Questions & Answers

Practice can be seen as a very daunting task to many musicians these days, regardless of your age and experience. Below are some ideas to consider when preparing to practice:

• Make sure you are in the right frame of mind for practice. If you're not in a good head space you may find it hard to concentrate or focus.
• The environment you practice in can have a huge impact on the success of your practice. If you can, make an area in your home or room that is dedicated to practice; preferably away from the television and fridge. Create an encouraging and calm area where you can easily spend hours or days in focused practice. Make sure you have good light and ventilation.
• Be creative when practicing so you're not doing to same thing every time. Don't always start and end with the same thing or your mind will become to familiar with the cycle and will get bored. It's always good to mix up your repertoire, include some sight reading, duos, listen to music instead of practice, practice with no music and with no instrument.
• Have a short term and long term plan for each session. It is very easy to practice for several hours and not get anything done. This is very frustrating. Have a rough idea of what you want to achieve and how much time you can give to a specific piece or scale. Follow the time limits that you set, that way you can cover everything you need without leaving something out.
• Include scales in every practice session. Scales are such an important part of string players practice as it teaches our memory where to play, and how to play it in tune. The more scales you do, the more in tune you will play.
• Lots of people recommend practicing in front of a mirror. This is a very good idea but not all the time. Again mix it up a little so you don't get used to an idea.
• Have regular breaks to keep your mind fresh and allow your body to relax. Practice can make your body very tense and is quite demanding. I would suggest a 10 minute break every hour. You'll find you can practice for much longer, rather than not stopping for three hours at a time.
• Make sure you eat well and always get plenty of sleep. A tired mind and body will be of little use when practicing and preparing for a performance.
• Always stretch before and after practice. Playing a string instrument is a very physical activity. If you don't stretch you will hurt yourself, pull muscles and eventually cause long term damage. Imagine you are an athlete, you wouldn't run onto the field without stretching and warming up. These same deal applies to us as well.
• Lastly, have fun when playing your instrument and don't get too carried away with locking yourself in a room and not enjoying music. Make sure you get a chance to really play your instrument, not just practice it. 

By Amy Brookman