Welcome…
to the wonderful world of learning music. Whether you are picking up an instrument for the first time, working to develop your singing voice, or getting back to playing after taking a break, you are joining a large family of artists, composers, musicians, singers, performers and others that are enjoying the incredible gift of music.
Music is an enrichment that will stay with you for the rest of your life. When you are alone, you will find a friend with your music. When you are tired, music can invigorate you. When you are angry or stressed, your music can soothe you. Music will be your constant companion in your journey through life. Music can give you so much, but to full enjoy it and reap all of the benefit, you must dedicate the time and effort to practice.
Yes, listening to music may increase test scores and if you play an instrument in school you are more likely to have higher grades, but the real reason for learning an instrument is so that you can experience beauty in this world. Music completes the human experience.
Here are
52 Practice Tips
1. Warming Up: As with any physical activity (such as singing or playing an instrument), you will want to spend a few minutes warming up before you begin. This may be playing or singing a few scales or strumming a few chords slowly and gently (perhaps in different keys) before you dive into your practicing and playing. If you do not already have several warm-up exercises, ask your instructor. Mr. Pete provides 5 different types of warm-up CD’s for all his vocalists and scales and technical exercises for keyboard players.
2. Set Easy To Reach Goals: Small goals and benchmarks are a great way to keep you motivated and on track for your long term musical goals. These small achievements will help you gain confidence in your playing. It could be something as simple as “I’ll perfect the first two measures before moving on to the next two measures.” You can accomplish major things with small steps. Mill Pond Arts will work with you to determine your specific goals.
3. Keep Your Instrument Handy: As soon as you get home from your lesson, take your instrument out of its case or set up your keyboard with your music books on it. It is very important to leave an instrument where it can be seen and played easily, as opposed to storing it away somewhere out of sight where you could forget about it.
4. Learn Music That You Like: If you have some favorite artists, songs or musical styles that you listen to on a regular basis, you should ask your instructor to incorporate some of those materials into your lessons and repertoire. Playing music you like that is within your skill level will motivate you and make your learning process more fun and rewarding.
5. Remember Good Posture: Having good posture helps you play and sing more effectively and can keep you from physically injuring yourself. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is no fun! While you are playing, keep checking your hand and wrist position, your body shape, your breathing and your fingers. Make sure you are either sitting upright with your feet flat on the ground, or standing with your back straight. Breathe normally and relax. If you are unsure of your posture, as your instructor.
6. Know Exactly What You Need To Practice: Before you leave your lesson, make sure you understand EXACTLY what you need to practice and work on. Also, make sure that any instructions are written out very clearly in your lesson binder. Even though you understand what your instructor is telling you in the studio, you may forget it by the time you get to practice on your own. Ask your private instructor to write out clear goals to work towards during the week. You are always welcome to call your Mill Pond Arts instructor anytime.
7. Practice Shortly After Your Lesson: The material you need to work on always makes sense during your private lessons. However, if you wait two or three days after the lesson to practice, you may forget a lot of the comments and advice and coaching you received during your instructional time. Therefore, make sure you review and practice what you did in your lesson later the SAME DAY or at least the day after your lesson. You will retain the information quicker and easier than if you let a few days go by.
8. Perform In A Public Setting: Nothing is more gratifying than sharing your musical gifts (and hard work) with other people through performance. Even if the thought of playing in public strikes fear in your heart, the sense of accomplishment and appreciation you feel afterwards is something most people will never get to experience. In addition to Mill Pond Arts recitals, we offer many additional opportunities to perform locally. Public performance will also motivate you more, as you will be driven to do well in front o f an audience. Students that perform in a public setting generally practice more often, learn faster and stay with their lessons longer than those who don’t. Most importantly, their hard work is shared and rewarded with a community of music lovers.
9. Perform in Front Of Anyone: This is something you do after your very first lesson. Share your progress, your enjoyment, your challenges and your new skills by playing what you are learning in your lessons in front of your parents, friends, and classmates.
10. Don’t Judge Yourself Too Harshly: A big reason why people don’t continue with a new activity is impatience. Learning a musical instrument takes time, dedication and patience. Many students are unnecessarily self-critical. Although you may feel that you are not progressing as fast as you think you should, understand that even the greatest musicians of all time have shared your struggle early in their development (yes! EVERY musician you know has been where you are)! Don’t be too hard on yourself and understand that even small improvements lead to major skills over time.
11. Get A Good Quality Instrument: People often equate quality instruments with expensive instruments. While it is true that some instruments can cost a lot of money, you can get a good quality workable instrument for a lot less than you think. If the instrument you are practicing on is difficult to play, can’t stay in tune, doesn’t work properly or produce a decent tone, you will want to upgrade to a better instrument. If you are spending money on lessons, you owe it to yourself to have an instrument that will make learning easier and more enjoyable. Students practicing on poor quality instruments lost interest faster, as it makes practicing and playing more difficult and less enjoyable. Ask your instructor for a referral if you need help finding an instrument.
