Practice Tips
Practice in 20-45 minute chunks (longer for more advanced students).
Do 5-8 practice sessions per week (more sessions for more advanced students).
Make practicing as easy as possible:
Choose a good time (like the morning if you're an early bird,
or after dinner if you're a night owl, or on the weekends
if your weeknights are busy).
Choose a good place (somewhere your instrument and all your music
practicing accessories can live, somewhere you can focus, etc.)
Be organized. Use the templates below, create lists of
music/exercises/projects you're working on to make it easy
to decide what to practice.
Practice Session Templates
5 minutes right hand
5 minutes left hand
5 minutes scales
5 minutes old songs
5 minutes new songs
Good every day session for BEGINNERS, more advanced students use this template but extend the times.
5 minutes right hand
5 minutes left hand
10 minutes scales
10 minutes etudes
10 minutes solos
10 minutes excerpts
Good every day session for ADVANCED students. For shorter sessions, skip etudes or excerpts.
Research an excerpt - good for ALL LEVELS.
Choose an excerpt
Research the composer and piece
Look at the music and gather information
Use a metronome and your voice to "sing" through the rhythms.
Play through to discover difficult spots to practice slowly later.
Laid back session to take a brain break - good for ALL LEVELS.
10 minutes fundamentals
10 minutes scales
10 minutes sight reading
20 minutes play along with a favorite recording