practice techniques

This may seem like an obvious one, but the point we want to make is that simply playing your instrument is necessarily not the same as practicing.

When a professional musician practices their instrument, they go through scales (or rudiments) repeatedly, working hard to improve their technique. Set yourself a dedicated practice or warm-up regime for each day to burn those scales into your memory.

Not only should you practice scales and exercises to maintain your abilities, but you should also challenge yourself to master something new as often as possible.

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Set yourself goals

Set yourself realistic targets at every opportunity and work towards them, whether that’s learning a certain scale by heart during one practice, or mastering a full song by the end of the week.

These might be short term goals such as practicing for 60 mins each day or learning a new piece. Or it could be more of a long term goal like putting on a full performance.

By accomplishing set goals, you’ll enjoy a greater sense of achievement as your skills begin to develop, and approach each practice session with a more productive attitude.

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Patience

Perhaps the most important quality in a musician looking to perfect their instrument is patience, especially if you’re just starting out. No one becomes a virtuoso overnight, so if you hit a wall, don’t worry, just keep going until you get it right. It takes a lot of time and effort to be a truly great musician. 

Don’t take your frustrations out on your instrument! Keep calm and carry on practising!

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Keep it fun

While it’s important to work on your scales and other (more boring) techniques – don’t forget to keep your practice sessions fun! Learn your favourite songs and work on new material around your more regimented exercises to make sure you feel fresh and enthusiastic about your instrument. The worst thing for a musician is when playing becomes a chore, rather than an enjoyable experience.

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Organise a jam session 

Whether you’re aiming to set up a new band, or just enjoy a friendly jam with friends, playing in a group can help to not only improve your technique but also your timing and improvisational skills.

Playing with other people can expose you to new ideas and methods, and is a great way to receive honest feedback on your playing style.

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Know what key you’re in

Following on from the last point, if you’re planning on jamming with other musicians, it’s important to be able to identify which key you’re playing in at any given time, and adapt your approach accordingly – unless you’re the drummer of course!

Learning scales can help you to stay in key during a jamming session. As the more experienced musicians among you will know, each musical scale focuses around a specific key. So, the more scales you know, the better you’ll be at staying in key, improvising on a track, and making sure you sound great playing alongside other musicians