It's Okay to Have an 'Off' Practice Day

 Hi everyone,

In this post I'm going to talk about having an 'off' practice day, as it does happen. It's also okay to have an 'off' practice day.

We all have days were we aren't feeling ourselves, and the same goes for learning a musical instrument. It's okay to take a step back and not touch your musical instrument for a day or two.

I'm going to talk about ways that you can use to try and overcome an 'off' practice day. These won't always work, as everyone deals with things differently.

Analyse How You are Feeling

Before you even get your instrument out of it's case just ask yourself 'Do I feel up to practicing today?' or 'Can I try and practice with how I'm feeling?'

If you don't feel up to it on that day then it's completely fine, and it's completely 'normal'. This could be due to you not feeling well or that your brain could do with a days rest, as it hasn't quite settled down from your previous days practice; especially if you were doing an intense practice session.

Smaller Practice Session

If you do feel up to practice session then just aim to do 30 minutes, and then see how get on. If you are feeling up to do it, and if you want to do more practice aim to do another 30 minute practice session. Please don't force yourself to aim for the second 30 minutes if you're not up to it. Also, take a break in between each practice session to give your brain a rest.

Just Do the Basics

During your practice sessions just try and focus on the basics on what you need to do. This can be just running through your scales and arpeggios, development exercises, an easy study or just focusing on your exam pieces. Or you might just want to play a couple of fun and easy pieces of music instead of working through any exam material. 

Don't Rush Your Practice

Please don't rush through your practice, especially if your not feeling great. Take your time, as by slowing things down a little bit you will be analyse how you a feeling; and if it starts getting too much you can always put your instrument away.

Create a Relaxing Atmosphere

By creating a relaxing atmosphere whilst you are practicing it might help you to focus a little better. You can do this by using a wax melter and burn one of your favourite scents to help calm you or an electric oil diffuser. Or maybe burn an incense stick/ cone (if your practice space is large enough). 

Take a Day Off

If you really don't feel practicing then just have a day off from practicing, as it could be what you and your body needs at the time. By giving yourself a day off from practicing you can do something else that you enjoy doing such as reading a book, going for a walk and seeing friends and family. Just do something that you enjoy doing to help refocus your brain, and when you come back to practicing your instrument you should in theory feel much better just for taking a day off.