Efficient Practicing for Busy Parents

I’m gonna be totally honest here. I am not very good at practicing. Hold on though, let me rephrase that. I am a great practicer, I know how to practice well, I love practicing, actually, and love to learn new pieces. The part I am not good at is finding the time in my busy mommy schedule to actually sit down and do it. So it doesn’t happen very often. Please tell me I am not alone??

This is how practicing looks like at my house. Adorable – yes. Buuuut – not so conducive to learning new pieces. (Who can name that piece?)
I’ve covered this topic before, but just humor me, alright? Typing it out again helps to remind me that I can still make time for practice, and I can use the little time I do have more wisely to still be the pianist I want to be. Thanks! And hopefully some of you will find some kind of motivation in this post as well, and we can practice better together!
Gone are the days of quiet, uninterrupted hours of practicing. I think maybe I should have appreciated those more when I had them. Oh well, moving on. I absolutely adore being a mom. My three kids are wonderful and are so important to me. But I still want to play the piano. It’s important! It’s important to me that my kids hear me play, and hear me practice. My husband plays too, and we love to play together and hear each other play. 
I also have the words of my former teacher, Bonnie Winterton, in my head a lot. She is a great example to me of lifelong learning and piano practice. She always told me that I should always be working on: 1) a Bach prelude and fugue, and 2) a Beethoven sonata. I would love to do this. I need to be more disciplined at getting this done. But see, here’s my problem:

Practicing these days consists of me sitting down at the piano to play, and after about 2 minutes somebody comes and climbs onto my lap to play with me. So I continue with one hand, perhaps up an octave since some of the keys I need are taken by little fingers. Then there is the inevitable screaming and sibling rivalry going on in the other room. Or somebody needs my attention. You get the picture. 
I think there is a way, though! Obviously, when you are a busy parent or busy teaching a whole lot you are not going to have as much time to practice as you used to. But there are a few important principles and techniques that help me, and if used consistently (even in 20-minute or 10-minute sessions) I do think that improvement will be made.

1. Practice in small sections

Like, really small. I like to sit down and say to myself, “Self, just learn these 2 measures.” Progress is progress, even in small amounts. Take it hands alone in these small sections, then put them together. You can make amazing progress (on this small little section) even in just a few minutes. Rather than try and play through a huge chunk of the piece, then get interrupted and feel like you didn’t make any progress at all, you can use good practice techniques on this small section and have it all learned and even memorized.

2. Write down your fingerings

This is always the first thing I do as I learn my little section. I find the fingering I like the best and write it in. You are never going to remember your fingerings from one short practice session to another, with lots of parental duties and life in-between. Write it in! I also love to do certain things to help make it easier to learn, such as circling all of the notes played by my thumb. This helps amazingly on fast arpeggiated passages.
Circling the notes played by the thumb is a nice visual cue to prepare to cross under!

3. Apply memorization techniques as you go

Be really focused, analyze and memorize major chord progressions. Find small patterns to remember, such as the movement of the bass note, or the movement of your right hand thumb. Just find some pattern to memorize and use as a landmark. Memorize different “starting places” as you learn each little section, so you can start the piece anywhere.
Whatever chords will help you to learn a piece, write them in!
A sticky little section that somehow got easier when I memorized the movement of my right hand thumb. Write in or circle whatever will help you!

4. See the overall picture

It’s easy to stay focused on tiny little sections when that is all you have time to work on. So don’t forget to get the big picture: listen to recordings by different pianists. Hear the overall dynamic phrases and structure, find the climax and the overall direction of the piece. Get out some colored pencils and mark/analyze the overall structure and form of the piece. Find and mark all of the thematic sections and recaps. In a fugue mark each reiteration of the theme. Decide what story you are trying to tell, or what scene you want to picture as you play, or what mood you want to evoke through the piece. If the overall piece makes more sense to you, you will learn it better, and learn it right the first time.

5. Record yourself

Don’t forget to record yourself at the end of a quick session to see how that little section really is sounding! You are your toughest critic. Listen with an objective ear and decide what needs to be fixed next time.

You can do it. Even with a baby on your lap and a toddler sitting next to you, you can work on a little section with one hand. This is the ultimate test in piano practicing focus! If you can do this you can do anything! You are a super hero. Seriously though, throughout your day, during nap times or after the kids are in bed, or even with them sitting next to you, you can continue to develop your talents. And what a blessing that example will be to them when they start taking lessons and developing talents themselves.

And while I am mostly talking to myself, YOU can do it too! My goal is to get at least some quality practice time in each day, even if it is short. What’s your practicing goal?