12. Be A Songwriter: Whether you write words, melodies, chord progressions or all of the above, you can put these elements together to start creating songs. It’s much easier to do that most people think. Take a scale you are working on and make little melodies with it. Take the chords you are working and make up your own chord progressions. Your Mill Pond instructors will enjoy helping you with your own music.
13. Make it a Priority to Practice At Least 15 Minutes: The key to improvement is consistency. If you can set aside at least 15 minutes a day, almost every day, of focused practice, you will advance very quickly in your musical abilities. Plus, this cuts down on the excuse of “I didn’t have time to practice today.” EVERYONE has 15 minutes each day that they can make a priority for practice.
14. Give Yourself a Break! Sometimes, the hardest part of practicing is just starting the process. Once you are in the “practice zone,” you may not want to stop after 15 minutes. If you want to go longer, take a short break to stretch and walk around in some fresh air. This will help you refresh your mind and muscles. You can simply stand up, stretch, stare into space or just close your eyes for a moment. You won’t believe how this little break will help you remain focused over a period of time.
15. Practice Slowly: Any musician can play any piece of music ever written…as long as it is played SLOW enough. If you are having trouble playing a scales, a piece of music, singing lyrics or changing chords, SLOW…IT…DOWN! Playing things slowly and evenly allows your mind and body a little extra time to process what you need to do. If you practice things too fast before you are ready, you will sacrifice precision, technique and accuracy.
16. Practice Songs In Sections: It is initially easier to practice a song or piece in a sections rather than trying to get through the entire song. If you are just beginning to learn a new piece, try playing the “A” or “verse” section first slowly with confidence before moving to the next section. Make sure you come back review your sections as you progress through the song.
17. Practice Where You Have No Distractions: Find a quiet place in your home for practicing, whether it’s on the corner of a bedroom, the garage or even the bathroom (no one should disturb you THERE!). Practice in a place that has no television phones or people to distract you and turn all your devices off. Keeping focused during practice time is hard enough without having lots of things to distract you.
18. Play and Sing Along with Recorded Music: Playing while listening to music can help you in so many ways. You will be able to improve on developing your ear, tightening up your rhythm playing, learning new ideas, working on improvisation, getting introduced to new styles and understanding songs and arrangements. Although this is no substitute for playing with an actual group, it certainly can be the next best thing.
19. If You Like It, Play It: If there is a certain band, singer or composer that you really like, try to actively listen to their music and learn to play some of their songs or pieces. There’s nothing more inspiring than to know that you have the skills to start playing the music of your favorite artists. You can also start writing and composting songs in that style as well.
20. Try To Play With Other Musicians: One of the best things about playing music is playing with other musicians. Get together with other students and musicians to work on things you are practicing or to jam. Of course, it always helps with people who are MORE experienced than you.
21. Evaluate Your Home Practice Routine: Even the most motivated students struggle with practicing at home. Sometimes there are too many distractions and sometimes you can’t remember exactly what to work on or how it’s supposed to sound. Talk over how you practice at home with your instructor. Perhaps a few tips can make your home practice time more efficient and more fun.
22. Take One Day Off: There will be days where you will be too busy, too sick or too overwhelmed to practice. If you normally practice everyday, it’s okay to miss one day per week. In fact, some brief time away from your instrument keeps you from ‘burning out’ and also helps your mind and body to further process what you’ve been working on.
23. Set Up A Practice Routine: Everyone has some kind of routine they follow during their day. The key to keeping consistent with your practicing is to make it part of your daily routine. One great way is to practice between dinner and dessert! Set aside a specific time of day (while you wait for the bus, just home from school, after dinner, etc.) to sit down with your instrument and practice. This will make you much less likely to forget or blow off your practice time.
24. Play Songs Or Sections of Songs Without Stopping: Once you have worked out how to perform a particular piece of music or a section of a song, play through it without stopping. Even if you make little mistakes, you want to try to complete what you are doing. You can make notes of what part of the song gave you the most trouble and go back and work on just those sections.
25. Don’t Practice Your Mistakes: If you play something incorrectly more than twice, you need to stop and work out your mistake. Remember that practice makes PERMANENT (only perfect practice makes perfect) and that works with playing things Incorrectly. Play your most challenging parts over and over until you are able to play them properly.
26. Bored? Try Something New: Perhaps you’ve been playing the same song for too long. Perhaps you feel like you aren’t’ making progress with something. Perhaps you are losing your motivation. If so, talk with your instructor about it. It might be a good idea to introduce a new piece of music or work on a new skill for a while to keep you interested, motivated and happy to play.
