Summer is perfect for spending quality time with your musical instrument. Whether school's out for the summer or you're just looking to build some better habits, we're here to give you the boost you need.
Here are six practice tips for the summer:
Set goals
Explore new music
Attend concerts and performances
Create a schedule
Practice in small sessions
Take breaks and have fun
Thinking of adding private lessons to the mix? Check out our private lesson program.
Learn more about how each of these tips can help you make the most of your summer below:
1. Set goals
Get specific about what you want to accomplish. Learning a new piece, working on specific techniques, just want to have fun? Set the goals and take small steps to achieving them.
2. Explore new music
Summer is a great time to try out new genres, styles, and pieces of music. Get curious! This will help to keep your practice sessions fresh and exciting.
3. Attend concerts and performances
Yes. Watching other people play music helps you as a musician! Check out the local symphony or community orchestra. Find a local all ages space (like Groundworks) to connect with other young musicians and get inspired.
4. Create a schedule
This doesn't have to be anything huge. It could be as simple as practicing every Tuesday over the summer for 30 minutes. Keeping a specific time set aside to play your instrument is important to building practice as a consistent habit.
5. Practice in small sessions
Instead of practicing for hours at a time, or even one hour, try practicing in smaller focused times throughout the day or week. Even 10-15 minutes of working on one single passage, and then another 10-15 minute chunk later in the day can be more helpful and enjoyable than long practice sessions.
6. Take breaks and have fun
This one is worth stating again: take breaks and have fun. Getting frustrated? Stop! Take some time away from your instrument to do something else. Music can and should be an enjoyable experience. Go outside, hang out with your friends, and come back when you're up for a challenge or even just to play your favorite piece.
Stay cool this summer and remember, practice makes progress. You got this.
Think your instrument might need a tune-up over the summer? Schedule a repair