Set aside a regular time for practice that becomes as habitual as attending classes or brushing your teeth.
Practice a minimum of one hour every day, five days a week. Increase this time to two hours daily by the junior year, and four hours daily when preparing for a senior recital. Beginners may find it more useful to divide their practice time into two shorter sessions--just be sure the total adds up to an hour.
Don't just "do time." Organize a series of manageable goals that can be realized in the allotted practice session. After playing a composition (or smaller passage) ask yourself what was good as well as what could be better. Pick two or three specific things to improve before repeating, then concentrate hard on those areas when you play again. Try for three correct repetitions before moving on to something else. Sitting at an instrument, mindlessly repeating your "songs" is unproductive, inefficient, and wasteful. Bring your brain to the practice room as well as your body--then use both.
Begin each practice session with technical warm-up. This warms up your body as well as your soul. Spend 1/5 to 1/4 of practice time on technique. Use this time to check how your entire body contributes to your music making. Periodically, refer to your technique sheet and review tips on sitting, arm, and hand positions. Always arrive at your lesson warmed up !
When you move on to your repertoire, be creative in the order of practice. Don't always practice Bach first, then Mozart, then Bart¢k. Do intensive practice on one piece, moderate work on a second, and just play the third. Varying the order will ensure that every piece gets some of each kind of practice during the week.
Continue to be creative with your work on individual pieces. Practice the sections out of order, isolating and mastering difficult passages before stumbling on them as you play through the entire piece. It's better to practice intensely and intelligently one page, one section, or even just one measure, than to mindlessly "run through" the entire composition.
Practice hands together-- from the beginning!!-- as you learn new pieces. Work slowly, methodically, and in small sections.
Practice hands separately only in polyphonic music (voices separately!) or in exceptional isolated passages in other styles.
If hands are practiced separately, put them together as soon as possible.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER!!
Practice difficult passage work in varied rhythms and with varied touches. Five repetitions using these techniques will accomplish twice as much as repeating the passage as written--and the process is a whole lot more fun and interesting. Remember...creative practice helps keep you absorbed in your work. When your mind turns off, leave the practice room.
Use a metronome for at least 10 minutes every day. Again, be creative! Use it one day for technical work, on your Chopin Prelude the next. Start small and slow. Work on short passages at slow tempos, gradually increasing both until you make friends with this invaluable musician's tool.
Learn every piece without pedal. Only add this finishing touch when you have exploited every other physical resource at your command. This will prevent the use of pedal as a crutch to cover up sloppy playing. Once pedal has been added to a piece, continue practicing that piece half of the time without pedal to prevent any sloppiness from creeping in.
Challenge yourself to arrive at each lesson having exhausted your own personal means of mastering your music. Don't
depend on your teacher to correct rhythms or note-reading errors you were simply too lazy to figure out. Make the
most of your time with your teacher, and work together toward the goal of creating beautiful music.
1. Seek out private instruction.
2. Write out a schedule to practice fundamentals every day.
3. Set goals to chart your development; be realistic. "Never make a sound unless you hear it first, " says Yo-Yo Ma.
4. Concentrate when practicing. If you can't concentrate, stop, continue another time.
5. Relax. Practice slowly.
6. Practice longer on things you can't play.
7. Play everything as if you are singing, with a maximum of expression. "Invest yourself."
8. Don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes aren't the end of the world. Learn from mistakes and incorporate that knowledge into your musical experience.
9. Don't show off. No one will like you if you do. Those who play for applause--that's all they get. Discover the music and play that.
10. Think for yourself. Don't be a robot. But don't dismiss what you're taught just because you're too lazy to practice it.
11. Be optimistic. "Music washes away the dust of everyday life from your feet."
12. Look for connections to other things.
Work on developing sound--both the sound of your instrument as well as your personal sound. Relax and let softer sounds project naturally. Play around. Listen to good sounds in order to develop good sounds.