How to Find Time to Practice Your Music

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin. Welcome to Virtualsheetmusic.com and Livingpianos.com. Today's question is "How to find time to practice?" Boy, this is a great topic and you're gonna be surprised at the universal aspect of this challenge. You know, a lot of people come to me and they say, "Oh, I'm an accomplished pianist. So, I must practice all the time. And maybe it's easy for me, because I'm a professional. I can devote more time to it." Or "I have a student who just went to the Manhattan School of Music, starting off there on scholarship." And you think, "Oh, he's at a music conservatory. He should have plenty of time to practice."

Well, you'd be very surprised that whether you're a professional or you're a music major at a conservatory, the challenge of finding practice time is no less great a challenge for a professional or a serious student, as it is for anyone. So, what are some of the things you can do to overcome this challenge? Well, there's a few things. First of all, you want to try to get into some sort of routine. So, that at a certain time of the day, it's earmarked for practice time. Because it's so easy to let time slip away if you don't set a certain time, each day, that you know you're gonna get to it. Even if that's the only time you get to it.

At least maybe after breakfast or before dinner or sometime, you say "That's my practice time." You make it a routine and you adhere to that routine, religiously. Just like if you do physical fitness and you do a certain workout every day and it becomes routine. You'll feel like your missing something, if you don't do it. It's the same thing with regular practice, but there are other ways in which you can really enhance your practice time. Sometimes you might only have 10 minutes or something and you think, "Ah, it's not enough time to take the music out" or take your instrument out and all that. No, that's nonsense. Anytime you can steal to put into your instrument is really, incredibly valuable.

Not only that, but half the time you might find you start off practicing, thinking you only have a few minutes. Maybe you have a student coming or you have some other appointment. And suddenly that vanishes or maybe the appointment's 30 minutes late. And boy, you got all this practice time you didn't even expect to have. So, take advantage of any time you do have. Now, I have another video about playing the piano in your mind. Which sounds kind of metaphysical or something, but actually, practice truly is a mental activity. There's a certain physiological component to it, naturally, but you can do a tremendous amount just with pure thought. So, if you're on a train or on line at the bank, run through some of your passages on the piano.

Even if you're a wind instrument or a singer, just thinking through the performance is incredibly invaluable. In fact, you will find you may gain more from practice away from your instruments sometimes, than you will at your instrument. Why? Because it forces you to concentrate. Because you don't have the tactile feel and, therefore, you must really be thinking the music thoroughly. So, to recap, set scheduled time for your practice and adhere to it. So, that you know you'll get a certain minimal level of practice. Also, take advantage of any small opportunities when you didn't expect to have time. Jump right in and be ready to go.

And lastly, think about your music when you're taking a shower or taking a walk, any time is fair game for practicing mentally. I hope this is helpful for all instrumentalists. I'm very interested in your comments. Again, Robert Estrin at Livingpianos.com and Virtualsheetmusic.com.

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