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If you could do anything in music what would it be? Most of us have mused on this and have daydreams about what it might be like. Few however take it to the next stage and actually make a plan to make their dreams happen. In preparing your practice plan you should start with some Major Goals - things you would like to achieve in the long term. You should always start with these major goals as the basis for your practice plan as they will help focus you shorter targets and tasks and help keep your motivation when things don't seem to be progressing as you would like.

Dream big
Don't be afraid when setting your major goals to dream big. The world is your oyster! All the big names in music you can think of started somewhere. At this stage you can allow your imagination to run wild. If there were no obstacles what would you really like to do? Be a soloist? Play in an orchestra? Get a record deal? Have a good think about this and note down your ideas. Then pick the 2 or 3 ideas which you think you'd most like to acheive. Pick too many ideas and the risk is that you'll spread your motivation too thinly and achieve none of them. Read More . . .

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"I'm the greatest guitar player alive", "I'm much better than everyone else round here" and "I can play anything you put in front of me" are just a few of the ways in which other people have described their playing to me. All have one thing in common - they are not realistic or objective.

In the first part of this series we talked about why you need a practice plan. In order to create a plan that is right for YOU, you need to have a realistic view of where you are now. This needs to be an honest, realistic view of your playing. If you over or under exaggerate your abilities the only person you are fooling is yourself. Knowing where you are now will serve as a base for your plan and will be a great help later in showing how far you have progressed. Read More . . .

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At the start of any new year people across the world turn their attention to the year ahead. Thoughts naturally focus on what is to come and what might be. For many musicians it is also a time to consider their own playing and what they would like to achieve in the coming year.

However for many this mere wondering is as far as their planning gets. Some may take it a stage futher and make new year's resolutions - I'm sure I'm not alone in having made a resolution to 'practice everyday'!! Sadly this lack of thought and direction usually leads to disappointment after the first throws of enthusiasm dissapear.

In this series of articles we will cover some ideas on planning your practice more effectively. Even if you do not agree with all the ideas the very process of deeper consideration will in itself make your practice more productive. The ideas I present will give a structure which you can use to create and track your plan. My greatest hope is that you will find something of use to help use your practice time more effectively this year.

Before I cover the planning process we should consider a more fundamental question - Why is it important to plan your practice? Read More . . .

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We're now at the time of year when lots of people are turning their thoughts to festive celebrations. During this time our regular routines can get disrupted and it can be difficult to maintain the focus on practice that we previously had. Don't worrry! It's good to sometimes take a break and you can come back feeling refreshed in the new year. It's also a good time to try something different. Here is a list of a dozen holiday activities a little different from the norm but which will ultimately improve your playing and all-round musicianship.

1. History of your instrument
What do you know about the history of your instrument? Who invented it and when? How did it develop and for what styles of music? A good understanding of your instrument's history will help you play your music more effectively. Your local library and the internet are great resources for finding out about this. Make sure you write down the information you find as you are much more likely to remember it that way. Read More . . .

One way in which you can ensure you progress on your chosen instrument is to constantly challenge what you are doing. If you remain inquisitive you will avoid wasting time on the same exercises or on routines which do not improve your playing. Below is a series of questions you can ask yourself when practising. You need not ask them all - pick a few that seem relevant to you and write them in big letters somewhere so that you will be reminded of them.

These questions are merely a start to the type of things you can ask when practising. If you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comments section below so we can all benefit. Read More . . .

1. Am I standing/sitting correctly when I play. Is my posture correct?
   
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I'm very excited about this article, our first guest post. Normally I don't consider guest posts on this site as I have so much material I want to share myself. In the case of the article below I have made an exception. The information Jim McCarthy shares here is so relevant and to the point that I just had to share it. If you are a music student or teacher this is a MUST READ. Watch the videos then read the articles - your practice will benefit.

Be sure to check out Jim's site at: http://drum-clinic.com/. Or perhaps subscribe to his newsfeed at Feedburner. Finally why not check out his book for percussionists at StickTechnique.com.

The Science of Practicing a Musical Instrument - How long and How often.

Read More . . .

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They meet them every week. They give them the benefit of their knowledge and experience. They demonstrate how music should be played. They know their instrument and how pupils play intimately. They do many things but how well do music teachers really know their students?

We"ve listed 13 things teachers should know about their students. These have nothing to do with playing standard and everything to do with understanding how to get the best out of them. The extra knowledge you gain will help tailor a practice regime to each student. If you are a teacher make a point of discussing these points with your students. If you are a student tell your teacher about these things and ask how what they are asking you to do is helping you. Read More . . .

We discussed in a previous article the importance of setting guidelines for lessons and learning. Having a clearly defined list of what is expected from both teacher and pupil will ensure that many common issues are avoided. The earlier this can be done in the relationship between teacher and pupil the better - however it is even worth introducing these at a later date as it will help readjust expectations and focus.

These 13 guidelines fall into 2 categories, commitments that the teacher will make to students and commitments students will make to the teacher. Read More . . .

If you have read the Practice = Performance method you will already be familiar with the concept of practising in the same way that you perform. Something similar came to mind last night whilst sitting in a theater pit playing a concert.

For some reason I noticed a little more tension in my body than is usually the case. I thought for a few seconds about the reason for this and a quote came to mind: Read More . . .

When reading it is not often that you come across a quote which really gets to the heart of the matter. This week whilst reading Passionate Practice by Margaret Elson I came across such a quote.

In her introduction Elson provides a quote from her former teacher Alexander Libermann:

. Read More . . .