Black Note Transcriptions

Practising plays a critical role in the development of any skill! How good are you at balancing a spoon on your nose? How good are you at riding a unicycle? What about cooking a soufflé? Chances are unless you’ve practised these skills diligently, your answers are either “I’m terrible” or “Idk, I’ve never tried”. Before you ever began learning your instrument, you were completely skill-less at it. Now, look at you! You are living proof that practice works. Here are 10 reasons why you need to practice today. ASAP.

1. It’s fun!

Right? Practising should be fun. You are one of the lucky few in the world who get to enjoy having an instrument and the knowledge and resources to play it well.  How cool is that? If practising is not fun, make it fun. Maybe your teacher is assigning really boring exercises and you just want to play your favourite tunes. Make a bet with yourself – at the end of your assigned practising, you get to pick a new song to learn  – and you can play it until you’re sick of it. If you don’t have any fun books to play out of, try finding something online. There are so many resources on the internet for free music but beware of illegal or poorly written music. Can’t find that favourite song you were hoping to play? Try transcribing it or playing it by ear!

2.  You’ll be glad you did tomorrow!

The only practice session you’ll ever regret is the one you don’t do. If you practice today, you’ll be soooo glad that you did tomorrow. Imagine how you’ll feel afterwards: you’ll have accomplished something amazing, and you’ll feel responsible knowing you put in your time for the day. You can go about the rest of your day not worrying about needing to practice. Just do it!

3. It’s necessary to improve!

That’s right, you won’t get better without practice. So what are you waiting for? Continuous, small efforts are the best way to reach your goal. Even if you only put in a little bit of effort every day, you’ll be miles ahead of the person who tries to cram all their practising into one mega session every Sunday night at 10 pm…

4. You can’t cram practising!

…which leads us to this point. You can’t cram practising. You can work really hard and really intensely on something, and sometimes you’ll be able to reach a goal quickly. However, generally, you can’t cram the skills that are developed over time with slow, consistent practice. You might be able to wing a 30-second playing test for your class, but you definitely cannot wing performances, auditions, pieces that you need to learn/memorise, or any skill sets that you do not already have. If we could cram-learn Ariana Grande-style melisma’s or Sergei Nakariakov’s double tonguing skills into one day of practising, then we would all be extremely skilled and famous. The greats are great due to deliberate practice and consistent dedication. Don’t procrastinate; you’ll never get today back!

5. Tomorrow will be easier!

That’s right – tomorrow’s session will be easier because you will be better! Sounds like a win-win to me.

6. Deep, deep, deep down you want to practice! (but you’re being lazy)

No comment needed.

7. Everyone around you will notice if you don’t!

We know it’s not healthy to always be concerned with others’ opinions of you. But, imagine making the decision to not practice what you need to practice: everyone will know. Everyone around you will improve while you stay the same. Everyone around you will feel accomplished and successful, while you feel behind. Everyone around you will have opportunities and exciting events to attend, while you feel stuck and eventually regretful. Don’t let that happen!

8. Sticking to your routines will make you stronger, develop stronger willpower, and boost your work ethic!

If you stick to your routine and show diligent consistency, your work ethic will become so strong! Follow through with your commitment to practice every day, no matter how you are feeling or how much you want to. Stick to your routines and your self-discipline, willpower, work ethic, integrity, and grit will skyrocket. What’s not to love about that?

9. Someone is depending on you!

Whoever you make music with is depending on you. They want you to be at your very best. They dedicate time every day so that they are at THEIR best for you. Don’t let your teacher/colleagues/friends down! Everyone is rooting for you, so if you are feeling stuck, reach out and ask for a friendly, motivating nudge. Your fellow musicians will be happy to help.

10. Improving is inspirational and fun!

There’s no feeling quite like finally noticing your growth. Improvement leads to more opportunities, more friendships, and a lot more music. It can also lead to more challenges, but once you start feeling your improvements, you’ll quickly become addicted to the success that follows your hard work. Your hard work will always be worth it, even on the days when you feel like you’re not making progress. Sticking to your promises and being there for yourself (even on bad days) will add to your overall improvement. Once you commit to your consistent, productive habits, you and your improvements will be unstoppable!