetensionandfacilitatefasterandeasierperformanceandavoidpotentialinjury.
Practiceinsmallcells
A"practicecell"issimplyafiniteseriesofmotions.Musicalcellscancorrespondtoanythingfromafewnotestoanentirework.Whenpracticing,itisimportanttopracticesmallcellsofjustafewnotes.Practicingsmallcellslimitstheamountofinformationthemuscleshavetolearnatonetime.Italsofacilitatesthemind'sfocusandconcentration.
LinktheendofonecelltothebeginningofthenextTohelpthemusclesdevelopasenseofcontinuumthroughoutthepieceofmusic,
thelastmotioninacellshouldbethefirstmotionofthefollowingcell.
Practiceeachcellinbursts
Oncethemuscleshavelearnedapattern,theywillbecapableofexecutingitwithoutconsciouscontrol.Initiatethepatternthroughaconsciouscommandandallowthemusclestoexecuteitinaburst.
Don'tpracticemistakes
Foreveryrepetitionrequiredtolearnapatternofmotion,ittakes7timesthenumberofrepetitionstochangethepattern.Ifinthecourseofyourpractice
youmakeanerror,stop.Reviewinyourmindthepattern.Andfurtherreducethespeedofyourmotions.Pausebetweenrepetitions
Whendealingwithrepetitiveactivities,themindisbetterabletofocuswhentherepetitionsarebrokenupbyshortpauses.Aftertwoorthreerepetitions,pauseforabout30secondstoregainfocus.Takefrequentbreaksanddon't"over-practice"
B.F.Skinnerandotherexpertshavefoundthatthemind'sabilitytolearndropssignificantlyafterprolongedintenseconcentration.Researchshowsthatstudyingtoolong(i.e.morethanfourhours)candepletechemicalsinthebrainneces
saryforlearning.Therefore,itisbesttotakefrequentbreaks(a5minutebreakaboutevery20-25minutes)andpracticenomorethan4hoursconsecutively.Byapplyingthesetechniques,youcandramaticallyimprovethequalityofyourp
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ractice.You'llbeabletouseyourtimemoreefficientlyandincreasetheeffectivenessofyourpractice.
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