To practice mindfully it is important to know a little bit about how our brain memorises information and acquires motor skills. Knowing a bit about this process helps to design your practicing in a way, that allows you to memorize new passages faster and have them more easily recalled. Think of our memory like of a library. For every Information there is a file card that helps us later to...
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Having set all our goals right and being fully prepared and in practice-mode, we can finally start to practice. This leads automatically to the most common question asked by students. How long do I need to practice? Simple answer: As long as you need to be able to play the piece, you want to play. No worries, you do not need to practices for hours and hours the entire piece in one day or...
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Practising is a highly focused activity, that requires a big amount of concentration and a mindset, that allows learning and memorising. We can not expect to be immediately focused, just because we decide to practice. First we have to make sure, that we have everything we need (Instrument, scores, pencil, metronome and what ever we plan to use during the session) and that we have a in...
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Here one more about setting goals, since I strongly believe, that efficient and motivating practicing starts with good and S.M.A.R.T. Goals S.M.A.R.T is a mnemonic acronym coming form project- and personal management. Since somehow Practising is our project, our personal development, I find it very suited to help in defining the goals for our practising. It stands for: S –...
Read MoreMindful practising starts with asking yourself what you want to achieve. What is your goal for the practice session and what do you want to achieve in general on your instrument in the next months or years? Ask yourself: What do I want to practice and learn today before you start? And after practicing: What have I achieved today? If we set ourselves realistic,...
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