Creating Your Perfect Practice Routine
The Importance of Routine
Routine is a part of our daily lives in most things we do be it work, exercise, cooking meals, brushing our teeth, commuting to work or school, getting ready for bed, and so much more. Routines allow us to organize everyday tasks into achievable patterns that feel less daunting both physically and mentally.
A great example of adding a new routine to your life is implementing an exercise plan. If you’re committed to fitting physical activity into your daily or weekly schedule, you’re likely going to do some planning in advance. First, you’ll probably consider what your goals are and why you want to embark on this new journey to begin with. The why’s could vary from medical reasons, weight loss, the pursuit of a new sport or hobby, muscle gain, desire to feel physically healthier, wanting your clothes to fit better, or improved mental health, to name a few. Depending on your why, you may set several goals for yourself followed by benchmarks to meet along the way and successes you can celebrate. Then, depending on your goals and how quickly you’d like to achieve them, you may decide what types of exercises you need to do, how often you need to do them, how to make them more challenging over time as you get stronger, and when all of this fits into your current schedule. In addition, you may decide to change other daily habits to help meet your goals. For example, you choose to get up 30 minutes earlier in order to squeeze your workout in before the rest of your family is awake or cook healthier meals.
This all probably sounds very familiar; as I’m sure you’ve gathered, building routines for our musical journey is no different!
Steps to Building a New Routine:
Make a conscious decision to commit to something for a specific reason: your why
Set your mind on a goal, then break it into smaller, bite-sized, short-term goals
Plan around your goals, schedule, and how quickly you’d like to progress
Today’s post will focus on step 2.
The Goal of Practicing
Depending on where you are in your musical journey, your practice sessions and goals will vary greatly. This article highlighting an interview with Yo-Yo Ma and his views on the goals of practicing at different skill levels is a must-read. I will summarize the main points below, but the entire article really is worth your time!
Practice Goals for Beginners:
Focus on proper set-up, form, posture, and technique- the fundamentals
Become familiar with your instrument by playing as many correct notes as possible; increase comfort navigating around instrument with a pleasant tone
Learn to internalize a steady beat by practicing with a metronome
Learn to self analyze and make corrections so as to not make the same mistake twice
Listen to as much music as possible to engage your imagination, find intrinsic motivation, stay inspired, and provide examples to emulate in your own playing (more about this soon)!
Generally, become comfortable with playing and performing
An advancing musician has familiarized themselves with their instrument in a deep and meaningful way. Their main goal is to now determine how they as an individual practice most efficiently and effectively in order to make the most of their practice time.
Practice Goals for Advancing Musicians:
Get better at the art of practicing in order to maximize work accomplished in minimal time
Identify what practice techniques work best for them as an individual- when a teacher offers advice or solutions, what works and what doesn’t?
Take successful techniques and create a systematized approach to practicing a new piece of music
Before playing a new piece, identify the challenges presented and how they can be tackled
Become familiar with the style of a piece by listening to music by the composer, similar works from the musical time period, etc
Critique performances of current piece to formulate own interpretation
Once a musician is able to perform consistently and comfortably at a high level, their dedicated practice time will revolve around performer interpretation of the piece in progress. They are taking the proverbial recipe and making it their own.
An excerpt from CelloLoft’s article on Yo-Yo Ma’s practice routine:
“An advanced players’ goal is to interpret deeply without the instrument getting in the way. Like Yo-Yo says, they practice as little as possible (because why waste time?!) and in such a way that “missing” a note or idea is impossible. They put their knowledge of theory and history to use, informing their artistic decisions. Then, they get outta there!”
Practice Goals for an Advanced Musician: please note every performer has their own practice methods- this serves more as an example for beginning and advancing musicians to understand what they are working towards long term.
Dissect music with and without an instrument, identifying key moments, how phrases are structured, the overall form of the piece, harmony, the evolution of motifs, etc
Research performance style of piece
Continue implementing systematized practice routine and increasing practice efficiency to minimize amount of time spent vs material accomplished. At this point a musician understands how to practice in such a way that they can’t play imperfectly.
Understanding the goals of practicing makes it easier for a musician to reach their own personal goals in a timely manner.
Setting Specific and Achievable Personal Goals
It’s time for some audience participation! This is where you define your own personal cello goals. Remember, these are goals for you; don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Consider reflecting on your why during this process. I highly recommend having a special notebook where you can write your goals as part of the practice journaling process (separate blog post- more soon!)
