Extended & Longer Practice Sessions

Hi everyone,

In this post I'm going to talk about extending your practice sessions.

Gradually Increase the Time that You Practice

I would recommend that you start increasing your practice over a period of time, and try increasing it by five minutes at a time as your body is going to have to slowly adjust to you doing longer practice periods.

Aim for an Amount of Time that You Like to Practice

Say if you do a 20 minute practice session, and you would like to make it a 30 minute practice session. Just extend your current practice session to 25 minutes for a few weeks and see how you get on. If you are coping with 25 minutes try extending it to 30 minutes and see how get on. Just keep building on it using five minute increments, and just see how get on each time. Also, by doing this way you find your desired time to practice.

Split Up Your Practice Sessions

At the moment I'm currently aiming for an hour and 30 minutes practice both in the morning and in the afternoon on my days off. I split both of my sessions into three 30 minute segments.

For my morning practice session I focus on two Trevor Wye exercises from the Practice Books for the flute with the aim of spending 30 minutes on each exercise, and then this is followed by a 30 minute segment working on my scales and arpeggios.

For my afternoon session I focus on the pieces that I'm learning towards my grades, and I aim to spend around 30 minutes on each piece.

Getting Too Much

If you are finding that your extended practice sessions are getting a little bit too much, and you are stressing out then TAKE A STEP BACK. By taking a step back I mean that you clean your instrument, and place it back in its case, and give yourself a break and come back to the instrument when your ready in a day or two. Then re-evaluate how much time you would like to practice. You might just want to go back to doing 20 minute practice sessions or you might want to take back from whatever it is your learning. Have a word with your teacher, and see if they can offer any advice for coping mechanisms for getting you back into your practice. Also, don't be too hard on yourself if you can't hit your desired practice duration all the time, as it could be your body telling to chill out a little and relax.

At the end of the day all anyone can ask of you is for you to do your best, and enjoy the musical journey.