# How to practice effectively.



## Jaws

It is quite common for people to have to have lessons in how to practice. Are there any ideas on how to use the practice time most efficiently especially if that time is short?


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## hreichgott

If you usually have a good amount of practice time but just have a couple days or a week when it's limited, just do triage: work on a couple little spots and short sections that really need it, and play through the piece once at the end.

If practice time is always in short supply then one needs to plan one's repertoire to accommodate limited time, working on easier, shorter and fewer pieces than one normally would.


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## treeza

5-10 minutes on scales/ appregios, a small amount of time on sight reading and the rest on the pieces you are learning. Don't continue to play parts you are confident on either. Also it's better to tackle something difficult or new before your scales etc whilst your mind is fresh. Try to plan what you're going to learn/ do each lesson (ie set goals) otherwise you can slip into a habit of wasting your time on practice and not getting anywhere.
Break your piece(s) up into sections and remember that it's better to learn a small amount of a piece correctly than a large amount incorrectly.
Most importantly, play through what you've done at the end


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## tdc

Find pieces you enjoy playing, practice those and pay attention to sections you have difficulty with - practice those sections the most. Once you no longer feel sufficiently challenged by a piece move onto another piece.


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## JeffD

I see this is an old thread. I thought I would share the warm up routine advocated by the world class mandolinist Jacob Reuven:


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## Harshberger

Thanks for all the advice in this thread. I'll try to keep that in mind, especially to try to focus on what I struggle with the most.


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## Nate Miller

there are actually books on the subject. "The Art of Practicing" by Madeline Bruser is one I got a lot out of

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Practicing-Guide-Making-Music/dp/0609801775/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515524025&sr=8-1&keywords=art+of+practicing

its on Amazon used in paperback for $2, so you can't go far wrong


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## Taplow

Rest is as important as the time you spend practicing. Often I can practice a difficult section, or a fingering, bowing or position shift over and over again and get nowhere. But after a short rest, I can come back to it and find that I play it perfectly first time.


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## Nate Miller

Taplow said:


> Rest is as important as the time you spend practicing. Often I can practice a difficult section, or a fingering, bowing or position shift over and over again and get nowhere. But after a short rest, I can come back to it and find that I play it perfectly first time.


yes, I take short breaks every 20 or 30 minutes. muscle fatigue, tension, and a lack of mental focus are the things that get in the way and just plowing through when you are tired doesn't help any of that. I get up, get some more tea, walk around a bit, stretch... and then come back to it


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## IamTim

I can't offer anything that has not already been said. My youngest is a Piano/Viola player who stopped violin due to lack of practice time and this year has been really tight for her so she practices sometimes in shorter increments; 10 to 15 minutes. Or she works on sections she has a hard time with. But when she has time she is there for a hour or more.

However I too have a problem finding time to practice. I was a classical Guitar player, mediocre at best, but I stopped years ago and I am trying to get back into practicing. But between work, being Mr Mom most of the time because my wife works late, and having another in college who likes to scare the living daylights out of me from time to time, most recently deciding he was going to go to NYC to visit friends on the day the bomb cyclone hit... called me while enroute.... I find it hard to find the time myself


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## Pugg

Harshberger said:


> Thanks for all the advice in this thread. I'll try to keep that in mind, especially to try to focus on what I struggle with the most.


And please do tell us if it helped you?


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## musicaljohn

I defintely agree with all the above mentioned suggestions. 

What worked best for me was trying to play pieces that I truly enjoy.

Goodluck


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## Potiphera

Thank you, thank you, Nate, I have ordered the book you recommended , it seems just what I am looking for. I have now ordered it from Amazon. 
:tiphat:


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## Heck148

Good topic, and if course, many many famous performers and teachers have weighed in....
If you are working on specific pieces, and time is short- work on the trouble spots.....SLOWLY....analyze what you are doing, what you want to do, and practice SLOWLY.....Do Not Practice Mistakes!! If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast.....slow practice, correct hand position, fingering, breathing....slow and correct has great musical value....fast and sloppy, or incorrect has none.
Once you learn the correct patterns, perfect every time, it is quite easy to speed up to the target tempo....slow and accurate is the key..


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## Nate Miller

Heck148 said:


> Good topic, and if course, many many famous performers and teachers have weighed in....
> If you are working on specific pieces, and time is short- work on the trouble spots.....SLOWLY....analyze what you are doing, what you want to do, and practice SLOWLY.....Do Not Practice Mistakes!! If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast.....slow practice, correct hand position, fingering, breathing....slow and correct has great musical value....fast and sloppy, or incorrect has none.
> Once you learn the correct patterns, perfect every time, it is quite easy to speed up to the target tempo....slow and accurate is the key..


This right here is really how one goes about preparing a piece for performance. The thing to keep in mind when you practice is that doubt...any uncertainty at all about what EXACTLY you hands are doing will manifest itself as a mistake in performance. This is why Heck says practice slowly. But don't play slowly and mindlessly. Use the time that slow playing affords you to clear up any uncertainty in your mind. Playing slowly gives you the time to become aware of every detail


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## Taggart




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