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| Guide to Practicing |
Overcoming
Technical Problems
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THE most important question you should NOT ask your self "Do I practice enough?," instead, it should be "Am I practicing the right way?"
You might be saying, "Huh?? what is this crazy guy talking about?"
We have always thought that "Practice Makes Perfect." Well, this quote was made by Diogenes, a cynic. He believed that he ought to get rid of all material things and basically walked around in his underwear without any material possessions. So.. If you want to believe in things said by a guy walking around in his underwear, wandering around the streets of ancient Greece, be my guest, but otherwise, read on.
When we say we practice, 90% of the time, it's actually just playing through the song over and over. Believe me, there's a huge difference between playing and practicing.
Playing through a song is like performing, it, only most of the time, you mess up a lot and you play the parts over and over again to death. Sure, you could learn a song that way taking months to learn a song through trial and error. That's the way most animals like lab rats learn things, by the way.
But.... you're not a lab rat, so why should you learn things by trial and error?! Practicing means tearing up the pieces (not literally, although sometimes I wish I could do that) and "teaching" yourself how to play the song. The correct quote that Diogenes should have used was "CORRECT practicing leads to perfection."
If you want to become a good musician, you should always LISTEN, THINK, AND PRACTICE INTELLIGENTLY while you practice. It's not going to do you any good at all to practice for three hours while you daydream as you're practicing! Remember, it's always quality over quantity. Another important thing to remember is to PRACTICE SLOWLY. I know that its hard not to fall asleep playing so slow, but if you're practicing correctly, you should be listening for the right notes, rhythm, and phrasing. Saint-Saëns once said, "One must practice slowly, then more slowly, and finally slowly." This sounds a bit boring, but you have to consider, he was a world famous musician. Anyways, slow, correct practicing will lead you towards the perfection of your piece.