Setting goals lets us know where we want and need to make progress and what we are striving to hear out of our cello that day. This is part of establishing our routine and systematized practice structure.
Have you ever thought to yourself “ughhhh, I really should practice today…”? Admit it, we all have. This thought process occurs when we lack goals, direction, and a plan of action. Without direction or a task to tackle, it becomes incredibly difficult to find the intrinsic motivation to practice. We don’t know what we’re trying to accomplish, so we have no metric for monitoring our progress in that moment either. It’s vital as part of one’s musical growth to always have something to reach for: to know what comes next.
Let’s figure out what this looks like for you and where you currently are on your musical journey.
Do you have your special notebook or journal ready? Open up to the first page and start by putting today’s date and taking time to write out your why. No really, just do it. It will serve as a reflection tool time and time again. You’ll be glad it’s there later. The first set of goals we will tackle today will focus on big-picture items and become more specific and refined over time. We have to start somewhere and what better time than now.
Below the date and your why, title a new section “Long Term Goals”. Here is where you will make note of what you hope to ultimately be able to accomplish with or on your instrument. Perhaps you want to be able to play with an amateur orchestra someday or you were really inspired by Bach’s Prelude. You may find that your why and long term goal look very similar. This is a good observation to take note of.
Next up is “Mid Term Goals”. Let’s use this section to set a goal for a year out from now. What piece do you want to be able to play a year from now? What techniques do you want to begin learning or master? Vibrato, shifting, a specific bow technique, etc… Maybe you want to be able to play in front of your church or for a family gathering or call your sister on her birthday and play Happy Birthday. Remember, these goals are for you. Be realistic in your goal setting by choosing something that will push and progress you while still being obtainable within the specified timeframe (1 year).
After you’ve defined your long term and mid term goals, reframe your vision to much sooner in the future for “Short Term Goals”. What do you hope to accomplish this week? Yes, it’s just as important if not more-so to set goals at this micro level. Consider the music and exercises your teacher has assigned to you or that you’re otherwise working on, the techniques involved in each piece or exercise, and where there is room for progress. Consider categories such as tone (the way you sound), intonation (how in tune you are), rhythmic accuracy, tempo, bowing techniques and articulations, clean shifts, dynamics, posture and positioning, and bow hold. These goals will play a big role in setting your specific, daily cello goals so more detail here can be useful.
Creating a Structured Practice Plan
As you develop your personal routine and set goals for yourself, keep in mind it is important to focus less on amount of time practiced and more on the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of your practicing (unless you are an absolute beginner building muscle memory and fundamentals). Your practice sessions should revolve around reaching the daily goals you have set for yourself which will stem from “trouble spots” in your music. I will do a deep dive on effective practice strategies in a separate post, but for now, let’s create a general outline for your practice plan.
On a new page in your journal, rewrite your weekly goal at the top along with the first of your chosen pre-planned practice days. Include space to track your session start and end time, too. This serves as a personal note only since we are focusing on the quality of our practice session. Remember as you create your daily goals that they should ultimately propel you towards your goal(s) for the week.
The outline of your first practice journal entry may include the following categories:
Date, start time-end time, weekly goal
Warming up the body away from your instrument
To help combat fatigue, stiffness, and injury, it is important to warm up the body prior to a practice session similarly to an athlete. This is especially important as musicians are prone to imbalances in flexibility and strength as a result of overusing certain muscle groups and underusing others.
Tina Guo is a professional cellist with some physical challenges similar to ones I personally face as a musician. She has an excellent stretching routine I like to follow, especially if I know I’m going to be practicing for a longer duration. I also regularly follow guided yoga routines on YouTube prior to practicing as well.
If you don’t have time for an entire routine, you can instead focus on a few stretches for your the fingers, wrists, shoulders, and spine. Try searching Google and/or YouTube for “Stretches for Musicians” to find a variety of stretches to try, then make your own routine from the ones you like best or find the most relief from. You may also consider including some balance and breathing exercises in this part of your session. The above warmups are an important part of getting ready to tackle your goals both physically and mentally.Warming up at your instrument
This part of your routine fires up the brain in addition to the body and should include daily drills that set you up for success throughout the rest of your practice session. I recommend warming up the left hand (LH) and right hand (RH) alone before combining them.
