Practice Less & Study More | tonebase Tips
There are always so many questions around practicing. Optimal length? Should I take breaks? What should I work on? (Find some answers in Thomas Viloteau’s lesson On How To Practice 👍). In this post, Francisco Chaves shares a few of his thoughts about the topic and ways he has learned to spend less time with the guitar in his hands and more time in his mind.
Throughout my musical life, I did not always practice the same amount of time and in the same way. In the beginning as a child, I maybe practiced one hour a day. Then, as I got more serious, I started to practice more and more, to the point that while I was doing my bachelor and master studies I was practicing around 4 to 5 hours each day.
However, I must say I was not achieving the results I intended. I ended up spending a lot of time playing over and over again the same things. While this is useful to a certain extent and must be done in order to “automate” your movements, it is all too easy to waste most of your practice time in this automatic mode.
One day, a friend gave me a suggestion:
“Record your whole practice session and then listen to see exactly what you do.”
I did and the results were shocking. I was practicing for 2–3 hours straight, but doing the same thing over and over again. In those two hours I was not getting any better.
Now, I make a conscious effort to focus more and not enter the “automatic mode.” I practice less but study more.
To be more concrete, here is my normal practice routine, comprising 4 hours (which is not a lot for a professional like myself!):
- Studying the score (analyzing, annotating, fingering) — 15 min.
- Practicing — 1 hour
- Listening to other interpretations of the piece — 15 min.
- Practicing — 1 hour
- Listening to music (related to the piece you are learning) — 15 min.
- Practicing — 1 hour
- Reading about the composer or piece you are performing — 15 min.
- Talking to colleagues about the music you are playing — Free time activity!
Practicing still occupies much of the time and is still the main thing. However, allowing yourself to have “breaks” to study increases your efficiency while simultaneously allowing your hands to relax.
These days, when someone tells me: “I practice 4 hours without breaks,” then I know they are not doing it with the maximum focus.
The fact is, a professional artist lives and breathes music 24 hours a day. Even if he is not actually playing an instrument, they are hearing music, reading a book or listening to a tonebase podcast during their daily commute! All these different activities improve your musical abilities and they should be encouraged. They help you practice like a professional.
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