tell me about your practice log
March 16, 2022 8:12 AM Subscribe
Do you keep a practice log (for any kind of practice - music, language study, art, anything)? What exactly do you put in it? What makes it work well for you?
Please share your best practices for your practice logs.
Do you keep both a practice log and a practice journal? Do you review your practice logs? What do you get out of your logs? What would you recommend to others?
Thanks!
Please share your best practices for your practice logs.
Do you keep both a practice log and a practice journal? Do you review your practice logs? What do you get out of your logs? What would you recommend to others?
Thanks!
I started one during the pandemic when I wanted to get more deliberate about my music practice but didn't have gigs to direct what I needed to work on and your question makes me think I should resurrect it, ty. Having it helped to steer me towards practice with an intent of improving specific areas instead of playing and hoping I magically get better, and also helped prevent the 'i don't know where to start so I'm floundering a bit' brain spin. Mine included:
- warm up routine - rotate through and try different things, but also to make sure I timeboxed it and didn't spend the whole time just warming up/doing little routines and made time for pieces
- exercises I was doing and sometimes metronome markers: this helped me track my progress with the exercises but also helped me rotate through different ones and not get stuck on the same routine.
- songs I was working on - this helped me stay focused instead of randomly picking things (there's always more songs to work on!)
- notes for the next session that popped into my head (this helped me stay focused on what I was doing today and told my brain 'i heard you but today we're doing X' instead of running off to Y)
It was really rewarding to look at it after a couple weeks and start to see a history of consistent practicing.
I've not done actual journaling during the session, that would probably be an interesting thing to do. Honestly part of why I don't do it is b/c when I'm playing I'm trying to minimize my screen interactions and I just can't write very well anymore after years of hours of typing...
posted by snowymorninblues at 9:45 AM on March 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
- warm up routine - rotate through and try different things, but also to make sure I timeboxed it and didn't spend the whole time just warming up/doing little routines and made time for pieces
- exercises I was doing and sometimes metronome markers: this helped me track my progress with the exercises but also helped me rotate through different ones and not get stuck on the same routine.
- songs I was working on - this helped me stay focused instead of randomly picking things (there's always more songs to work on!)
- notes for the next session that popped into my head (this helped me stay focused on what I was doing today and told my brain 'i heard you but today we're doing X' instead of running off to Y)
It was really rewarding to look at it after a couple weeks and start to see a history of consistent practicing.
I've not done actual journaling during the session, that would probably be an interesting thing to do. Honestly part of why I don't do it is b/c when I'm playing I'm trying to minimize my screen interactions and I just can't write very well anymore after years of hours of typing...
posted by snowymorninblues at 9:45 AM on March 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
I don't keep a practice log or journal but maybe I should? 😅 I found this video interesting. Title is kind of click bait-y but there are lots of videos on practice logs and journals. https://youtu.be/PBOa4nw-asE
posted by foxjacket at 10:06 AM on March 16, 2022
posted by foxjacket at 10:06 AM on March 16, 2022
For piano: at the top of each page, any piece I'm currently playing. At the end of each practice/play session, I write out my assignments for next time for each piece, like
Beethoven (pg 82)
- pg 85 slow
- add pg 86
- whole piece with metronome (quarter note=112)
I typically don't give feedback to myself, because the feedback is just whatever the next sessions' assignment is. I check off the items and add the date as I go.
I do not review my practice logs except to look up which pieces I've played.
For rowing: at the top of each section, write the date and the workout, like:
10 min warmup
5 x 5 [five sets of five minutes each] with 5 min rest between each
20-22-24-26-24 in each set [target stroke per minute]
Sprints [this is the workout type] concentrating on spm control
2x popas with 25 lb bar [this is the strength training]
[I don't note the pre or post workout stretching, because those are the same every time.]
Coach notes: [here I enter whatever the coach said before and during practice. For this workout it was] split time should drop with each stroke rate increase. Keep the last minute (24 spm) AT SAME SPLIT as 26. Push with feet. Remember ratios - use recovery to control spm.
After the workout I write the stats for each set, like this:
5:00 (time).....1098 (meters)....2:16.6 (split time).....23 (strokes per minute)
5:00...............1115................2:16.3......................23 and so on
I also record which machine I was on, if we're on machines, and then a scale out of ten with how hard I felt the workout was.
I do review these logs, because I'm pretty new to rowing and it's neat to see how much progress I've made.
For running I don't keep a log other than what Runkeeper records for me, because I'm not actively trying to get better at that; I just do it for fun and to keep track of my miles.
In general I'm a person who likes to quantify and recognize her effort, so all of these systems work really well for me. My piano is self assigned and monitored; my rowing is coached, so I don't make up the workouts; and my running is self assigned and based entirely on how far I feel like going that day.
posted by punchtothehead at 10:08 AM on March 16, 2022
Beethoven (pg 82)
- pg 85 slow
- add pg 86
- whole piece with metronome (quarter note=112)
I typically don't give feedback to myself, because the feedback is just whatever the next sessions' assignment is. I check off the items and add the date as I go.