27. Record When You Play and Practice: When you are practicing and playing, there may be things that you aren’t hearing. This may be because you are focused on your technique, posture or any number of other things. Recording yourself and listening back gives you a new perspective. There will be things you hear on the recording (very easy to record and play back on a cell phone) that you may not have noticed when you were playing. This is a great way for you to “self-improve” your playing.
28. “I Need Encouragement!” Many students get down on themselves about their playing and their progress. While it’s good to take your learning seriously, you have to remember that playing music should be a fun process. Try not to get too negative about practicing or start to dread your lessons. You’ve probably come a long way from when you first started, and you’ll progress even more in time. Remember it’s a PROCESS. Discuss these feelings with your private instructor, who has undoubtedly gone through these same feelings and overcome them.
29. Don’t Forget Your Books: Remember to bring all of your notes, books, binders, music players and anything else you need to your lesson. The instructor makes notes, assignments and suggestions in these materials and will need them to keep your lessons moving smoothly and keep your improvement consistent. Avoid having your instructor spend valuable lesson time rewriting or recreating the previous lesson notes and information.
30. Can You Practice At School or Work? If you find that it is difficult to get your practicing in during your busy life schedule, try taking your instrument to work to school. For schools, study halls or lunch periods may allow you spend that time in a music room if you get a note from the adult in charge. Adults, if it is possible, practicing your instrument may be a great stress reliever. Don’t forget: Many electronic keyboards use headphones.
31. Create Opportunities to Perform: Put together a band or small ensemble and find places to play. Bowling alley, street, restaurant, school, party-any place people meet up; music is a wonderful addition!
32. Learn Songs By Ear: As the saying goes “fish for a man and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” If you can start to learn songs by ear, you will be able to teach yourself how to play any song you wish. Have your instructor help you identify bass notes, chord movement and key centers. After some practice it becomes easier. Mill Pond Arts instructors use ear training and games at all levels.
33. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others: While it’s good to be inspired to by someone with more experience than you, try not to compare you skills with other people in a negative way. Remember everyone improves at his or her own pace. Just because something may be easy for one student doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with it. We all develop at our own pace.
34. END Your Practice With Fun: Just like a nice dessert after a healthy meal, you should try to have fun with your instrument or voice during your practice time. Once you are done with your actual practice work, take some time to improvise, jam, make fun noises and sounds, learn songs you like and be crazy and fun. Make sure you do this at the END of your lesson time.
35. Learn Tools And Learn Tunes: If you are only learning how to play songs in your lessons, you might not be working on important skills like technique, scales, chords, reading and theory. At the same time, if you are only working on skills, your lessons and practicing may become tedious and repetitive. Try to have a good balance of musical skills with learning songs, and you’ll find you’ll have all the tools you need to enjoy music for the rest of your life.
36. Enjoy The Process Of Learning: The challenge with learning music is that you will always feel like there is so much more to learn. No matter how advanced your playing and musicality becomes, you will also yearn to get to the next level. With this in mind, enjoy the process of learning. Keep notice of new accomplishments and keep sight of new goals. Also, appreciate how much you’ve learned to this point.
37. Relax…And Breathe: Your body doesn’t respond well to stress and tension. Thus, it is very difficult to accomplish anything physically, like playing an instrument or singing, while you are tense, stressed, nervous or not breathing evenly. Try to remember to keep your breathing constant, release the tension in your body, especially in your shoulders, and simply relax during your lessons and practicing. Head and shoulder rolls in both directions are great ways to relax your shoulders.
38. Stop Practicing If You Feel Pain: Some soreness and fatigue are normal with any physical activity. However, if you feel any pain, whether it’s a sharp pain the wrists or tension in the vocal chords, STOP PRACTICING! The term “no pain, no gain” does not apply to studying music. Pain is an indicator of physical problems, some of which may seriously affect your musical future. Most pain in practicing comes from poor technique. Let your private instructor know what’s happening during your lesson.
39. Try Learning Different Styles: If you’ve only listened to rock music your whole life, try listening to something different, like classical or jazz music. If you only like the blues, try learning some jazz or Latin styles. Playing different styles of music only strengthens the music you love to play. Plus, you never know if you’ll enjoy playing a different genre of music if you don’t at least give it a try.
40. Experience Live Music: Seeing a great concert, a favorite band or an amazing performer can really help inspire you. Watching people do what you aspire to do will really help motivate you and give you a glimpse as to what you can eventually achieve. Sometimes, watching a group can also show you things NOT to do, so that you are a better performer when it comes time for you to be on stage.
41. Set Goals In The Right Way: Goal setting is a great way to make sure you are on target for what you wish to achieve. However, setting unreasonable goals for the short term can be very unrealistic. If singing like the latest R&B diva is a long-term goal, you may have to set some short-term goals of perhaps extending your range, singing blues scales, developing your breathing or starting to build your repertoire. If your goal is to be a burning guitarist or pianist, you may have to start with learning some simple theory or reading, learning to play a scale in one octave or developing your knowledge of scales. Long-term goals should be set by the year, mid-term goals can be gauged in months and short-term goals could be accomplished in terms of weeks. Your instructor can help you set these types of goals realistically.
