Practice Structure, any advice? Options

[MBC_Tiger]

Can anybody give me any advice on how to structure my practice for piano, voice and flute because i am finding it quite hard.i usually practice about 2 hours for each, per day but its a major imbalance of material.any help given is much appreciated.
Naomi x :D

[saxlover]

do you mean you can't fit all your instrument practice in, or do you mean that when you are practicng you play fun stuff and not scales and/or exam pieces?!!! :unsure:

Nat

[happymusic]

It depends on what ur working towards i spose! I'd say set a certain amount of time say 15 min-half an hour on each piece/ scales. (depending on how many pieces you have on the go at the same time.) does that help? Although I'd only use this as a guide line, and if u find summit difficult and go over the 'time limit' then do.

Also if ur progressing at a good enough pace then I shud think that the practice that ur doing at the mo is fine!

[NIX]

Hi Naomi,
I have the same problem as I have the same instruments, you need to prioritise your instruments so that if you have particular concerts/exams/auditions in one instrument you can allocate more practice time. I usually practice do a couple of hours a night and plan it as follows. BUT if I do have more time available then I'll add additional practice time:

Mon: 1hr Flute and 1hr Piano
Tues: 1hr Piano and 1hr voice
Wed: 1hr voice and 1hr Flute
Thurs: 1hr Flute and 1hr Piano
Fri: 1hr Voice and 1hr Piano
Sat:1hr Flute and 1hr Voice
Sun: I try and make time for all three

This is just a simple plan but try to vary the times of your practice so that you don't feel confined to practising a particular instrument at a particular time for instance dont always practice flute in the morning etc.

I hope this provides some help, I find this works best for me but the important thing is to establish which instrument requires your attention the most in any given week. Happ Practising!

Nikki

[Flautist47]

hey naomi,
i find that if you plan your practise time out on all of your instruments before hand, you get much more done in much less time. it worked for me on my flute and drums and i hope it can help u. gd luck!

[Lionfluf]

Wow thats a lot of practice- im now feeling very guilty! :unsure:
I usually practice when i feel like it and the only thing i can suggest is cut down a bit for each instrument and try to get into a routine.
Sorry i cant help more. :)

[saxlover]

In the school term I try to practice about 2hours everyday on insturments im taking exams in(piano, clarinet, sax) and then about 30mins playing guitar and just kind of messing about on the piano making up little tunes!!!!! :lol:
In the hols I practice about nearly 4 hours most days!!!
You should always spend about 20mins on scales foreach instrument, and practice the hard ones 1st not the easy ones like Cmajor!! then spend about 15mins on each piece concentrating on the parts you are finding difficult. then depending on how much time you have, play other "fun" stuff!!! :D

Hope this helps in some way!! :rolleyes:

Nat :)

[Lucia]

I usually do 30 mins on scales, and 30 mins on each piece - this usually works out to about 2 hours per day. However, I don't do all of this in one sitting as I find I can't concentrate for that long. I usually do an hour and then come back later to do some more. I always practice any new stuff first. I would like to do more than this but I haven't the time.

[MBC_Tiger]

Thanks everyone.You've all been a great help.Now I just need to discipline myself more! :huh: I practice for ages but just random times, like some days 15 minutes on scales and others, just 5 so I need to get sorted.Thanks!
Naomi xxxx