Help me get back to my practice
June 2, 2018 10:36 PM Subscribe
I'm a music student, and I've been doing very well the last 2-3 years getting more and more serious about it, practicing several hours a day and enjoying my daily routine. Over the last month I've had to do a bunch of family-related travel that really threw me off my routine, and it's now been a couple of weeks that I'm back home but just can't get myself to practice more than an an hour or so a day.
I felt so much better when I could do 2-4 hours of practice a day—I was growing and could see the growth. Now I don't even fix up my lessons as frequently because I haven't done enough to justify the cost.
I've been doing a lot of other things meanwhile, of course—spending hours on my language learning, for example. But music is much higher on my priority list. I thought it was just a break that I needed to take, but it isn't coming to an end, and music isn't something that benefits from irregularity!
I'm not good at forcing myself to do things, but I'm usually successful at finding a sneaky way of tricking myself into doing what I think I should do, and enjoying it in the process.
Ideas?
I felt so much better when I could do 2-4 hours of practice a day—I was growing and could see the growth. Now I don't even fix up my lessons as frequently because I haven't done enough to justify the cost.
I've been doing a lot of other things meanwhile, of course—spending hours on my language learning, for example. But music is much higher on my priority list. I thought it was just a break that I needed to take, but it isn't coming to an end, and music isn't something that benefits from irregularity!
I'm not good at forcing myself to do things, but I'm usually successful at finding a sneaky way of tricking myself into doing what I think I should do, and enjoying it in the process.
Ideas?
OMG, I do this.
The answer is force yourself the first time back after a break. Do the full session.
posted by jbenben at 10:49 PM on June 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
The answer is force yourself the first time back after a break. Do the full session.
posted by jbenben at 10:49 PM on June 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
Can you set up a performance in a month or two as motivation? Something low-key like a senior home or the lobby of a hospital?
posted by charmedimsure at 10:58 PM on June 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by charmedimsure at 10:58 PM on June 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Like you, I'm not good at forcing myself to do things. The way it works for me is to build momentum after losing a habit. The main thing is to do it every day. Five minutes is good enough. If I keep showing up every day, then *eventually* I don't have to make/force myself to practice longer. Be patient, keep showing up, and pretty soon you will be back to full practice sessions.
posted by conrad53 at 10:54 AM on June 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by conrad53 at 10:54 AM on June 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't practice anywhere near 3 hours so this is more of an idea than tested and verified Life Advice, but when I am having trouble getting through my much more meager practice times, I break the time up into smaller (but still consecutive) chunks of time with a different goal.
For me it might just be melody chunk, harmony chunk, and then hands together, but an analogue for a more advanced player might be to create some sort of actual physical list you can check off of Stuff to Focus on/Challenges to Do that would fill up the target amount of time -- like 10 minutes on your favorite part of the piece, 10 minutes on the hardest part of the piece, 10 minutes gradually increasing the speed, 10 minutes playing it REEEEALLY SLOW, 10 minutes focusing on the volume dynamics, 10 minutes with your eyes closed, with different goals/playthrough amounts depending on what your actual practice material and goals look like.
posted by space snail at 12:14 PM on June 3, 2018
For me it might just be melody chunk, harmony chunk, and then hands together, but an analogue for a more advanced player might be to create some sort of actual physical list you can check off of Stuff to Focus on/Challenges to Do that would fill up the target amount of time -- like 10 minutes on your favorite part of the piece, 10 minutes on the hardest part of the piece, 10 minutes gradually increasing the speed, 10 minutes playing it REEEEALLY SLOW, 10 minutes focusing on the volume dynamics, 10 minutes with your eyes closed, with different goals/playthrough amounts depending on what your actual practice material and goals look like.
posted by space snail at 12:14 PM on June 3, 2018
I find having a performance scheduled (even if it’s playing at a party I’m throwing) helps get me dug in to working on a piece. The anticipation of doing well is very motivating for me.
posted by ananci at 12:48 PM on June 3, 2018
posted by ananci at 12:48 PM on June 3, 2018
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Are you experimenting with your music? Perhaps you need to find a new angle: a new obscure genre or instrument could get you going. Do you perform in pubic?
It sounds like you broke away because something with your usual routine was not sitting well with you on some level.
I am a writer by trade, and I can tell you that not a day goes by that I am not working with writing: I have written in a hospital bed, and on a hammock on my vacation. Nothing stops me. I write when everything is great and when things are bleak.
So what's not sitting well with you? (I am not asking for you to tell me, but to think it over for yourself). Do you feel like you have stalled creatively, for instance? Are you just following a set script or routine? Do you think you would be further along, and you feel like you've stalled?
You may want to try different wrinkles in your routine.
I am also an artist and play music as a hobby -- but when I was letting my music slide, I got back into it by deciding to learn to play the theremin, and I love it. Sometimes you have to push a boundary and work it from there.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 10:45 PM on June 2, 2018 [1 favorite]