Choose warmups that reflect your goals and areas that require improvement. For example, if you know that in the piece of music you are working on you’d like to improve your intonation and a specific rhythm, incorporate those into your warmup. You may choose to play your trouble rhythm with a metronome on each of your open strings several times for RH reinforcement. Perhaps in a separate exercise, you focus on playing the same 3 notes with perfect intonation against a drone.
This is also a great place to work on areas of your playing that require general improvement outside of the piece you’re working on. If you’re working on building left hand strength and agility, you could also include an agility exercise here with a metronome that gradually gets faster over time.
Right hand warmup examples:
-Bow exercises away from the cello
-Open string bow exercises; long-tones or rhythmic
-Metronome exercises for developing a sense of steady beat
Left hand warmup examples:
-Agility exercises
-Trill exercises
-Double stops/other intonation practices
-Vibrato exercises
-Shifting exercisesScales/Other technical exercises- scales and arpeggios are often used as a way to become more familiar and comfortable with your instrument in a large variety of ways. They are fantastic for building coordination and dexterity in beginning musicians. This is an important part of your routine for improving and solidifying intonation as well since all scales follow the same pattern within their respective classification. Scales can also be altered as a way to reinforce different bow patterns and articulations and can be played at different speeds in different styles at different dynamic levels, and so on. The possibilities are truly endless.
ètude: The word ètude literally translates to “the study”. These short performable practice pieces are used to reinforce a specific musical technique, bridging the gap between technical exercises and repertoire.
Repertoire/Main Piece The bulk of your practice session (~half your time). This is where you will identify, analyze, break down, and isolate small sections that challenge you and turn them into daily goals. Review less challenging parts/parts you know well and enjoy towards the end of your session.
Fun Cooldown Piece: This should be something that makes you feel good, especially on days where a practice session may be particularly frustrating (this happens to everyone). Some of my students have turned to songs from Disney, Harry Potter, The Piano Guys, or their favorite non-classical artist. Other students prefer the classics and have opted for a short piece or except within this genre. Whatever you choose, it’s important that it makes you feel confident on your instrument in order to end your practice session on a proverbial (and possibly literal) high note. :)
Warmdown Stretches: After over and under using different muscles and sitting for any duration of time, it’s important to realign the body.
This routine will look different for everyone, of course. Beginning students will be missing a lot of these components while they focus on correct form, building strength, and mastering the fundamentals. There are also possibilities I did not include here that we will go into more detail on later such as sight reading, ear training, and music theory.
Not only will your routine vary based on personal preferences, but also how you’ve chosen to divide your scheduled practice throughout the week or day. If your practice time is split into multiple sessions throughout the day, you may choose to complete steps 1 through 4 during the first session and 5 through 7 during the second. Maybe you instead mix the routine up entirely or add or remove certain steps. What’s important is finding what works best for you as a progressing musician and individual. There is no wrong answer. Even if you figure out your perfect routine for right now, there’s a good chance it will look different a year from now. This is a process that will continue to evolve as you progress, grow, and experiences changes in your life that present more or less time to spend with your instrument.
While this entire process is time consuming, if the goal is learning to play your instrument well, then learning how to practice, formulating a personal practice routine, and setting achievable goals for yourself are not optional. If you’re not typically a “planner” type, I challenge you to try the methods and techniques shared over the course of this month for a month and make comparisons to your typical rate of progress. I have a feeling you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
My next post will dive more into the knitty-gritty problem-solving practice techniques that can help metamorphosize your mistakes into mastery. Stay tuned and happy practicing! ~Lisa
Resources & Further Reading/Watching
Practicing, Time Management, and Scheduling (YouTube- Cello Doll)
Developing Your Ideal Practice Routine (YoutTube- AdultCello)
Structuring Your Cello Practice Time (YouTube- AdultCello)
Unpacking Yo-Yo Ma’s Practice Routine
Beginning Cello Player- An Effective Practice Strategy
Effective Practicing: Warming Up
Stretches for Musicians (YouTube- Tina Guo)
All About Time
Over the past week, we’ve explored finding our why and setting up the perfect practice space for productive practice sessions. We’re feeling inspired, motivated, and prepared! So what’s next?
Two of the questions I hear most often in regard to practicing are:
“How often should I be practicing”? and
“For how long should I be practicing”?
The truth is there are no cookie-cutter answers to these questions. A lot of this depends on you, your schedule, and where you are in your musical journey.