42. Don’t Give Up! People usually quit things when they feel they have no hope in achieving their goals. People also usually quit right before them make some kind of breakthrough. This is most often because breakthroughs usually follow periods of great struggle. Sometimes, you may have to rediscover what inspired you to take lessons in the first place. Talk over your feelings with your instructor. You won’t hurt anyone’s feelings if you say you are uninspired or not enjoying your practicing or your lessons at the moment. Most instructors have gone through the same feelings, frustrations and challenges before, and they have the skills and insight to help you get back on track and continue having fun playing music.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
43. Don’t Let Them Quit Too Easily: Some parents allow their children too much leeway when it comes to their extra-curricular activities. While you obviously want your children to choose the activities they show interest in, too many times parents let their children quit programs before they’ve really given it their best effort. Children do well when their parents have them finish what they start. Remind your child (and sometimes yourself) that sometimes it takes a good three to six months to start to feel comfortable with an instrument. It would be very sad if your son or daughter stopped lessons right before they made great progress. Before your child chooses to take lessons, make an agreement that they stick with it for at least three to six months.
44. Use A Reward System: Kids respond well when there is a carrot at the end of the stick. Kids also love games and contests. You can reward your child in so many fun and creative ways. Offer up something when they practice without being told or after they finish the allotted time for practicing. See Mr. Pete for a free practice “star-chart” and set up rewards after a certain amount of time. The rewards can be very simple and personalized to your child. The choices are endless. You can also have “mini-concerts” each week, where your child shows the family what they’ve been working on (this may only take 30 seconds). You can reward after these little performances as well.
45. Make Practicing Fun: Try not to treat your children’s practicing like another chore they have to do. No one likes to do chores! Instead, have practicing be in a place of a certain chore. Offer simple rewards after they finish their practicing (of if they don’t complain about their practicing!) Be encouraging to their budding efforts and talents. Let them know that you are proud of them for working hard towards their musical goals. Kate Cottrell says, “I created my own practice chart so that everyone could see my progress.” OR you can download practice charts HERE.
46. Get Involved: Take an active interest in your child’s music education. Feel free to sit in on a lesson once in a while, even if it’s for a few moments in the beginning or the end of the lesson. Have the instructor show you what specifically your child needs to work on. Ask how you can help at home. Try to strike a balance between being a cheerleader and an overbearing taskmaster. Some kids may resist your involvement, but just knowing you care enough about their enjoyment and improvement in music will be a great benefit to them.
47. No Outrageous Expectations: Understand that it takes time to become somewhat proficient on an instrument. You aren’t going to have the next Bach, Mozart, Christina Aguilera, Eric Clapton or whoever on you hands anytime soon. Let your child develop at his or her own speed. Putting unrealistic expectations on your kids (or worse-living vicariously through them) will only add undo stress on their lives. You will eventually ruin their enjoyment of music. It’s certainly okay to motivate them and to expect them to do their best, but be careful with pushing them too hard too soon.
48. Have Your Kids Teach YOU: Many parents don’t know how to help their kids with music. Having your child explain to you what they are working on will not only keep you involved with their lessons, but it will also help them reinforce what they need to improve on for that week.
49. Check-In With The Instructor: Every so often, check-in with the instructor to see how your child is progressing. Ask what you can do at home. Ask if the teacher is seeing anything that is a concern, problem or challenge. This is also a good chance to see how well your child is doing and get positive feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions such as “Is she practicing enough?” “How’s his progress?” “What can I do at home to help out?” and so on.
50. Be Undeniably Supportive: Kids need love, encouragement, praise and support as well as discipline, rules, boundaries and gentle constructive criticism. When it comes to music lessons, you obviously want to see your children progress, work hard, apply themselves completely and work to attain their goals. At the same time, they truly need your complete and total support. Especially if they are new with lessons, allow them time to grow and develop. They will have enough pressure on themselves to excel. Cheer them on. Encourage them when they struggle. Assure them that they can do what they wish with the right effort. Allow them to fail here and there and always make a little time to have them play for you.
51. Use Technology To Gain Additional Practice Minutes: Using your smart phone, there are many helpful low-cost or free APPS that can be downloaded to help musicianship while riding in the car or away from the piano. At the piano, make a big deal about setting the phone’s timer for 15 minutes and have them practice until the time is up. Make a big deal about finishing practice time. One idea is to have practice happen between dinner and dessert. This puts the TIMER in charge of when practice is done and not YOU.
52. Create A Mini-Performance Opportunity: Once a song has made significant improvement, call your instructor and leave a recording of the song on their voice mail…or record a voice memo on your phone and forward it to your instructor. The time will fly by! There are also metronome apps for your phone that can help students play scales evenly and consistently.
to the wonderful world of learning music. Whether you are picking up an instrument for the first time, working to develop your singing voice, or getting back to playing after taking a break, you are joining a large family of artists, composers, musicians, singers, performers and others that are enjoying the incredible gift of music.
