3. When Practicing Music, It’s All About Quality

Practicing can be very complicated if you want results.  Here, in the 3rd installment of the Practicing Music Blog Series, we discuss ways to get those results without devoting too much time toward practicing.  Turns out, it’s not about the time! Keep reading and find out what does matter.

Quality is Better Than Quantity

This is a rule that I’ve learned to apply in many aspects of my life, and it really works!  A study about violinists found that one of the differences between amateur musicians and professional musicians is not the amount of time they practiced, but how they used that time when they practiced (watch this video to learn more).  I’d like to think of it as “mindful practicing“.  This means that setting the timer for 20 minutes and filling the time with practicing is not the way to go.  That kind of quantity focused practice may be too repetitious and lead to boredom and low productivity.  Instead, try focusing on the quality of your music playing while practicing. Practicing music can be tricky in this respect because sometimes it’s good to do lots of repetitions, but there’s no secret number or amount of time you spend doing repetitions that will work for every age, every type of person  and every piece of music.  Let’s also keep in mind, since many of you probably have children of varying ages, that how your child practices depends on their age and ability.  

Let’s start with our youngest age: 4-5 year olds (we don’t recommend structured practicing with children younger than 4).  Children at this age can only concentrate for small lengths of time, so make the most of it!  If you know there is a song they really need to practice, try to do it early in the practice session, and only do it a few repetitions.  Here’s where you choose quality over quantity, instead of saying, “do it again” or “5 more times, then your done”  Try saying, “wow you really played that last note well with a curvy finger, do you think you can play the whole song with curvy fingers?” or “This song is about a bird, can you play it and make it sound more like a bird?” and then they are improving how they play it while they are doing repetitions. Need more ideas, they can play it smoother, softer, louder, faster, slower, more short notes, more long notes, with more emphasis on certain notes, you get the idea.

The other aspect of improving the quality is spreading it out throughout the day and the week.  It’s not good to do a long practice only once  or twice a week, it’s important that the practices are frequent, that way they can gradually improve with every repetition, and their concentration is harnessed in the sense that you can find these moments in the day when they are ready and willing to concentrate, and it’s not asking too much of them.  They can do a little (5-10 minutes), accomplish a small goal, and finish each practice feeling good! If practicing lasts too long, they will get exhausted and frustrated and probably won’t want to practice again next time.

Older children, being more advanced and in a developmental stage where they can concentrate for longer periods of time, have pieces that take longer to play all the way through, so when they practice, it’s not necessary to play the entire song a bunch of times, that is unless they really really want to.  Playing through entire pieces more than once is exhausting, and leaves them no concentration or motivation left to practice any other pieces.  They need to focus on the trickiest parts and practice those small sections intensely and carefully.  Spending a short period of time practicing only the hard parts of their pieces one day and coming back to them later in the day or a day or two later will make those sections easier and more fun to play the next time!  Then by the end of the week, practicing is a breeze and not a hassle at all.

So, as you can see, quality is about setting a goal of playing or singing or doing something well, so it sounds good, and then getting a break and reward when that goal is reached.  Work with your younger child during practicing to figure out goals and reward their behavior.  For older children, you don’t want to be too involved, you can help them make a schedule, talk about their music and their musical goals, but there’s no need practice with them, or set a timer.  Let them be responsible for their own practicing. 

Bottom line – It’s not about how much time you spend practicing music, it’s about making goals about how you want to play your music, and accomplishing those goals through deliberate practicing, spread throughout the week, and in short sessions.