Practice, practice, practice!!
There’s an old joke some attribute to Vaudeville, some to comedian Jack Benny that goes something like this:
A man asks another on a New York City street, “Excuse me, sir… but can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” With a deadpan look, the stranger simply said, “Practice.”
And the crowd roars!
Funny enough, many years ago I was walking down the street in New York City and was approached by a stranger asking me for directions to Carnegie Hall. I couldn’t believe my luck. Well, you don’t have to wonder what my answer was. Yup. “Practice!”
My stranger looked at me as if I was crazy, turned and quickly walked away. He was a foreigner and apparently had never heard the joke, or he thought I was dangerous or both. Carnegie Hall, of course is the world-renowned and prestigious concert hall in New York City. I’ve had the great fortune to attend a concert there. It’s truly an amazing concert hall where every great modern musician has played and many aspiring musicians dream of playing someday.
If you’ve taken music lessons before, or you’re currently taking lessons, you’ve most likely heard the word
“practice” a thousand times from your instructor and, hopefully, from your parents if you’re still under their guidance. If you’re just beginning to take lessons or are contemplating taking them, just know that you will hear that word innumerable times. Interestingly enough, that word can mean one thing to you and something quite different to someone else. Your instructor has an idea, your parents have their idea, and then of course, there’s your idea.
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True enough, there are myriad approaches to practice just as there are to studying and homework. Some people believe cramming is the only way to study, while others take a more measured approach, studying a little every day including reviewing past material. Of course, there are those who don’t study at all, but I’m guessing they don’t do so well when it comes time to take a test, or even carry on an intelligent conversation about the subject they’re studying. Another aspect to studying or practicing, is that everyone learns differently. Some people do best by continuous repetition, while others are more visual learners. Learning music is really no different than learning any subject, especially in that you have to study and practice to learn the material. There’s a lot of science that goes into understanding learning and the brain which, of course, is the hard drive that controls our bodies.
So what’s the best way to practice music? The answer is… I don’t know. Well, I don’t know what’s the best way for everyone. What I do know is that if one way doesn’t work, you try another until you find a way that works for you. Your instructor should be able to help you with finding the right combination of a practice routine that works for you and your learning style.
Though I don’t know the exact perfect way for each and every student, there are some important methods that are proven to work.
The first is that you must make practice a habit, do it every day and ideally at the same time every day. It must become a habit and a ritual. Find a place to practice where there are no distractions. No television, no interruptions, no phones or texts. Have a plan. Start with some type of warm up exercises. If you have scales, work on your scales. Remember to say the notes out loud as you play, especially in the beginning. It’s so important to do this. I often tell my students that learning music is similar to when they learned to walk or talk. They didn’t “think” about talking or or “think” about walking except maybe before they started. They repeated every sound they heard and tried to stand and walk at every opportunity. What they were doing was practicing walking and talking. They had a burning desire to communicate their thoughts and ideas with others and to get places on their own. And, the more they did it, the less they had to think about what they were doing. Music is the same process. The more you practice, say those notes out loud when you’re first learning them, the more you practice your scales the more natural your playing will become.
Finally, in addition to practicing every day, I believe it’s very important to include “play” in the mix. Yes, practice your allotted time each day, but make time for just playing your instrument for the joy of it.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.