Music is an enrichment that will stay with you for the rest of your life. When you are alone, you will find a friend with your music. When you are tired, music can invigorate you. When you are angry or stressed, your music can soothe you. Music will be your constant companion in your journey through life. Music can give you so much, but to full enjoy it and reap all of the benefit, you must dedicate the time and effort to practice.
Yes, listening to music may increase test scores and if you play an instrument in school you are more likely to have higher grades, but the real reason for learning an instrument is so that you can experience beauty in this world. Music completes the human experience.
Here are
52 Practice Tips
1. Warming Up: As with any physical activity (such as singing or playing an instrument), you will want to spend a few minutes warming up before you begin. This may be playing or singing a few scales or strumming a few chords slowly and gently (perhaps in different keys) before you dive into your practicing and playing. If you do not already have several warm-up exercises, ask your instructor. Mr. Pete provides 5 different types of warm-up CD’s for all his vocalists and scales and technical exercises for keyboard players.
2. Set Easy To Reach Goals: Small goals and benchmarks are a great way to keep you motivated and on track for your long term musical goals. These small achievements will help you gain confidence in your playing. It could be something as simple as “I’ll perfect the first two measures before moving on to the next two measures.” You can accomplish major things with small steps. Mill Pond Arts will work with you to determine your specific goals.
3. Keep Your Instrument Handy: As soon as you get home from your lesson, take your instrument out of its case or set up your keyboard with your music books on it. It is very important to leave an instrument where it can be seen and played easily, as opposed to storing it away somewhere out of sight where you could forget about it.
4. Learn Music That You Like: If you have some favorite artists, songs or musical styles that you listen to on a regular basis, you should ask your instructor to incorporate some of those materials into your lessons and repertoire. Playing music you like that is within your skill level will motivate you and make your learning process more fun and rewarding.
5. Remember Good Posture: Having good posture helps you play and sing more effectively and can keep you from physically injuring yourself. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is no fun! While you are playing, keep checking your hand and wrist position, your body shape, your breathing and your fingers. Make sure you are either sitting upright with your feet flat on the ground, or standing with your back straight. Breathe normally and relax. If you are unsure of your posture, as your instructor.
6. Know Exactly What You Need To Practice: Before you leave your lesson, make sure you understand EXACTLY what you need to practice and work on. Also, make sure that any instructions are written out very clearly in your lesson binder. Even though you understand what your instructor is telling you in the studio, you may forget it by the time you get to practice on your own. Ask your private instructor to write out clear goals to work towards during the week. You are always welcome to call your Mill Pond Arts instructor anytime.
7. Practice Shortly After Your Lesson: The material you need to work on always makes sense during your private lessons. However, if you wait two or three days after the lesson to practice, you may forget a lot of the comments and advice and coaching you received during your instructional time. Therefore, make sure you review and practice what you did in your lesson later the SAME DAY or at least the day after your lesson. You will retain the information quicker and easier than if you let a few days go by.
8. Perform In A Public Setting: Nothing is more gratifying than sharing your musical gifts (and hard work) with other people through performance. Even if the thought of playing in public strikes fear in your heart, the sense of accomplishment and appreciation you feel afterwards is something most people will never get to experience. In addition to Mill Pond Arts recitals, we offer many additional opportunities to perform locally. Public performance will also motivate you more, as you will be driven to do well in front o f an audience. Students that perform in a public setting generally practice more often, learn faster and stay with their lessons longer than those who don’t. Most importantly, their hard work is shared and rewarded with a community of music lovers.
9. Perform in Front Of Anyone: This is something you do after your very first lesson. Share your progress, your enjoyment, your challenges and your new skills by playing what you are learning in your lessons in front of your parents, friends, and classmates.
10. Don’t Judge Yourself Too Harshly: A big reason why people don’t continue with a new activity is impatience. Learning a musical instrument takes time, dedication and patience. Many students are unnecessarily self-critical. Although you may feel that you are not progressing as fast as you think you should, understand that even the greatest musicians of all time have shared your struggle early in their development (yes! EVERY musician you know has been where you are)! Don’t be too hard on yourself and understand that even small improvements lead to major skills over time.
11. Get A Good Quality Instrument: People often equate quality instruments with expensive instruments. While it is true that some instruments can cost a lot of money, you can get a good quality workable instrument for a lot less than you think. If the instrument you are practicing on is difficult to play, can’t stay in tune, doesn’t work properly or produce a decent tone, you will want to upgrade to a better instrument. If you are spending money on lessons, you owe it to yourself to have an instrument that will make learning easier and more enjoyable. Students practicing on poor quality instruments lost interest faster, as it makes practicing and playing more difficult and less enjoyable. Ask your instructor for a referral if you need help finding an instrument.