I do not review my practice logs except to look up which pieces I've played.
For rowing: at the top of each section, write the date and the workout, like:
10 min warmup
5 x 5 [five sets of five minutes each] with 5 min rest between each
20-22-24-26-24 in each set [target stroke per minute]
Sprints [this is the workout type] concentrating on spm control
2x popas with 25 lb bar [this is the strength training]
[I don't note the pre or post workout stretching, because those are the same every time.]
Coach notes: [here I enter whatever the coach said before and during practice. For this workout it was] split time should drop with each stroke rate increase. Keep the last minute (24 spm) AT SAME SPLIT as 26. Push with feet. Remember ratios - use recovery to control spm.
After the workout I write the stats for each set, like this:
5:00 (time).....1098 (meters)....2:16.6 (split time).....23 (strokes per minute)
5:00...............1115................2:16.3......................23 and so on
I also record which machine I was on, if we're on machines, and then a scale out of ten with how hard I felt the workout was.
I do review these logs, because I'm pretty new to rowing and it's neat to see how much progress I've made.
For running I don't keep a log other than what Runkeeper records for me, because I'm not actively trying to get better at that; I just do it for fun and to keep track of my miles.
In general I'm a person who likes to quantify and recognize her effort, so all of these systems work really well for me. My piano is self assigned and monitored; my rowing is coached, so I don't make up the workouts; and my running is self assigned and based entirely on how far I feel like going that day.
posted by punchtothehead at 10:08 AM on March 16, 2022
i use a one page yearly calendar on the fridge for tracking a daily behavior and then crossing off days.
posted by noloveforned at 10:13 AM on March 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by noloveforned at 10:13 AM on March 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have a little notebook where I write down which glaze choices I made for my very slowly and intermittently evolving ceramic practice. I sketch the (lumpy) pot and make a note of the under/overglaze for each, since it's impossible to remember my choices semester to semester (am not a college student but I take classes at my local institution.)
Recently I also jotted some garden notes in the same book, since gardening happens when ceramics is not available. I figure they can share space.
The notebook is small enough for the back pocket of my jeans.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Recently I also jotted some garden notes in the same book, since gardening happens when ceramics is not available. I figure they can share space.
The notebook is small enough for the back pocket of my jeans.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
I keep a practice log for language study.
I picked up WaniKani again at the start of this year, after pandemic stress meant it fell by the wayside (even though I actually love doing it). WaniKani is a Japanese learning course that puts the radicals, kanji and vocab words you've learned on a review stack for spaced learning. Things to review turn up at irregular intervals throughout the day, rather than at a fixed rate of ten every morning or anything. So (a) after two years I had a HUGE review stack, and (b) as I worked through it, the things I'd reviewed were shuffled back into the stack to be presented to me again after an appropriate interval. It was a daunting task to catch myself back up to where I'd been: a certain amount of "two steps forward, three steps back" going on.
To keep myself from losing heart, I started noting how many items I'd reviewed at each session. The app was showing me I had a review backlog of 273 items still? Disheartening. But my log shows me I've already reviewed 730, so obviously I can do it!
The trick worked, I persisted, and eventually I cleared the review backlog and felt able to start learning new material again. Each lesson consists of five items. I screenshot each item as I go, and as soon as I've completed the lesson, I go and log it: at X time on Y day, 5 items, listing the character(s), the reading and the meaning of each. Usually I'm able to do that from memory, but the screenshots are there in case I need them.
I wish I'd been doing it from the outset, because having my own independent record of what I've learned is satisfying for me - I can format it as I prefer, add notes, etc. - plus I like being able to see my progress graphed over time. I think the extra memory exercise is probably helping to cement the new words, too.
I'm considering extending my review log to include specifics of what I got wrong each time; I think there are some commonalities (e.g. I frequently misremember whether a vowel is long or short) and I'd like to see if I'm right.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
I picked up WaniKani again at the start of this year, after pandemic stress meant it fell by the wayside (even though I actually love doing it). WaniKani is a Japanese learning course that puts the radicals, kanji and vocab words you've learned on a review stack for spaced learning. Things to review turn up at irregular intervals throughout the day, rather than at a fixed rate of ten every morning or anything. So (a) after two years I had a HUGE review stack, and (b) as I worked through it, the things I'd reviewed were shuffled back into the stack to be presented to me again after an appropriate interval. It was a daunting task to catch myself back up to where I'd been: a certain amount of "two steps forward, three steps back" going on.
To keep myself from losing heart, I started noting how many items I'd reviewed at each session. The app was showing me I had a review backlog of 273 items still? Disheartening. But my log shows me I've already reviewed 730, so obviously I can do it!
