Practice Challenge Tips: Repetition Can Be Fun!

If you signed up to participate in CYM’s October Practice Challenge (and even if you did not), you may already be experiencing some dissatisfaction as you reach to match the length of your daily home practice session with that of your weekly individual lesson. Why does time seem to move so slowly when there is arduous work to do?!

Let’s admit it – practice can sometimes be frustratingly boring. To get your eyes off of the clock and relax into putting a well learned skill into your brain’s deep memory, try using these practice tips to help make repetition easier. Adding a little “gaming” into your work session will keep your mood positive and, if you also switch things up to review formerly learned pieces on a regular basis, music practice will remain a refreshing activity. Here are a few suggestions that CYM Guitar Faculty Mark Marston uses in his lessons with students:

DICE – roll the dice and repeat a musical section/exercise that many times. Start with one 6 sided die, then try using two, then switch to a die with more sides.

TIC TAC TOE – if you do the repetition correctly, take a turn, but if the repetition does not come out well, your parent or practice helper takes a turn.

TIMER – set a timer for 30, 60, or 90 seconds (depending on what you are practicing), and accurately repeat skill as many times as you can before the alarm rings.

SPACE – play the section five times in each section of your house, taking a bow between rooms and smiling widely!

COUNTER – use a easy to move mechanism like an abacus, toy cars, marbles, etc. to count as you make repetitions.

HANGMAN – ask your practice helper or parent to choose a word, playing the tricky technique at each letter guess.

ZOOM – play your repetitions for a friend or relative, first explaining what you are changing in your technique.

We believe in you and know you can make steady improvement this month – keep up the good efforts!