12. Be A Songwriter: Whether you write words, melodies, chord progressions or all of the above, you can put these elements together to start creating songs. It’s much easier to do that most people think. Take a scale you are working on and make little melodies with it. Take the chords you are working and make up your own chord progressions. Your Mill Pond instructors will enjoy helping you with your own music.
13. Make it a Priority to Practice At Least 15 Minutes: The key to improvement is consistency. If you can set aside at least 15 minutes a day, almost every day, of focused practice, you will advance very quickly in your musical abilities. Plus, this cuts down on the excuse of “I didn’t have time to practice today.” EVERYONE has 15 minutes each day that they can make a priority for practice.
14. Give Yourself a Break! Sometimes, the hardest part of practicing is just starting the process. Once you are in the “practice zone,” you may not want to stop after 15 minutes. If you want to go longer, take a short break to stretch and walk around in some fresh air. This will help you refresh your mind and muscles. You can simply stand up, stretch, stare into space or just close your eyes for a moment. You won’t believe how this little break will help you remain focused over a period of time.
15. Practice Slowly: Any musician can play any piece of music ever written…as long as it is played SLOW enough. If you are having trouble playing a scales, a piece of music, singing lyrics or changing chords, SLOW…IT…DOWN! Playing things slowly and evenly allows your mind and body a little extra time to process what you need to do. If you practice things too fast before you are ready, you will sacrifice precision, technique and accuracy.
16. Practice Songs In Sections: It is initially easier to practice a song or piece in a sections rather than trying to get through the entire song. If you are just beginning to learn a new piece, try playing the “A” or “verse” section first slowly with confidence before moving to the next section. Make sure you come back review your sections as you progress through the song.
17. Practice Where You Have No Distractions: Find a quiet place in your home for practicing, whether it’s on the corner of a bedroom, the garage or even the bathroom (no one should disturb you THERE!). Practice in a place that has no television phones or people to distract you and turn all your devices off. Keeping focused during practice time is hard enough without having lots of things to distract you.
18. Play and Sing Along with Recorded Music: Playing while listening to music can help you in so many ways. You will be able to improve on developing your ear, tightening up your rhythm playing, learning new ideas, working on improvisation, getting introduced to new styles and understanding songs and arrangements. Although this is no substitute for playing with an actual group, it certainly can be the next best thing.
19. If You Like It, Play It: If there is a certain band, singer or composer that you really like, try to actively listen to their music and learn to play some of their songs or pieces. There’s nothing more inspiring than to know that you have the skills to start playing the music of your favorite artists. You can also start writing and composting songs in that style as well.
20. Try To Play With Other Musicians: One of the best things about playing music is playing with other musicians. Get together with other students and musicians to work on things you are practicing or to jam. Of course, it always helps with people who are MORE experienced than you.
21. Evaluate Your Home Practice Routine: Even the most motivated students struggle with practicing at home. Sometimes there are too many distractions and sometimes you can’t remember exactly what to work on or how it’s supposed to sound. Talk over how you practice at home with your instructor. Perhaps a few tips can make your home practice time more efficient and more fun.
22. Take One Day Off: There will be days where you will be too busy, too sick or too overwhelmed to practice. If you normally practice everyday, it’s okay to miss one day per week. In fact, some brief time away from your instrument keeps you from ‘burning out’ and also helps your mind and body to further process what you’ve been working on.
23. Set Up A Practice Routine: Everyone has some kind of routine they follow during their day. The key to keeping consistent with your practicing is to make it part of your daily routine. One great way is to practice between dinner and dessert! Set aside a specific time of day (while you wait for the bus, just home from school, after dinner, etc.) to sit down with your instrument and practice. This will make you much less likely to forget or blow off your practice time.
24. Play Songs Or Sections of Songs Without Stopping: Once you have worked out how to perform a particular piece of music or a section of a song, play through it without stopping. Even if you make little mistakes, you want to try to complete what you are doing. You can make notes of what part of the song gave you the most trouble and go back and work on just those sections.
25. Don’t Practice Your Mistakes: If you play something incorrectly more than twice, you need to stop and work out your mistake. Remember that practice makes PERMANENT (only perfect practice makes perfect) and that works with playing things Incorrectly. Play your most challenging parts over and over until you are able to play them properly.
26. Bored? Try Something New: Perhaps you’ve been playing the same song for too long. Perhaps you feel like you aren’t’ making progress with something. Perhaps you are losing your motivation. If so, talk with your instructor about it. It might be a good idea to introduce a new piece of music or work on a new skill for a while to keep you interested, motivated and happy to play.
27. Record When You Play and Practice: When you are practicing and playing, there may be things that you aren’t hearing. This may be because you are focused on your technique, posture or any number of other things. Recording yourself and listening back gives you a new perspective. There will be things you hear on the recording (very easy to record and play back on a cell phone) that you may not have noticed when you were playing. This is a great way for you to “self-improve” your playing.
