How to Practice Logically

It all comes down to how you practice.

Develop an effective strategy, and you can do incredible things. Trash through your music beginning to end, whatever happens happens...and you are looking at a result that's much less fun. 

This applies to anything you practice. Wellness, sports, writing, and more.

Most of society believes that it takes persisting through frustration, mistakes, and failures to succeed musically. That if you just try enough times, then you will eventually get it, and all of the suffering will eventually pay off.

This is not only false, it is a limited way of thinking.

Frustration can and should be used as a tool. But it is not what practicing is about. Misguided frustration leads to quitting.

An effective, logical practice session doesn't rely on simply trying again and again through thick and thin until you reach this magical moment you finally get it right. 

And it certainly doesn't rely on luck.

It relies on setting goals, creating a plan, and testing hypotheses to learn and solve problems.

And if a hypothesis doesn't work out properly, have a backup plan. This keeps you from spinning your wheels. There is always a next step.

Here is an example.

A 15-minute practice session on a Clementi sonatina.

Goal: Learn measures 1-16 so I can play all of the proper notes, rhythms, and dynamics without mistakes or stopping. Slow is okay.

Plan: Practice in smaller sections with many error-free repetitions, then put them all together.

Hypotheses: If I play measures 1-8 three times in a row with no mistakes and measures 9-16 three times in a row with no mistakes, then I will be able to play measures 1-16 with no mistakes.

If I can't play measures 1-8 three times in a row without errors, or if I get really frustrated, then I will break it down again into measures 1-4 and measures 5-8, and play those sections three times in a row.

If I can't play measures 1-4 three times in a row, then I will break it down into two-measure sections.

I think you get the idea. The elegance of this approach is that there is no guesswork. You know the results you are going to get, and how you are going to get them. 

No wondering when you might be making progress.

You have a plan. You know what to do. You know what to do next if something doesn't work as planned.

The problem? Most students are so busy, that putting this sort of time, love, and care into planning practice can feel impossible.

But there is a paradox here. In the short run, it may feel like it is taking longer to learn new music like this. But in the long run, you will learn music faster. And you will progress at lightning speed.

People will talk about how talented you are, but you will know the real reason.

That you took the time to practice logically.

And that is where the magic happens.