The trick worked, I persisted, and eventually I cleared the review backlog and felt able to start learning new material again. Each lesson consists of five items. I screenshot each item as I go, and as soon as I've completed the lesson, I go and log it: at X time on Y day, 5 items, listing the character(s), the reading and the meaning of each. Usually I'm able to do that from memory, but the screenshots are there in case I need them.
I wish I'd been doing it from the outset, because having my own independent record of what I've learned is satisfying for me - I can format it as I prefer, add notes, etc. - plus I like being able to see my progress graphed over time. I think the extra memory exercise is probably helping to cement the new words, too.
I'm considering extending my review log to include specifics of what I got wrong each time; I think there are some commonalities (e.g. I frequently misremember whether a vowel is long or short) and I'd like to see if I'm right.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye used Instagram to track his figure skating progress
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:09 PM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:09 PM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Archery. I use a Ghostly Action Journal to keep track of my practice. One two-page spread per week. The column at the right is where I keep track of that week's arrow count (how many arrows I shot), as I have goals around that number. The rest of the two-page spread is where I jot notes like if I changed my form, or my tune, or if anything was sore, or if I shot particularly poorly or well (and ideas on why that might be).
I also have a spreadsheet where I keep track of so much, including how I did at every competition, what my goals are, the score of every single time I've kept score going back to almost the beginning of my archery career, my gear and how much it cost and where I got it, etc.
As far as reviewing things: I'll look at the previous week or two in my written journal, but not much more than that. For that, the usefulness is in the writing. I look at the spreadsheet all the freaking time; it's satisfying the way spreadsheets can be, it cheers me up to see the chart of my score improving over time even when I'm not currently shooting well, and my goals are important to me.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:15 PM on March 16, 2022
I also have a spreadsheet where I keep track of so much, including how I did at every competition, what my goals are, the score of every single time I've kept score going back to almost the beginning of my archery career, my gear and how much it cost and where I got it, etc.
As far as reviewing things: I'll look at the previous week or two in my written journal, but not much more than that. For that, the usefulness is in the writing. I look at the spreadsheet all the freaking time; it's satisfying the way spreadsheets can be, it cheers me up to see the chart of my score improving over time even when I'm not currently shooting well, and my goals are important to me.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:15 PM on March 16, 2022
I keep a spreadsheet to log guitar practice. It includes the date, session length, which guitar, what I did as warmup or if i did a specific online lesson. Each song I practice gets an entry that includes the artist, song name, tuning, links to tabs/chords, links to youtube video of a lesson or cover, and some random notes.
The list of songs is extremely helpful as a starting place when I pickup a guitar after not touching it for 6 months or more.
The list of tabs and example videos saves me from spending time trying to figure out 'which version of Andrew Bird Pulaski at Night tab/chord was I using?'
What I've found most interesting is reviewing my comments from past sessions. They contain things like, "surprisingly simple!" or "hey wow you can almost do an F chord now!"
Since the data is in a spreadsheet I can generate some basic stats onto a separate sheet. Looks like I've logged 45.58 hours practicing and my most commonly practiced song is Etta James I'd Rather go Blind. (only 9,954.42 more hours to go!)
I also have a separate sheet to track my progress practicing different chord changes. Justin of justinguitar.com recommends certain chord changes for different skill levels and says your goal is to do 60 changes in 1 minute. I start a metronome, start a timer, and practice the changes as cleanly and properly as I can. Then I log my # of changes. This makes it easy for me to see which chord changes I'm struggling with so I can focus on them.
I prefer to use a spreadsheet for this kind of thing because I control the data, can add/remove 'features' as I like, and don't have to worry about an app company going out of business or making me pay to see my data.
posted by J-Garr at 1:33 PM on March 17, 2022
The list of songs is extremely helpful as a starting place when I pickup a guitar after not touching it for 6 months or more.
The list of tabs and example videos saves me from spending time trying to figure out 'which version of Andrew Bird Pulaski at Night tab/chord was I using?'
What I've found most interesting is reviewing my comments from past sessions. They contain things like, "surprisingly simple!" or "hey wow you can almost do an F chord now!"
Since the data is in a spreadsheet I can generate some basic stats onto a separate sheet. Looks like I've logged 45.58 hours practicing and my most commonly practiced song is Etta James I'd Rather go Blind. (only 9,954.42 more hours to go!)
I also have a separate sheet to track my progress practicing different chord changes. Justin of justinguitar.com recommends certain chord changes for different skill levels and says your goal is to do 60 changes in 1 minute. I start a metronome, start a timer, and practice the changes as cleanly and properly as I can. Then I log my # of changes. This makes it easy for me to see which chord changes I'm struggling with so I can focus on them.
I prefer to use a spreadsheet for this kind of thing because I control the data, can add/remove 'features' as I like, and don't have to worry about an app company going out of business or making me pay to see my data.
posted by J-Garr at 1:33 PM on March 17, 2022
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posted by kathrynm at 9:16 AM on March 16, 2022