28. “I Need Encouragement!” Many students get down on themselves about their playing and their progress. While it’s good to take your learning seriously, you have to remember that playing music should be a fun process. Try not to get too negative about practicing or start to dread your lessons. You’ve probably come a long way from when you first started, and you’ll progress even more in time. Remember it’s a PROCESS. Discuss these feelings with your private instructor, who has undoubtedly gone through these same feelings and overcome them.
29. Don’t Forget Your Books: Remember to bring all of your notes, books, binders, music players and anything else you need to your lesson. The instructor makes notes, assignments and suggestions in these materials and will need them to keep your lessons moving smoothly and keep your improvement consistent. Avoid having your instructor spend valuable lesson time rewriting or recreating the previous lesson notes and information.
30. Can You Practice At School or Work? If you find that it is difficult to get your practicing in during your busy life schedule, try taking your instrument to work to school. For schools, study halls or lunch periods may allow you spend that time in a music room if you get a note from the adult in charge. Adults, if it is possible, practicing your instrument may be a great stress reliever. Don’t forget: Many electronic keyboards use headphones.
31. Create Opportunities to Perform: Put together a band or small ensemble and find places to play. Bowling alley, street, restaurant, school, party-any place people meet up; music is a wonderful addition!
32. Learn Songs By Ear: As the saying goes “fish for a man and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” If you can start to learn songs by ear, you will be able to teach yourself how to play any song you wish. Have your instructor help you identify bass notes, chord movement and key centers. After some practice it becomes easier. Mill Pond Arts instructors use ear training and games at all levels.
33. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others: While it’s good to be inspired to by someone with more experience than you, try not to compare you skills with other people in a negative way. Remember everyone improves at his or her own pace. Just because something may be easy for one student doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with it. We all develop at our own pace.
34. END Your Practice With Fun: Just like a nice dessert after a healthy meal, you should try to have fun with your instrument or voice during your practice time. Once you are done with your actual practice work, take some time to improvise, jam, make fun noises and sounds, learn songs you like and be crazy and fun. Make sure you do this at the END of your lesson time.
35. Learn Tools And Learn Tunes: If you are only learning how to play songs in your lessons, you might not be working on important skills like technique, scales, chords, reading and theory. At the same time, if you are only working on skills, your lessons and practicing may become tedious and repetitive. Try to have a good balance of musical skills with learning songs, and you’ll find you’ll have all the tools you need to enjoy music for the rest of your life.
36. Enjoy The Process Of Learning: The challenge with learning music is that you will always feel like there is so much more to learn. No matter how advanced your playing and musicality becomes, you will also yearn to get to the next level. With this in mind, enjoy the process of learning. Keep notice of new accomplishments and keep sight of new goals. Also, appreciate how much you’ve learned to this point.
37. Relax…And Breathe: Your body doesn’t respond well to stress and tension. Thus, it is very difficult to accomplish anything physically, like playing an instrument or singing, while you are tense, stressed, nervous or not breathing evenly. Try to remember to keep your breathing constant, release the tension in your body, especially in your shoulders, and simply relax during your lessons and practicing. Head and shoulder rolls in both directions are great ways to relax your shoulders.
38. Stop Practicing If You Feel Pain: Some soreness and fatigue are normal with any physical activity. However, if you feel any pain, whether it’s a sharp pain the wrists or tension in the vocal chords, STOP PRACTICING! The term “no pain, no gain” does not apply to studying music. Pain is an indicator of physical problems, some of which may seriously affect your musical future. Most pain in practicing comes from poor technique. Let your private instructor know what’s happening during your lesson.
39. Try Learning Different Styles: If you’ve only listened to rock music your whole life, try listening to something different, like classical or jazz music. If you only like the blues, try learning some jazz or Latin styles. Playing different styles of music only strengthens the music you love to play. Plus, you never know if you’ll enjoy playing a different genre of music if you don’t at least give it a try.
40. Experience Live Music: Seeing a great concert, a favorite band or an amazing performer can really help inspire you. Watching people do what you aspire to do will really help motivate you and give you a glimpse as to what you can eventually achieve. Sometimes, watching a group can also show you things NOT to do, so that you are a better performer when it comes time for you to be on stage.
41. Set Goals In The Right Way: Goal setting is a great way to make sure you are on target for what you wish to achieve. However, setting unreasonable goals for the short term can be very unrealistic. If singing like the latest R&B diva is a long-term goal, you may have to set some short-term goals of perhaps extending your range, singing blues scales, developing your breathing or starting to build your repertoire. If your goal is to be a burning guitarist or pianist, you may have to start with learning some simple theory or reading, learning to play a scale in one octave or developing your knowledge of scales. Long-term goals should be set by the year, mid-term goals can be gauged in months and short-term goals could be accomplished in terms of weeks. Your instructor can help you set these types of goals realistically.