Survey Results: Motivating Ourselves to Practice

Thank you to all who participated in our survey! We had some wonderful feedback and I really loved reading your comments. I think there is so much we can all learn from each other, so thanks for participating!

Question #1: Are you able to practice consistently?

Question #2: What inspires or motivates you to practice?

  • Performance assignments
  • Leaving a piece I really want to learn or love on the piano where I can see it. It somehow makes me feel guilty that it’s just sitting there.
  • When I imagine myself with my goal completed. (I am working on my ARCT in piano pedagogy).
  • When I see myself making progress through practicing. -It’s kind of a good cycle if I can just keep it going!!
  • When I hear other pianists, or even my students, how can I tell them to have meaningful practice time if I don’t do it myself?
  • I am a graduate student in music performance. Also, it’s my favorite part of the day!
  • I just started taking lessons again as an adult. I am enjoying it but find it can hard to practice as much as I would like.
  • Singing or playing songs for my children
  • Needing to know a piece by a certain time; Feeling like I’ve actually improved or learned something better
  • A piece I enjoy
  • Setting “Performance Dates” for Church, talent shows, and also playing for the elderly in the Assisted Living Homes around town.
  • I love the effect it has on my children.. when I practice they seem to want to follow my example. Its also fun to watch my little ones move rhythmically or dance to the music I’m playing. But having deadlines – like performing for a group lesson helps too.
Question #3: Do you use any specific tools to help you practice –
like a practice chart, a list, an iPod app, a planner, etc.?
  • Sometimes a list
  • Stickers, pencils and pens, jotting down practice time
  • Nope! But I probably should!
  • Nope. Just rely on the guilt & the over whelming feeling that time is running out before the “date” is here!

Question #4: What have you learned in your own practicing that has made you a better
teacher, or that has helped teach your own students how to practice?

  • how to listen and evaluate
  • It finally occurred to me that I should be taking notes about how I practice. I haven’t yet shared it but it has just made me more conscious of WHAT I am doing and the rationale behind it.
  • Practicing again makes me realize how much discipline it takes. Just because I’m playing advanced repertoire doesn’t mean it gets any easier to practice. It helps remind me to keep motivating my students and to help them realize that it is not always fun, but it is so worth the work. I love seeing the same pleasure in their eyes that I have when I learn a piece well.
  • that practicing takes effort and attention, it is more productive to identify the areas of concern and break the song into smaller sections than to mindlessly play the whole thing from beginning to end over and over.
  • I find that half the time what gets told to me by my teacher when I get frustrated, is usually something I’VE said to one of MY students! :o)
  • Fingering is so important – do that first and the memorization will be much easier.
  • Don’t practice the entire piece every time; don’t practice mistakes over and over – isolate and fix them; don’t “over-practice” a song and become bored with it – let it rest a few days
  • Practice makes perfect. It affirms how much practice is essential to progress.
  • To teach my students how to do everything that I DON’T! I’m definitely a work in progress:)
  • Practicing small sections slowly and plenty of repetition are imperative… even though I still find it tempting to just want to play through a song w/ the stumbles some times. I still love that feeling of accomplishment that comes after putting in the time and patience to conquer a challenge spot. Its always nice to reward yourself when you reach your goal………….. for me that might mean some chocolate or a bowl of ice cream!

Principles of Efficient Practicing

In light of our current topic, today I’d like to talk about principles of efficient practicing. This topic will especially apply to busy moms with clambering children, working adults with limited time, teenagers pulled in all directions by extra-curricular activities, young piano students just learning how to practice…ok, so basically, this is for EVERYONE!!

When practicing time is limited, how can we accomplish more in a short amount of time? Even if practicing time is not as limited, what are some ways we can get much more out of our practicing? Here are some ideas:

  • Have a goal – if you don’t have a specific goal in mind during a practice session, you won’t accomplish as much! A great goal is to learn a specific, short section of a piece.
  • Pick your fingering – Decide on a fingering from the get-go and stick with it! I like to write in a lot of my fingerings to make sure I play it the same way each time, which helps me to learn a piece much faster.
  • Make it musical as you go – Learn articulations, phrasing, and dynamics as you learn the notes. Don’t learn notes and rhythms for the entire piece and THEN add in musical elements. Why not learn it right the first time? 
  • Small sections – Learn a piece in SMALL sections, right hand alone, left hand alone, together
  • Memorize from day 1 – Ideally, if you are learning a piece that you love and you really want to learn it well, it is much easier to memorize it as you learn it! When I do this it helps me to learn the notes much better and more efficiently. 
  • Analyze as you learn the piece! Notice and write down chord progressions, scales used in melodic material, bass notes, etc. This is also a great memory tool. It also ensures you are not learning it purely by muscle memory
  • Work on a different section at each practice session. Don’t always just start at the beginning.
  • Stay focused! You will be surprised how much you can accomplished in just 10 or 15 minutes.
What are some principles of efficient practicing that you have learned and that work well for you?

