⏱️ How to practice an instrument: a guide for kids
Practice a little every day, play the hard bit slowly until it's easy, then speed it up with a metronome, and always finish with something you love. Fifteen good minutes beat an hour of playing the easy parts.
A fifteen-minute practice
- Warm up (2 minutes): a scale or a few long notes.
- The hard bit (6 minutes): pick the trickiest two bars. Play them slowly, five times right in a row.
- Speed it up (4 minutes): use the metronome. Start slow; add a few beats a minute when it's easy.
- Play it through (3 minutes): the whole piece, mistakes and all.
- Finish with a favourite: a song you love, just for fun.
Slow is fast
Playing a hard part fast and wrong teaches your fingers the mistake. Play it slowly and right, and your fingers learn the right way. Then speed comes on its own.
Use a metronome
A metronome clicks a steady beat, so you can hear if you rush or slow down. Set it slow, play along, and when it feels easy, turn it up a little. Peabody's metronome works on any phone or computer.
Keep track
- Write down what you practised and one thing that got better.
- Record yourself once a week and listen back.
- Play for someone: a parent, a pet, a stuffed animal. An audience makes practice feel real.
For grown-ups
Sit in for the first minute, then leave them to it. Ask "play me the bit you worked on" rather than "did you practise?" Praise the work, not the talent: "That hard bit sounds much smoother" helps more than "You're so musical."