Top 10 Tips for Creating a Habit of Music Practice
Top 10 Tips for Creating a Habit of Music Practice
for Music School Students
Without practice 70% of what we learn in any given
learning opportunity is lost within 24 hours,
90% is forgotten within 7 days"
"The Benefits of Effective Music Education can be felt outside the Music School environment too.
Helping children learn music effectively promotes the
process of
Academic Achievement, Language Acquisition, Social and
Executive Skills Development"
Magdalena Gabriah
So let’s get started. As a Founder and Owner or a Music School and an Executive Coach, here are my:
10 Top Tips for Developing a habit of Music Practice for Music School Students:
1) Just Do it!
Many people think that to see progress in music lessons will happen organically. Yes, your child is learning in every music lesson, but guess what:
Us, humans, forget 70% of what was covered in the lesson within 24 hours and 90% is forgotten within a week!
That is a startling statistic.
It also means that without the during the week practice we barely retain any knowledge we acquire in a learning opportunity. Music Lessons and Music Education are no different.
2) Find the time in the week to do it.
I know it takes time and effort to commit time to anything, life is busy, and we all are juggling lots of priorities, but if you don’t consciously choose to find a time during the week for your music practice the chances are its not going to happen.
3) Stick the new habit onto an existing habit.
Music practice requires students to develop a habit and it will take time and work. The best chances of making it successful is to stick the new habit onto an existing habit.
For example, decide to schedule in your music practice around something you already do- after brushing your teeth/before brushing your teeth, walking the dog, after dinner etc.
The key is to identify an opportunity where you can attach the new habit of music practice without having to consciously choose to do it.
4) Start Small
If you currently don’t practice music during the week, but would like to start doing it, choose one opportunity first.
There is no point in trying to commit to 3-4 music practice sessions to start with, instead choose 1 day, 1 time during the week where you have the capacity to sit down and practice what you have learnt during the music lesson.
5) Habit takes time to develop!
Research shows that it takes 21 days to create a new habit and 90 days to make a lasting lifestyle change.
That is why don’t expect miracles straight away, instead look at this journey as a process and anticipate that it will time before you can start reaping the rewards of your diligence and start seeing the improvement.
6) Shorter but more often is better!
If you have a number of opportunities to practice during the week it is better to schedule in a few shorter sessions during the week than 1 long one.
For a beginner child a short practice music session will be anything from 5-10 minutes at a time, for an intermediate learner perhaps 15-20 minutes each time and for an advanced learner 30-45 or even 60 minutes per practice time.
7) Don’t overcommit.
If you are starting to create a schedule of music practice don’t overcommit. Its ok if you cannot quite manage to practice every day of the week.
Overcommitting is setting yourself up to fail; its better to start with a smaller goal and build it up over time than say you will practice multiple times a week where its neither viable or sustainable.
8) Accept it when the bad days/weeks happen.
Accept that you will have days and weeks when your music practice goes out of the window, when life happens, priorities collide and the whole weekly plan you had comes crashing down.
All we can do is the best we can do, if it happens that one week you really struggle to find the time to your music practice, that is ok. Just pick yourself up and try do resume again the following week.
9) No Practice Holidays
I am a massive believer of taking the time out of practice, so during school holidays, summer holidays, its ok to adjust the schedule to either no practice or if you really want then to reduce its frequency or duration.
Chances are that when you give yourself permission to not practice music, you will want to do it anyway!
The reasoning behind this tip is that, if you do all of the 8 points above you will have worked hard during the term and you may want to take some time out to consolidate your learning to date.
The most important thing about this tip is that by giving yourself permission not to practice, you are enabling yourself to rest from all the hard work you do during the term and will prepare yourself to work hard again when the music schools starts again and your lessons recommence.
10) Take the time our to reflect and celebrate your success
Take time to reflect on your habit of instrumental practice.
- Is it working?
- Do you need to increase or decrease the duration or frequency?
- Are you achieving your learning goals within the current music practice schedule?
- Do you feel that your music education is progressing well?
- How can you reward yourself for successfully developing the habit of music practice?
Good luck!
I hope the above 10 Top Tips for Creating a Habit of Music Practice for Music School Students help you develop as a learner and bring you closer to the achievement of your musical goals.
If you have any questions about the above or would like some specific to your circumstances 121 coaching support, please do not hesitate to get in touch:
Magdalena Gabriah
Founder and Owner
Ascot Music School
admin@ascotmusicschool.co.uk
