The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.
Source: https://www.musiciansway.com/blog/2017/12/the-5-practice-zones/
| Active Listening | Instrumentation: As an active listener, see if you can identify every musical instrument on a recording. If you're hearing the music live, try to pick out the individual lines played by each musician. Structure: In popular music, listen to the song form—verse, chorus, bridge, etc.—to study how the songwriter structures the tune. In classical music, try to identify formal structures, such as a fugue, a sonata form, or a dance style like a rondo or mazurka. Having a background in music theory will help immensely in this regard. Style: Is the music you're hearing aligned with a particular musical genre? Do you hear elements of other genres as well? Technique: Decide for yourself whether you like the way the instrumentalists and vocalists perform. You may love what you hear, or you may note imperfections. Lyrics: Focus on imagery, figurative language, and rhyme scheme. | | --- | --- | | ART | Attention Restoration Theory–Use ART to renew cognitive resources through interaction with natural environments during long practice sessions https://tasiamalone.com/use-art-to-improve-your-practice-sessions/ | | Audio Record | Record+review audio excerpts of your music | | Chaining | For difficult passages, start with the first chunk you can play, then slowly add on to it until you can play the entire phrase or section | | Error Targeting | Focus on the sections you struggle with; practice transitions in/out of these sections | | Mock Performance | Use a mock performance to play your music in front of a small audience before the scheduled "true" performance | | Play with Patterns | Usually a scale is played by going up and down the staircase: 1,2,3,4 up to 8 and down again. Play around with the notes in different patterns to keep it interesting and challenging. (eg: 1,3,2,4,3,5,4,6 etc. or 1,2,3,2,1,3,4,3,2,4,5 etc.) | | Reverse Chunking | When learning a new piece of music, chunk out your music and then start learning the end first. Once you've learned the end chunk, start working on the previous chunk and keep adding until you make it all the way to the beginning of the piece. | | Score Study | Score Study Checklist: • Pick a transition, phrase, or section of a piece. • Consider the analytical elements in that music. (Tempo, dynamics, harmony, orchestration, layers, etc.) • Sing or play the melody on your instrument. (Take some time here, really try and perform the music to the best of your ability.) • Play the melody or phrase several different ways, including ways that may seem contrary to your musical intuition. Try and find words to describe the music that you are performing • Repeat this process with counter-lines or accompaniment. • Brainstorm several ways of how these components interact and influence each other. Try to sing one line while playing another or simply use your inner-ear to picture the whole soundscape. (This definitely takes practice, but it allows your imagination to shape each part rather than relying on a recording.) Source: https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/making-musical-decisions-score-study/ | | Spaced Repetition | Take information that you need to memorize and repeat it across increasing intervals. Information that is recalled easily appears at wider intervals, while information you struggle with gets shorter intervals. eg: Early music learning/memorization in short intervals, music retention in longer intervals. | | Technical Workout | If there is a particular technique or aspect of music you are working on that you find difficult, (eg: a rhythm, a bowing pattern, or breath control), use scales/warm-ups as a chance to practice that technique as well | | Video Record | Record+review video excerpts of your music | | Visualization | Visualize yourself performing in different settings; try to accomplish the state of mind you would have in a particular setting | | Vocalization | Vocalize rhythmic and/or melodic passages of your music | | Whole-Part-Whole | Play the entire piece, then just play a section, then play the whole piece again; focus on transitions and how the section fits into the whole |