How to practise better
Hint: it's not by practising MORE
Are you frustrated by what you’re (not) achieving in your daily practice? Does it sometimes feel like you’re putting in the work but never really improving? Are there days when it all becomes a bit torturous or even… boring?
I think we all know in our hearts that this kind of practice won’t get us anywhere fast. But still we keep stepping up to the music stand every day to do the same things on repeat, because it’s been drilled into us that it’s the hours that count.
We’ve all heard about the 10,000 hours rule1 - but did you know that this theory has now been comprehensively debunked?2 It turns out that it’s not the hours but the quality of our practice that really makes the difference.
So what does real research tell us about how to practise better and achieve more?
The 3 top tips for effective practice
They’re not what you might expect. NOT on the list are: constant repetition, relentless technique exercises, and ruthless self-critique. Instead, the latest research* says:
Practise from the heart
Emotional connection plays a critical role in effective learning. Loving what you’re doing is the best way to wire the brain to absorb new skills and ideas. It sparks creativity and flow, bringing quicker and better results.3
How? Choose technique exercises with pleasing melodic lines. Connect your technique practice to your repertoire for more musical satisfaction: work around the same tonalities, find scale and arpeggio patterns within the music and use these as exercises.
Practise with the mind
Mental practice is surprisingly powerful: one study has shown mental exercises can even improve the strength in those dreaded 3rd and 4th fingers.4 Cognitive rehearsal of the movements involved in playing has been proved to improve performance twice as quickly as good old-fashioned practice alone. It even improves finger dexterity and speed.5
How? Put your instrument aside and visualise yourself going through the actions of playing difficult passages. Mentally rehearse your performance to a backing track or recording; immerse yourself in the musical experience for full focus. Bonus: you can do this anywhere, any time.
Practise towards a goal
A clear vision of your long-term goal is the single biggest factor in achieving success.6 Remember, your musical goals do not have to look the same as someone else’s: think about what being a musician means to you (and ignore those ideas of ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’; these have no place when music comes from the heart). Practice is most powerful when it is deeply linked to a clearly defined purpose and strong personal values. Motivation to achieve meaningful goals is what keeps us practising effectively, even when it’s not a good day. And we all have those.
How? Take some time to clarify your own vision of what you want to achieve in the long term. Write down your goals and plot some key steps along the way. Try keeping a daily practice journal to track your progress.
* Details of all these studies are in the footnotes at the end of this post.
Putting research into practice
The foundations of flute technique are grounded in long tradition. For flutists, every good technique book will cover the core elements of tone development, finger dexterity, variety and ease of articulation, and legato intervals. Take a critical look at your standard warm-up and refresh your daily routine by incorporating the three top tips for practising better.
If you’d like to try a new approach to effective practice based on real research, this week I’m sharing a free package of sample Micro Etudes. The download files also includes play-along piano accompaniments for each exercise recorded by John Alley.
Micro Etudes: Melodic technique exercises for daily practice (published by Aurea Capra), was written specifically to create technical routines using methods for proven effective practice. Each etude sequence tackles a particular technical point in a melodic context. For extra musical enjoyment they can be played with piano accompaniment (try using the backing track for the mental practice element, too). The practice goal of each micro etude is clear and realistic to keep motivation high.
Ericsson, K.A., Krampe, R.Th. and Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, pp393-394. The theory was popularised by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 book, Outliers: The Story of Success.
Macnamara, B.N. And Maitra, M. (2019). The role of deliberate practice in expert performance: revisiting Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer (1993), Royal Society Open Science, 6:8.
Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2007). We feel therefore we learn: the relevance of affective and social neuroscience. Mind, brain and education, 3, pp3-10; and Immordino-Yang, M.H. and Faeth, M. (2010). The role of emotion and skilled intuition in learning, Mind, brain and education, 11, pp69-83.
Ranganathan, V.K. et al. (2004). From mental power to muscle power - gaining strength by using the mind. Neuropsychologica, 42 (7), pp944-56.
Bernardi, N. et al (2013). Mental practice promotes motor anticipation: evidence from skilled music performance. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7:451.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: a 35 year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57:9, pp705-717.
Very kind of you Elisabeth to offer these etudes for practice and thank you. Standing out to me in your posting is how important it is to never labor over endless exercises and using "mind" practice. Regardless of level, choice of repertoire, our end goal is to deliver a beautiful interpretation of what the composer intended, whatever that takes. Many years ago I found Marcel Moyse's book of opera melodies transformational for my own modern flute playing. He was my guru for sound production. How very fortunate we all are to have these opportunities to play our music. Thanks again for your posting. Your students are very fortunate to have you.