42. Don’t Give Up! People usually quit things when they feel they have no hope in achieving their goals. People also usually quit right before them make some kind of breakthrough. This is most often because breakthroughs usually follow periods of great struggle. Sometimes, you may have to rediscover what inspired you to take lessons in the first place. Talk over your feelings with your instructor. You won’t hurt anyone’s feelings if you say you are uninspired or not enjoying your practicing or your lessons at the moment. Most instructors have gone through the same feelings, frustrations and challenges before, and they have the skills and insight to help you get back on track and continue having fun playing music.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
43. Don’t Let Them Quit Too Easily: Some parents allow their children too much leeway when it comes to their extra-curricular activities. While you obviously want your children to choose the activities they show interest in, too many times parents let their children quit programs before they’ve really given it their best effort. Children do well when their parents have them finish what they start. Remind your child (and sometimes yourself) that sometimes it takes a good three to six months to start to feel comfortable with an instrument. It would be very sad if your son or daughter stopped lessons right before they made great progress. Before your child chooses to take lessons, make an agreement that they stick with it for at least three to six months.
44. Use A Reward System: Kids respond well when there is a carrot at the end of the stick. Kids also love games and contests. You can reward your child in so many fun and creative ways. Offer up something when they practice without being told or after they finish the allotted time for practicing. See Mr. Pete for a free practice “star-chart” and set up rewards after a certain amount of time. The rewards can be very simple and personalized to your child. The choices are endless. You can also have “mini-concerts” each week, where your child shows the family what they’ve been working on (this may only take 30 seconds). You can reward after these little performances as well.
45. Make Practicing Fun: Try not to treat your children’s practicing like another chore they have to do. No one likes to do chores! Instead, have practicing be in a place of a certain chore. Offer simple rewards after they finish their practicing (of if they don’t complain about their practicing!) Be encouraging to their budding efforts and talents. Let them know that you are proud of them for working hard towards their musical goals. Kate Cottrell says, “I created my own practice chart so that everyone could see my progress.” OR you can download practice charts HERE.
46. Get Involved: Take an active interest in your child’s music education. Feel free to sit in on a lesson once in a while, even if it’s for a few moments in the beginning or the end of the lesson. Have the instructor show you what specifically your child needs to work on. Ask how you can help at home. Try to strike a balance between being a cheerleader and an overbearing taskmaster. Some kids may resist your involvement, but just knowing you care enough about their enjoyment and improvement in music will be a great benefit to them.
47. No Outrageous Expectations: Understand that it takes time to become somewhat proficient on an instrument. You aren’t going to have the next Bach, Mozart, Christina Aguilera, Eric Clapton or whoever on you hands anytime soon. Let your child develop at his or her own speed. Putting unrealistic expectations on your kids (or worse-living vicariously through them) will only add undo stress on their lives. You will eventually ruin their enjoyment of music. It’s certainly okay to motivate them and to expect them to do their best, but be careful with pushing them too hard too soon.
48. Have Your Kids Teach YOU: Many parents don’t know how to help their kids with music. Having your child explain to you what they are working on will not only keep you involved with their lessons, but it will also help them reinforce what they need to improve on for that week.
49. Check-In With The Instructor: Every so often, check-in with the instructor to see how your child is progressing. Ask what you can do at home. Ask if the teacher is seeing anything that is a concern, problem or challenge. This is also a good chance to see how well your child is doing and get positive feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions such as “Is she practicing enough?” “How’s his progress?” “What can I do at home to help out?” and so on.
50. Be Undeniably Supportive: Kids need love, encouragement, praise and support as well as discipline, rules, boundaries and gentle constructive criticism. When it comes to music lessons, you obviously want to see your children progress, work hard, apply themselves completely and work to attain their goals. At the same time, they truly need your complete and total support. Especially if they are new with lessons, allow them time to grow and develop. They will have enough pressure on themselves to excel. Cheer them on. Encourage them when they struggle. Assure them that they can do what they wish with the right effort. Allow them to fail here and there and always make a little time to have them play for you.
51. Use Technology To Gain Additional Practice Minutes: Using your smart phone, there are many helpful low-cost or free APPS that can be downloaded to help musicianship while riding in the car or away from the piano. At the piano, make a big deal about setting the phone’s timer for 15 minutes and have them practice until the time is up. Make a big deal about finishing practice time. One idea is to have practice happen between dinner and dessert. This puts the TIMER in charge of when practice is done and not YOU.
52. Create A Mini-Performance Opportunity: Once a song has made significant improvement, call your instructor and leave a recording of the song on their voice mail…or record a voice memo on your phone and forward it to your instructor. The time will fly by! There are also metronome apps for your phone that can help students play scales evenly and consistently.