Squeezing In Piano Practicing

guest post by Heather Husted Wilson

The Seasons come and go… 
We see the flowers bud – we know it is Spring. 
We feel the sun shine fiercely on our backs – we know it is Summer. 
We see the leaves turn shades of yellow, orange and red- we know it is Fall. 
We see the clean white snow fall from the heavens and coat the Earth – we know it is Winter.
Then the snow melts and the rotation begins again.
The Seasons of our lives are the same…
There are seasons of learning and growth, pain and joy, stress and relaxation, work and play.
They come and go…and then come and go all over again.
How does this relate to Practicing?
I’m sure if you look back on your life you can see that with each season of YOUR life…
your practicing habits and schedule has changed right along with each change in life’s seasons.
So where are you now? 
Are you a student? Are you married? Do you work full time? Do you have one or more children?
Are you in a season of 4-8 hours, 1-4 hours, 30 minutes, or 15 minutes of practicing? 
How does your practicing correlate with the specific season of life YOU are experiencing right now?
Each one of us have different schedules and responsibilities, but one thing remains the same…
we ALL wish we could squeeze in a few more hours in each day to accomplish more!
Please tell me you are nodding your head right now…
So is it possible to create more time in your day to accomplish all the things you desire?
I believe it is.
It isn’t easy. It won’t be perfect. It will require YOU to make some decisions and work out the kinks.
But it’s possible…and YOU CAN DO IT!
First let’s figure out the things your heart most desires.
Go grab a piece of paper and a pen.
Yes, I mean right now…I’ll wait.
You back already? Wow…you’re fast! Okay, here we go…
What do you love to do? What do you do that makes you feel alive…makes you feel like YOU?
Now make a list answering these questions.
You have your list? Okay…good.
 I’m assuming since you are reading this blog you love creating, performing and/or teaching music.
Is that on your list? That MUST be on your list!
Well, we all know that those three things require practice.
So how can you find time to squeeze in practicing?
You must MAKE time.
1. Break out your calendar. 
If your schedule doesn’t permit practicing everyday…figure out which days you CAN practice and write them down. 
I have one or two specific things each day of the week that MUST be done that day!
i.e. Monday is “cleaning house” and “laundry” day, Tuesday is a “teaching” day, etc.  
I then, work my schedule from there. That way, the BIG things get done each day and I feel accomplished even if some of the smaller things get left for another day.
So go make some of those days in your week “practicing” days.
Decide what is going to work for you and write it down! 
Seriously…go grab your calendar – NOW!
2. Set a specific time aside.
Don’t just wait for the perfect moment to smack you in the forehead. It isn’t going to happen. I haven’t ever found my life to work out that way…I always seem to find something else to use up my time. 
Go back to that calendar and write down what TIME you are going to sit down with your music. Treat it like a doctor’s appointment – if you don’t show you will have to pay a $25 ‘no show’ fee and you are NOT going to throw away $25!!!
 Don’t allow anything else to get in the way of your appointment with your instrument.
For example, a while ago I really wanted to try a new workout routine. With my schedule I just couldn’t figure out how to squeeze in an extra hour each day so I woke up early to get my work out done before my boys woke up. 
Now, if you know me well, you know that waking up…especially early…is NOT something I do especially well. It’s a HUGE sacrifice! 
But my desire to try the new routine overrode my inability to wake up and I did it…every single day at 6am for several months in a row! 
Squeezing in something you LOVE to do will make you feel like a million bucks and it will change the way you live the rest of that day… for the better!
3. Make sure your conditions promote concentration (for YOU)
Some people can concentrate in any situation by ‘simply’ blocking out all that is going on around them. Personally, I have a hard time concentrating when there is much noise at all so I have to juggle people and responsibilities around to create an atmosphere where my time and work will be productive. That seems next to impossible with two small boys, but it is doable. 
I usually plan my practicing around nap time, bedtime or when my babes are with a babysitter  to create an atmosphere that will work for me. The last thing I need is to spend time at the piano only to feel it was wasted by lack of concentration.
4. Start small and use your time wisely
Don’t plan too much for yourself…it will only result in frustration. Choose a piece you are going to work on and then start with the most difficult sections during your practice session. You probably don’t have time for anything else until you master those technical obstacles…then you can think bigger.
There are days when my practice session consists only of tiny sections of continuous repetitions. Then after 10-15 minutes of concentration I have a little one tugging at my leg. At this moment I have a choice…do I get frustrated and send my babes away? Or do I stop my practice session and feel I accomplished something by mastering that one particular section, even if it only lasted a short while?
What do you do?
Feeling accomplishment and hearing the beauty of the pieces as you slowly gain control make practicing motivating. 
With the kind of busy schedules we have these days the accomplishment and beauty come in small moments…small sections…so start small and you will feel BIG!
5. What KIND of practicing works for YOU?
“It’s not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it’s what you put into the practice.”
-Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
Do you work best with a timer at your practice session?
Do you use an ipod application similar to the one Jenny mentioned this week?
What kind of practice works for YOU? 
I’m a goal oriented teacher and that’s how I practice as well.
I set small goals for myself…knowing that if I master each individual goal it will not only help me learn quickly and more efficiently, it will all add up to mastering the whole…which is the ultimate goal.
If sitting with your instrument and practicing will make you feel fulfilled, successful, accomplished and motivated to do even more…then you NEED to DO IT!
 No matter how long or short that time may be.
REMEMEBER: seasons come and go…
There once was a season in my life when I practiced 4-8 hours every day, but that season has gone for now…I know it will return one day.
For now, I know what season I am in and that is alright with me.
Figure out what season YOU are in and set up your practicing accordingly.
You CAN continue to practice…
it will just be different than it once was.
Accept that. Move on. 
BE MOTIVATED. BE INSPIRED. 
Think small to accomplish BIG things.
You CAN DO IT…don’t let anything get in the way of what your soul was made to do. Your students, your loved ones and all who hear you perform will thank you for taking the time to nurture yourself from the inside out.
Thank you, Heather, for your motivating and inspiring words! 
Be sure to check out Heather’s wonderful blog, Squeezing It All In

