As your calloused fingers finally depart from the metal strings of your guitar, you wince in pain from the strenuous hours of practice you just put in. The constant click of the metronome and repetitive exercises still fill your head as you depart your latest practice session. A part of you feels proud that you put in the work, and another part wishes that you never do this again.
Practicing your instrument is one of the most crucial parts of being a musician. The art of practice is something each musician struggles with at one point or another. It can be grueling, ugly, and tedious but overall, it helps you become better every second you spend working on your craft. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make practicing your instrument easier.
- Make a schedule
Making a schedule or practice plan is crucial to your continued progress as a musician. Whether you set a time each day to sit down and practice or have specific days you devote to practicing, making a proper schedule is key. Tylus Baumgard, lead vocalist for the rock band September Crows, says scheduling practice time for himself made gaining traction a lot easier. “Scheduling your practice time helps make your work repeatable and helps you build upon your skills more and more with each session.” Comparatively, if you practice in random intervals or whenever you may feel the urge to do so, you are less likely to retain the work completed from your last few days. Baumgardt says your skills can lose their luster quickly if you aren’t careful. “I stopped practicing regularly for a couple of years and it dulled down my playing ability and overall skillset. Things that were once easy for me took a lot of work simply because I was out of practice.” If there is one key takeaway from this, you must be persistent with your practice to make it stick.
- Practice new or necessary skills
Lots of musicians see practice as going over the fundamentals of their craft and stripping down what they do to the bare bones. This approach, while respectable, is only helpful to a certain degree. While practicing your scales, rudiments, or timing are key to performing, you should also be practicing relevant skills for your playing style. For example, if you are a metal lead guitarist and want to develop your shredding skills, you should be focusing on tuning in your tapping, sweep picking, hammer-ons, and pull-offs instead of playing experimental chord shapes or what keys are relative to one another. Too many people think practice for the sake of practice is helpful, while you should be focusing on developing the skills you need to succeed in your specific area. Tanner Bexson, founder and lead guitarist for September Crows, says that early on he put in countless hours on skills that he wanted to learn for his style of playing. “I wanted to play these cool solos in all the metal songs I was listening to at the time. So I sat down, locked myself in a room for an hour, and just practiced different soloing techniques so I could play what I wanted to.” This mindset has helped many self-taught musicians, including myself, develop the skills to make them great performers by simply putting in the work and proper focus.
- Practice and play with a metronome (please)
Is the clicking of a metronome annoying? Yes, but it’s key to building proper timing. Any musician, especially those in the rhythm section, need to have exceptional timing to drive the music where it needs to go. If you rush through a song or try to do something new at an unfamiliar tempo, you can create a nightmare for your fellow musicians on stage. So next time you learn a song or try an exercise, set a metronome at the proper bpm or at a slower speed to build up from. Just because you are experienced doesn’t mean your timing doesn’t need work. Bexson says every time he learns a new song, he makes sure to have a metronome to play with. “Metronomes are great. It helps me make sure I’m not rushing or dragging through parts of the song and when I do, I know where I need to focus.” This mindset lets you find holes in your playing that may need attention and leaves nothing unaddressed.
- There needs to be passion
Music and art as a whole are based upon the artist’s passion. Without passion and drive it is hard for people to find a reason to do what they enjoy. Finding this reason and sense of enjoyment also applies to practicing. You should want to practice because you want to get better, but if you don’t have that drive to improve, practice can be a grueling experience. For more senior musicians, some find themselves losing that sense of drive over time. So it comes down to rediscovering why you do what you do. This introspection can be rejuvenation and even therapeutic for those feeling worn out. Performing and practicing shouldn’t feel like a chore; it should bring you joy. Whether that’s because you want to share experiences with others, you enjoy writing music, or you just like learning how to play different songs, everyone has a reason to enjoy their craft.
- Have fun 😀
If the previous steps still aren’t helping alleviate your disdain for practicing, you should remember one key thing: having fun. If the way you are practicing feels boring or dull, find a way to make it fun and immersive for yourself. The beauty of art is that there is not one specific way to do it, so have fun and experiment with different ways to make rehearsing and honing your skills enjoyable. A great way to do this is to find a technique you want to develop, from there find a song you enjoy that utilizes that skill and learn that song. By associating the work you want to do with something you like, it makes the work itself more enjoyable. Now you have experience with a new skill and can play one of your favourite songs. Another fun way to learn a skill is by turning it into a game. While there are literal games that teach you certain skills for instruments, making your own games while practicing can be fun. For example, try giving yourself one hour to make a song. This time trial forces you to work on efficient songwriting and helps guide and structure the creative process. If you can’t think of what to write a song about, give it a story theme. Giving structure to your work helps relieve some of the work your brain has to put in to creating something from scratch. No matter what skills you want to work on, there is definitely a way to make it enjoyable and immersive for you to learn.
These tips are just a few to help breathe life into your practice sessions. Rehearsal shouldn’t feel like algebra homework, it should be fun, engaging, and give you the drive to continue improving. No matter where you are at in your musical journey, it is important to take the time to brush up oin your skills. So, I want you to pick up your instrument and put some time into playing and learning it again and I promise you will have fun with practicing after all.
