By Christine Terrisse
Most adult students are enthusiastic to start taking lessons and to begin a new hobby. It’s exciting to dive into the new world of music. If you are doing this primarily for fun, in essence you have the best of both worlds – you can practice when you want and no one is forcing you to go to your piano lessons with a scary task-master or practice your guitar under threat of becoming grounded! Of course the downside is that it can be frustrating and create a lot of guilt when you find yourself making excuses for why you didn't get a chance to practice this week (or for the last two weeks!!!).
Many of the adult students that take lessons at Hollywood Academy of Music do so because they need to work on something for a role they are learning, for the band they are in, or simply because they are fulfilling a lifelong dream of always playing a certain instrument. The one thing they all have in common is that they want to take lessons for a specific reason.
Giving yourself the gift of music is a great way to enrich and enhance your life. However, you won't get better unless you practice.
Practice you say? The word itself gives us flashbacks of sitting in math class in elementary school. Here are four ways to incorporate practicing into your busy schedule when you don't have mom or dad over your shoulder making you do it:
1) Integrate practice into your daily routine.
This is something we recommend parents to do for their children, but it works for adults as well. Try incorporating your practice into your morning or evening routine around your work schedule. Are you a morning person? Try waking up a little earlier than usual, before you have to get your kids up for school, or get yourself ready for work. It can be a great way to start your day. I know I'm wiped out in the evening and would rather watch Dancing With the Stars so I never schedule my practice time after work.
2) Don't beat yourself up for not practicing.
While it is a very important part of learning anything, remember you are going at your own pace. You are taking these lessons for you and for no one else. Emily Carlstrom, my voice teacher has always told me that while practicing everyday is ideal, you will learn and improve by coming to your weekly lesson...it will just take longer!
3) Find creative ways to incorporate practice.
If you are a voice student, you can record your lessons with your teacher playing the accompaniment for songs, or download a karaoke track for the song you are working on and work on it in the car. If you sing every day on your morning commute think how much better you would get. You have to be willing to support some stares from other drivers, but it is well worth it. While this won't work for the trombone, there are other ways to get creative. If your child is taking music lessons, try working on your instruments at the same time or sharing what you are learning with each other. Practice during commercial breaks for your favorite show; bring your guitar to a family picnic, or the beach. You are an adult now, so you can control where, when and how you practice!
4) Balance between "work" and "play" practice sessions.
Learning a new or difficult concept with your instrument can be difficult, there are some practice sessions which will be challenging for that reason. There will always be peaks and valleys on the road to your goal, so reward yourself after working on a difficult area by having the next practice session be a "fun" one. Sing with abandon, create a family "jam session" night, sign up for an open mic... don't worry about how "good" you are doing in these sessions just experience the joy of what you have already learned.
5) Reassess Goals
The most important thing for the adult student is motivation. What are you practicing for? Do you want to learn for learning's sake? Then you should choose an instrument you have a fascination or love for. If you are learning because you want to turn into the next John Mayer or Lady Gaga in one month, you might want to scale it down a notch. Start simple or you might find your enthusiasm waning.
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Remember practice makes perfect and perfect isn't the same for everybody! This is supposed to fun, so do your best to enjoy your time playing your instrument or singing, and you’ll get the best results.
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