Finding Time to Practice
One of the tricks I use to keep myself motivated to practice is setting aside a time that’s practice time every day. I try to wake up early and get some practice in. Similar to Cameron Mizell’s one hour before noon rule.
In short, I don’t have to find time to practice, it’s already there. Having a specific time that’s always practice time takes the guess work out of the equation. That time for me is ideally around 7am (doesn’t happen much during the summer!).
The goal in setting a time that’s always practice time is to develop a habit. The time doesn’t have to be an hour, even a 15 minute warm up in the morning sets a great tone for the rest of the day. If I don’t get some more practice in the morning, my motivation to continue the rest of the day is nonexistent.
Do you have a time that’s always practice time?
RayGil
Finding Time to Practice
Establishing Good Practice Habits as a Professional Musician
Five Reasons to Start Pratice Log (Today)
http://www.staffnotes.net/fretnotes/
All excellent Posts, Really enjoyed reading these, and downloaded the Staffnotes, I will be using these in the future.
Thanks for the really useful information Chris, Outstanding job, Love this The Classical Guitar Blog site, full of really useful information, especially for the beginner.
Saei
not exact time for practicing,but after reading this article i will do it. i read somewhere that practicing in morning is not good but i think best time that if you are in holiday or summer vacation that yiu shouldnt go to university, morning is good time. because now is my summer vacation and i dont go to university at summer i want to make this exact time of practicing at morning. but maybe my neighbors will wake up!!!!!
thanks for article
Saei Mogheysi
Carol A
As guitar is the 3rd instrument I play regularly it sometimes has to take the left-over bits of available time. I am sure most people who play several instruments have the same problem! On the other hand I do find playing the guitar very relaxing, probably because I don’t have to prepare for performances.
Some of my neighbours are so noisy that I am happy to wake them up. However I find an hour of saxophone scales much more annoying than the guitar!
Josh
I’ve tried to set up a dedicated practice time, but I always end up failing to stick with it. I’ve tried the morning and I’ve tried the evening, but neither has stuck. I end up just practicing whenever I find the time, which is less than I’d like. I definitely see the value in setting a dedicated practice time…I’ll try again and see if I can get a time to stick. Thanks for another great post, Chris!
infinite_monkey
I like to practice a few different times each day. I warm up and play for about 1.5 hours in the morning, then again in the afternoon, then again in the evening. Breaking it up for me lets me get more work done. I also concentrate better if it’s for shorter periods of time (less than 2 hours)
Darlene Gamble
I practice every night at about 7pm for 1 or 2 hours. I also play mandolin so I have to schedule time for that as I am a beginner, plus some duet music. I can read music fluently, so I only work on the more difficult parts. I also have a day job so as I’m driving between sites, I listen to music or think about my music. If I am able to go home for lunch, I will practice for about 15 minutes on a difficult passage. Otherwise, it’s a few nights a week while I’m not at a rehearsal or teaching…. luv every minute of it, tho.