Monday, October 10, 2011

Wanna Learn An Instrument?

By Lee Swayze


The standard of your practice is much more critical than the quantity. The old proverb "practice makes perfect" is only true if the practice itself is perfect. Here are 7 pointers that may help make your practice more effective and efficient.

Practice motions slowly

The muscly memory of our bodies permits us to physically carry out patterns of motion with little conscious participation. Examples of muscly memory include walking, riding a bicycle, typing, and obviously playing a musical instrument.

In order to develop this memory, the muscles need coaching in the form of repeated conscious guidance from the mind. First the mind must learn the pattern. Then the mind must "teach" the pattern to the muscles.

The mind at first must control all of the motions of the muscles. The more controlled and precise the motions, the more quickly the muscles will develop muscle memory.

Slow practice also permits the mind to teach "antagonistic muscles" to relax. Antagonistic muscles are the ones that move in opposite directions. By relaxing antagonistic muscles you can reduce tension and aid quicker and less complicated performance and avoid potential injury.

Practice in tiny cells

A "practice cell" is just a limited series of motions. Musical cells can correspond to anything from 1 or 2 notes to a complete work. When practicing, it is very important to practice tiny cells of only one or two notes. Practicing small cells boundaries the amount of information the muscles have to learn at one point. It also facilitates the mind's focus and concentration.

Link the end of one cell to the beginning of the next

To help the muscles develop a feeling of continuum across the musical piece, the last motion in a cell should be the 1st motion of the following cell.

Practice each cell in bursts

Once the muscles have learned a pattern, they'll be capable of executing it without conscious control. Initiate the pattern thru a conscious command and allow the muscles to execute it in a burst.

Don't practice mistakes

For each repetition needed to learn a pattern of motion, it takes 7 times the quantity of repetitions to switch the pattern. If in the course of your practice you make an error, stop. Review in your consciousness the pattern. And further cut back the speed of your motions.

Pause between repetitions

When dealing with repeated activities, the mind is better prepared to focus when the repetitions are broken up by short pauses. After two or three repetitions, pause for roughly 30 seconds to regain focus.

Take frequent breaks and don't "over-practice"

B.F. Skinner and other specialists have revealed that the mind's ability to learn drops seriously after lengthened intense concentration. Research shows that studying too long (i.e. More than 4 hours) can exhaust chemicals in the brain mandatory for learning. Therefore , it's best to take frequent breaks (a 5 minute break about every 20-25 minutes) and practice not more than 4 hours consecutively.

By utilising these methodologies, you can seriously improve the standard of your practice. You'll be able to employ your time better and increase the usefulness of your practice.




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