WHY THE QUALITY OF THE PRACTICE OF AN INSTRUMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE QUANTITY - AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR EVERY MUSICIAN

Every time the topic of conversation turns to the amount of exercise, the thought of several hours of learning technique, instruments discourages people from starting to practice and learn in the first place. We also often talk to musicians who say that they practise hours and hours daily and that only after hours and hours of daily practice did they begin to master the instrument. Does it really have to be like that? Do we really have to spend whole afternoons practising an instrument to really master it?

But the real secret of progress is not in the numbers - it's in mode, Focus and Focus in exercises.

Today we are breaking mit, Yes Read more means better, and explain why it is quality exercises essential more important from Quantities - whether you're a beginner, a parent of a young musician or an experienced performer.

Focused exercise = effective exercise

Practicing an instrument where the child or adult is really thinking about what they are doing and is focused only on the practice, not thinking about other things, is incomparably more effective than "mechanically repeating" the same piece, without focusing on the practice and on doing the exercise. When you practise with a clear goal (e.g. to improve intonation or posture), the results are faster and more lasting.

For example: 20 minutes of thoughtful practice, listening carefully to the tone, is worth more than an hour of passive strumming on the keys or strings.

Less but regular - every exercise builds brain connections

When playing any instrument, it is not only the muscles of the arms and the other muscles involved that are trained, but above all Brain processessuch as:

motorised Planning (what and how we will play),
attention, working memory and Coordination movement with sound,
Analysis feedback Information - listening, error detection, correction.

Playing an instrument activates many areas of the brain at the same time: the motor cortex, the auditory centre, the cerebellum, the prefrontal cortex and even the emotional processing centres. This is confirmed by fMRI studies (e.g. studies at Berklee College of Music and Harvard Medical School). If we play wrong, our brain connections are thus crepe in a negative direction, reinforcing the wrong brain connections. But when we play correctly, we are reinforcing the correct brain connections.

📚 What does science say about shorter, repeatable exercises?

The phenomenon of memory consolidation According to research in cognitive neuroscience (e.g. Ericsson, 1993; Cepeda et al., 2006): Regular, structured exercise facilitated by, Yes with learned Knowledge easier consolidate v Long-term in memory of. During sleep and rest, the brain consolidates learned patterns - Daily exercise is Therefore more efficient and occasional "intensivist". Spacing effect: more and Vadimo v shorter at intervals, more See . let's forget and more precise yes You can repeat.

I'M MISSING MORE

👂Active listening is the key to progress

Exercise is not just the physical repetition of a movement - exercise is thought process. One of the most important components of quality music learning is active Listening.
This means that during the rehearsal the student is not only playing, but also consciously listening, analysing, identifying mistakes and looking for ways to improve his/her playing.

What does "active Listening"?
This includes:

Listening of tonne: Is the sound clear? Can I hear what I want to express? Is the intonation accurate
Online detection error: Did I play too hard, too soft, too fast, too rhythmically?
Self-analysis: Why did this happen? Was it technical (finger, arch, posture) or mental (inattention, fatigue)?
Search Solution: What can I change? How could I try differently in the next iteration?

💬 So how to exercise well?

Quality exercise is based on Weapons, Target attitudes and active Listening. Instead of practising "by rote", always ask yourself before you start. concrete Goal - for example, to improve a particular passage or the dynamics in a particular phrase. Always start the exercise slowlyas slow playing allows for precision and a better understanding of the movements and sound, and then pace progressive we are scaling up. It is very useful to occasionally We recordbecause it gives us an objective insight into our playing - what we often don't hear when we're playing becomes obvious on the recording. Instead of always playing the whole track, we focus on Short Sections and repeat them several times with the clear intention of improvement. But a training block is always Let's finish Positive - by playing your favourite part of a piece or improvising - to keep you happy and motivated for the next rehearsal.

📢 Conclusion: practice smart, not just long

The Music Route not Competitionwho spends more time with the instrument, but who knows how to make the best use of that time. In our private music school, we teach children and adults that conscious, Target Directed to exercise the most powerful tool for progress, enjoyment and artistic expression. Do you want your child to practise with joy and understanding? Does the exercise present you with a challenge and do you need guidance on performance? Contact our music school in Ljubljana to arrange a trial lesson.