Time Management &
Adding Music to your Busy Life
Most individuals consider themselves to have a packed schedule. You may be a student in school managing homework, clubs, sports, a part-time job, and a social life. Or perhaps you’re an adult juggling a career, family obligations, meal prep, errands, house chores, and get-togethers with friends. Chances are, if you made the decision to learn a musical instrument, you thought through your current schedule and obligations already. You made yourself a priority and felt there was room for music in your life.
But even with the best of intentions, sometimes in the every-day hustle and bustle it can be easy for the hours to fly by and get away from us. Suddenly it’s dinner time and the kids need prepped for bed or, gosh-darn-it, you just need to sit down and watch an episode of your favorite show after a long day (and are entitled to it)! It’s important to take and make time for yourself, too.
So how can we possibly make time for music?
I will share with you what has worked for me. Even if you’re not a pen-and-paper kind of person, I highly recommend giving this a try at least once. Because the act of physically writing something down requires more cognitive activity than typing the same information on a computer, tablet, or phone, more parts of the brain are utilized. This means you are more likely to remember and commit to a written-down task or goal. Putting our thoughts on paper is also a form of mental decluttering, which encourages and improves overall productivity and organization.
I highly recommend utilizing a planner or notebook that has a format similar to the one below. Ensure it contains all waking hours for your specific schedule. If your schedule is different every day, make one for each day of the week.
Once you have your template set up and ready to go, you can attack the next step of this process in one of two ways:
1). If you know your schedule like the back of your hand and it is consistent, write down your daily obligations first. Be detailed. Include things like cooking dinner and time spent getting around before you start your day. Then, where you have any gaps in your schedule without daily obligations, put a box around them to indicate “open” time.
2). Alternatively, you can track what you do for an entire week and write it down as you go. Block off open time but also any space you find yourself doing an optional activity in your down time.
Open gaps of time can also include when you first wake up in the morning before anyone else in your household is awake, lunch breaks, planning periods, and the nighttime hours after everyone has gone to bed, depending on your schedule.
The most important thing here is to identify where you actively have space in your day to commit some time to practicing.
Duration & Frequency
This is where the “how often” and “for how long” questions come into play. If you’re a beginner, I highly recommend daily practice or as close to it as possible. This could mean 5-15 minutes. This could mean two 10-minute sessions at different times of day. It’s not necessary to sit down and play for an hour straight, but the strength and muscle memory that are developed during the beginning stages of learning a string instrument are imperative for your long-term success and will take much longer to develop with inconsistent practice.
If you are beyond the “beginner” stages of learning an instrument, the quality of your practice will always be more important than how long you practice for. This means it's more valuable to sit down and practice something specific and focused for 20 minutes than it is an hour or two of unplanned, haphazard practicing. Practice techniques and strategies are a topic I will do a deep dive on in a separate post, so keep an eye out for this soon! :)
Regardless of your age or years spent playing your instrument, the human attention span for a given task is not a long one. You may find that instead of sitting down for one long practice session, you benefit more for two or three shorter ones spread throughout the day. These smaller chunks of time may make scheduling your practice sessions a bit easier to work with as well. Give it a try and see how it feels for you!
Creating & Refining Your Schedule
You know yourself and your energy levels best. Are you more productive at the beginning, middle, or end of the day? Are the gaps of time in your schedule shorter or longer? On what days do you have more or less stressful obligations?
Take a close look at the open blocks of time you’ve identified throughout your week, choosing times to practice based on this knowledge. Remember to work around your energy. Pre-schedule these practice sessions by adding them to your calendar or as an alarm in your phone. Even a general time like “after work” can be a good start.
We will talk more about what to practice and how to break your practice session down to accomplish specific tasks in an upcoming post. For today, I’ll leave you with 2 quick tips:
1). In general, our brains respond best to a daily routine accompanied by proper sleep hygiene. When possible, try not only to keep a consistent daily schedule but also go to bed and wake up as close to the same time as possible, ensuring you’re getting 7-9 hours of sleep.
2). Practice immediately before your lesson and also after, if only for a few minutes. This helps get you mentally prepared for your lesson, recall any questions or trouble spots you may have, and warms up the muscles in your body, making it easier to play. When you practice after a lesson you are taking any new information you just learned and committing it to memory with repetition. This helps keep new information from getting “lost" between your lesson and the next time you sit down to play.
I hope you found some of this helpful. More soon!
