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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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