Establishing a good practice routine can help you practice more efficiently, making the time you spend on your instrument more effective. There are endless ways to put together routine. There are also different routines for different purposes. Once you have a good practice routine you can then change it over time to fit your needs. Here is a sample practice routine to help you get started:
1. Tune your instrument.
2. Warm up with a song that is easy to play that you enjoy playing. This will help get your head in the right place and remind you that playing music is fun and fulfilling and an activity you enjoy. Pick a different song from time to keep it interesting.
3. Play a song on your repertoire list that you have learned in the past that you would like to get better at. Over time your repertoire will grow and you want to keep those songs playable. The songs will also get better over time as you work on them and your over all ability increases.
4. Play some scales and arpeggios and work on tone and technique. You can work on new scales and arpeggios to learn them or ones you already know so you can put your focus on your technique.
5. Work on your current piece that you are learning. This is the main entree of your practice routine. Spend enough time to make progress each day before you move on to the next step in your routine. If you get frustrated play an easy song you enjoy to get back in the flow.
6. Play another song in your repertoire to finish on a good note. You will walk away with the feeling that you enjoyed your time on your instrument, accomplished your goals, and enhanced your skills all in one practice setting, and you’ll look forward to your next practice.
~Jason Theiste
