Slow but Steady

Regardless of if we are practicing the violin, piano or dance, building our endurance for a sport or a new skill at work, we all experience times when it feels like our progress has plateaued.

It is so easy to loose our motivation and start believing that we are doing something wrong or that we just can't do it.

But our potential is UNLIMITED and the only thing standing in our way is US!

I see students once a week for a private lesson, so I get a true glimpse as to how a student sounded last week as compared to the current week. If they practiced everyday, I can almost always hear improvement even if the student can't. Sometimes the progress can go slow enough that the student doesn't notice. When practice starts to dwindle however and motivation is lost because of a lack of progress, things come to a grinding halt.

Slow but steady wins the race - and wins at life.

Not only should we practice patience and allow ourselves some time to grow and develop a new skill, but we can exercise our creativity and try to approach the problem at hand in a different way. When we do this, not only do we create motivation to persevere, but a lot of times we find answers that were not presenting themselves initially and we encourage the progress that we are lacking.

Here are some suggestions of ways to shake things up when you need time to train your muscles for a new skill and to get back to progress, no matter how small:

Pre-twinklers:

• repetition charts to colour/sticker
• collecting beads/pennies/marbles in a jar for repetitions
• paper chains for repetitions
• bead counters
• put a puzzle together one repetition = 1 puzzle piece at a time
• cherrios for repetitions (make a necklace/bracelet for an after practice snack!)
• simple prizes/incentives for big repetition goals (100+)
• read a page in a book for each repetition
• make up stories/imagery that go along with the skill being developed

Kids:

• many of the same as above, adjusted for their interests and what specifically motivates them
• be a detective and discover multiple ways of practicing one spot
• using electronics to independently tackle practice spots
• play with the recording or multiple recordings
• work on the skill at hand by using review pieces
• split practice into 2-3 smaller sessions
• practice at a different time of day
• practice in a different room

Teenagers/Adults:

• many of the same as above, adjusted for their interests and what specifically motivates them
• personal incentives and goal setting
• learning from others (online videos, going to workshops/recitals, etc.)
• recording practice and watching it back
• seeking help, advice, support from teachers and peers
• teaching others

Always speak to your teacher about practice concerns and strategies. The possibilities of how to practice in order to see progress are endless! It's about finding out what works specifically for you. Choose not to stand still but to keep moving forward toward where you want to go. Get to work!