We will not stretch the time, but we can make the time spent practicing give us more than ever.
I want to share an idea that Benny Greb, an outstanding teacher and drummer, just transferred.
Plan your day on the instrument:
Prepare a to-do list similar to a shopping list. Write down what you will be working on, what exactly you will be practicing throughout the day
Set the timer. Control and record the time you spend on each item on your list.
And now for the most exciting part:
Record a whole day of your exercises, with all the adjournments, breaks, answering the phone (!), checking social media (!!!) etc. And here something will happen that can speed up your development:
Listen and analyze the entire recording carefully. Check HOW you practice, how much time you spend on the tasks on the list, whether your work is effective, which is very important – how much time you leaked, how much time you wasted on unnecessary things and what you wasted time on.
Think about what you can improve and what you can do to exercise more efficiently. This video will tell you a lot about yourself.
Repeat it once a quarter. You will see how much your approach to exercise will improve.
Checking yourself in this way will allow you to see the improvement in the quality of the exercise you have done over the last few months.
These days I participate on behalf of the Academy of Music. Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Poznań at the annual AEC – European Association of Conservatoires conference dedicated to jazz music