5 Effective Practice Strategies for Busy Adults
You may be wondering, how am I going to find time to practice as an adult? My life is already so busy. I have kids to take care of, cooking, and having to drive to work every day and the list goes on and on.
All I can tell you is this, if there’s a will there’s a way. I know it may sound cheesy, but it’s true. If you look into the things you do every day, I am sure you can eliminate 50% of what you think you need to get done in one day. Focus on what’s urgent and do those things.
The piano can be your reward for accomplishing your tasks. Think of it this way, playing the piano is your outlet to distress and enjoy a few minutes that you need for yourself.
Here’re 5 Strategies for you busy bees.
1. Warm up Exercises:
- Start off by massaging and stretching your hands and fingers for 5 minutes.
- Next, play some scales, chords, and arpeggios for another 5 minutes.
- The last thing you’ll do is practice 1 or 2 Hanon or Cerny exercises for 5 -10 minutes.
Now your hands and fingers should feel relaxed and ready to start playing your piece.
2. Set a Timer: You decided you want to practice piano today, but you only have 60 minutes. That’s alright! Set a timer that will track your practice time and will let you know when your time is up. Don’t use your phone, because you may feel tempted to check emails or social media. Use the old school clock. If you don’t have one, use your microwave timer.
3. Mindful Practice Avoiding Destructions:
- Get rid of all the destruction around you. If you have your cell phone, put it in the other room. I promise, you’ll get tempted to check emails, social media, or text your friends. I’m telling you this because I’ve made these mistakes and little did I know, I was out of time. Then you’ll beat yourself up that you missed your practice window.
- Tell your spouse or whoever lives with you to not disturb you for the next 60 minutes. If you have children, ask your mother or spouse to watch them. Lock your door or put on your headphones and stay focused.
- I know we live in a very noisy world and our minds are spinning non-stop but commit to the 60 minutes you have. Don’t think about anything, but the music you’re playing. Think about relaxing your hands, work on difficult passages, rhythm, speed. If you start a brand new piece, repeat one line at a time until you can play the first page with no mistakes. Then move to the second page. If you have a different learning technique, use whatever suits you best. Forget about everything else going on in your life. Dedicate the 60 minutes you have to your practice session.
4. Set Achievable Goals: Don’t start playing without having a plan. If you’re working on new music, first learn the hands separately. Depending on your skill level, if you choose a piece that’s more difficult, then it may take you longer to learn one page. If you play very difficult music, but it’s taking you more time to learn a piece, you may feel discouraged.
For this reason, I recommend choosing music that is manageable. Boosting your confidence in the beginning is more important. Play music that will give you pleasure. You’ll feel more enjoyment and accomplishment when you can learn a piece faster and move to the next one.
5. Use the Pomodoro Technique: If you’ve never heard of the Pomodoro technique let me explain. Break your practice time into focused intervals. For example, 25 minutes of concentrated effort followed by a 5-minute break. This technique helps maintain high levels of concentration and prevents burnout.
If you have time to play two or three hours, complete a few Pomodoro cycles. Then take a longer break (15-30 minutes) to recharge. By doing this, you’ll stay focused the whole time. When you take the deserved breaks, try to relax your mind and not think or worry about anything else.