Getting Motivated

This week I would like to revisit a topic we have discussed before, because it is something that I, personally, (and I am guessing a lot of you, as well, particularly if you are a parent with young children at home!) need constant work on, and is something that is so important to our success as teachers. I’d like to talk about Motivating OURSELVES to Practice.

This is something I struggle with a lot. I really do miss those days of long, uninterrupted practice hours. My current priority as a stay-at-home mom prevents me from achieving anywhere near that much practice time. In fact, there are so many days when my head hits the pillow at night that I haven’t even touched the piano.

Ahh, the college days of practicing ALL THE TIME – I do admit that I miss it!
Lately I have been really wanting to change this! I love the piano, I love to practice, and I wanted to find some way to motivate myself and practice consistently (even if that meant only 30 minutes a day!). So, I am kind of a nerd but I ended up finding just the motivation needed for a dollar – I bought a new box of colored pencils, and downloaded a free iPod app, and apparently that was all that I needed! Let me explain:

1 – the colored pencils: In order to really sit down and practice and make some progress and find the joy in playing, for me at least, I really have to practice well. As I am learning a new piece, I write in all the fingerings, mark phrases and important voices, circle dynamic markings, etc. Hence the colored pencils 🙂 This approach works great for me and I love it because I see so much progress, and I am truly able to make some measurable progress in a short amount of time (even if a small child is yelling for Mommy in the background!).

2 – the iPod app: I am so grateful to Anne Crosby Gaudet’s post about this amazing free iPod app called Just Practice! It really helped me to organize my practicing and motivate myself to get it done daily. Granted, I am still not perfect and do miss some days, but there is just something about a calendar that says “Today’s progress: 0%” that really makes me want to sit down and get it done. I try to practice at night after my son goes to bed, or I find him a fun activity he can do in the room with me for half an hour or so. If I was really good with technology I would share a sound clip with you (which I recorded on Just Practice! – there is a place where you can record yourself playing different pieces and then listen back to them later) of me practicing Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2, with my son’s little voice in the background, begging me to “turn around and LOOK!!” at something. It kind of makes me smile, and realize the difference between my practicing now and back in college 🙂

Now tell me…..What inspires you to practice? What tools help you? Are you motivated by a practice chart? By a list? By a timer? By a desire to instill the value of hard work in your students? In your children? In your unborn child (who, in my case, is listening to me practice every day!)? What can you take from your own practicing to use in the lessons you teach your students? What do you learn about practicing that helps teach your students to practice?


Stay tuned for more on this topic this week…including a wonderful guest contributor!


Feel free to take this short survey, or leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your input!

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