Happy Practicing~
Lisa
Resources & Further Reading/Viewing:
Developing Your Ideal Practice Routine (YT Video)
5 Tips for Building Effective Practice Habits
Setting up the Perfect Practice Space (Cello)
It may seem trivial, but finding the right physical practice space and ensuring it meets all of your needs can vastly accelerate the rate at which you progress on your instrument.
The ideal practice space will:
Be large enough
A dedicated room is ideal, but minimally you should be able to sit and extend your arms straight out to either side of your body without bumping into anything. This guarantees we have enough space to move our bow and body freely.
A dedicated room makes it possible to leave everything set up and easily accessible so the only thing you need to worry about is sitting down to practice.
If a dedicated room is not possible, avoid distracting, high-traffic areas in your home.
Be private, quiet, and free from distraction - a “practice sanctuary”
Try to find a time of day to practice when you aren’t worried about someone else listening in. You should be able to practice freely without fear of judgment.
Turn off the TV and switch your cell phone to airplane mode if possible. Try setting a timer and leaving it on the other side of the room to avoid checking the clock or worrying about how much time is remaining.
If you live in an apartment or need to practice during odd hours, consider picking up a practice mute. This dampens your sound without you having to alter your bow technique.
If there are certain circumstances that keep you from being able to practice your instrument in its full capacity, consider working on something else that day such as music theory, interval training, or dedicated listening.
Have excellent lighting
It can be challenging enough to learn an instrument and how to read musical notation without squinting to figure out what you’re looking at! Choosing lighting that allows you to see your music clearly, whether it’s natural lighting, overhead lighting. or a few floor lamps. A clip-on stand light goes a long way in a pinch, too!
Have all of the tools you need in order to be successful
A chair or stool that promotes proper posture and positioning. I prefer a backless piano bench/stool when I practice to encourage sitting on the edge of my seat. You should be able to rest your feet flat on the floor with relaxed knees and ankles.
A music stand- I highly recommend a non-wire music stand when possible because they are incredibly durable and can withstand the weight of a practice binder or larger music book. Check out the supply page for further suggestions!
A cello stand is a worthwhile investment as it keeps your instrument unpacked but out of the way from children or pets. It also makes your instrument easily accessible for practice sessions. You may find it more motivating to practice when you aren’t required to go through the unpacking and re-packing process each time.
If you are not practicing in a room with carpet, a rock-stop or something else to hold your cello in place to keep it from sliding across a hard, smooth surface. A bath mat with a grippy bottom works in a pinch as well.
A binder for keeping loose leaf paper and organizing your sheet music and/or a notebook to utilize as a practice journal if you are working predominantly from lesson books.
A pencil for marking your music or writing in your practice journal. Keep a large eraser and sharpener handy as well.
A metronome and tuner
A mirror or device such as an iPad or phone that allows you to self-evaluate and make corrections during practice sessions.
A cleaning cloth and rosin (tip: rosin your bow before you practice and immediately put it away so you don’t accidentally knock it down or drop it).
When possible, a desk with a computer, laptop, or tablet is an excellent resource for looking up YouTube videos, checking your practice notes from your lessons, looking up sheet music, and utilizing a drum machine, to name a few.
A glass of water or your favorite tea - anything you may feel inclined to get up to leave your space for… bring it to you instead so you can remain productive and focused.
Allow you to hear yourself clearly - soundproofing
An empty room can be difficult to practice in with sounds reflecting off everything. A large area rug, thick curtains, and furniture in the corners of rooms can go a long way.
Be temperature and humidity controlled
Not only is it uncomfortable for you if a room is a less than desirable temperature or humidity level, it can also damage your instrument.
Inspire you
If you’re able to have a dedicated room in your house for practicing, make it the best room in the house- somewhere you love to go. Paint a wall you’re favorite color. Hang posters of musicians who inspire you or display your favorite vinyls. Make an inspiration board. Fill it with plants. Whatever makes you feel happy, motivated, and authentically you.
Does your current practice set-up check all the boxes or did you discover some changes you could make?
Share pictures of your practice space to lisaxyoung115@gmail.com
What’s Your Why?
The moment you make the conscious decision to learn an instrument is a big one. Something moves you; a wave of enthrallment and determination sweeps you into a state of emotion and frame of mind you perhaps didn’t even know existed. You find yourself in a sea of thoughts where you’re a different version of yourself. A new you- one with an instrument in your hands and a spark in your soul. It’s in that beautiful moment you begin redefining yourself as a musician.
I vividly remember my “moment.”
As an oblivious third grader, I marched single-file down the hallway for what I expected to be “just another assembly.” Taking my seat criss-cross on the cold floor of the cafegymnatorium, my boredom and dread quickly transformed into curiosity. Light danced around the room like a disco ball reflecting off the brass and wood display on stage. When the lights dimmed, my life was changed forever. A mystery man demonstrated every instrument the band and orchestra had to offer, gauging interest for new ensemble members. And boy, was I interested. With each note that sounded, I was filled with glee, awe, and excitement. My heart pounded. My imagination went wild. I had never felt so inspired in my entire eight years of living.
When the time came to enroll, I waited my turn in line to proudly exclaim my instrument selection to my new teacher. Before I could, he looked me in the eye and said “a violinist, right?”
I thought the man could read minds! I smiled and nodded my head with enthusiasm. Suddenly, he brought himself close to whisper in my ear as if he didn’t want the other students to hear, “Violinists are a dime a dozen, Lisa. If you want to be great, if you want to excel, pick up a cello. You’ll love it. It suits you.” And with those few words of wisdom, I was born again as a musician.
Years later as an adult and public school orchestra teacher myself, I now know this is a fabulous recruitment technique when your ensemble is lacking in a certain instrument and you need to balance out your ensemble (so don’t be too offended, violinist)! Regardless, my teacher wasn’t wrong. I didn’t know it at the time, but I actually prefer the sound of lower pitched instruments. There’s a good chance I may not have loved the violin quite as much.
My “why” may have started as a basic fascination with musical instruments and the unexplained feeling it gave me, but it’s served me far beyond that over my 32 years of playing.
So why does your why matter right now? Because not only is it your flame, but your fuel. Every musician knows it’s not always easy to keep fighting the good fight. Practicing becomes part of our routine, which is fabulous for habit building, but can sometimes cause us to forget what made us so pumped-up to begin with. Remembering your why and the moment that brought you to it can keep you grounded and motivated to push forward through those less-than-stellar days.
Your first challenge as part of “No Excuses November” is to recall the moment that made you want to learn how to play an instrument. Then, consider your current whys. How does playing and practicing your instrument benefit you? How does it enhance your life?
A few examples:
Social benefits- teacher/student, fellow musicians, music enthusiasts, etc. This could also include learning alongside someone else such as a friend, child/parent, or other family member.
Physical benefits- with proper form, playing an instrument can lead to improvements in dexterity, range of motion, and strength. It also burns more calories than you think!
Cognitive benefits- improved memory, verbal fluency, and information processing, to name a few.
Mental health benefits- reduces stress and depression by inducing positive mood states and helps us to escape our every-day worries while musically engaged. Additionally, when we work towards being the best versions of ourselves in any way, this increases our self-esteem.
Creative outlet- composing, arranging, etc
Promotes time management skills
As a path to something bigger- a career, being part of an orchestra or other performing group, playing for weddings
Just because you love it! It’s important to make time for ourselves, hobbies, and things that make us feel good!
In need of extra motivation? Check out this powerful motivational speech on finding and defining your why.
I encourage you to write both your “moment” and your why down somewhere. Keep it visible in your practice space. If you feel comfortable doing so, I’d love to hear what got you here and what keeps you going.
Email: lisaxyoung115@gmail.com
Happy practicing! More soon.
Lisa
(“No Excuses”) November
After reading through survey feedback and countless conversations with students, I’m excited to present to you the theme for the month of November:
Practicing
Throughout the month I will share content, tips, and tools to improve your practice routine and environment so you can be the best musical version of yourself possible!
How long do I practice?
How many days per week?
What do I practice?
I practice, but I’m not seeing improvement! Ugh!
I have pain and tension during practice sessions.
I don’t have enough time!
I need to get organized and on a schedule, but I just don’t know how!
I’m bored!
I’m unmotivated!
If you’ve ever thought or said aloud any of the above, this month is for you!
Week 1: Setting Intentions
Being your own “hype (wo)man”, finding your “why”, and creating a productive practice space
Week 2: Planning & Preparation
Goal setting, managing your time, and creating a practice routine
Week 3: The Act of Practicing
Stretching, intentional practice, visualization, and gamified practice
Week 4: Accountability
Practice journaling, self-assessment, and other forms of accountability
Week 5: Tools of the Trade
Metronomes & drum machines, recordings, ear training, sight-reading, and composition