Work Smart, Practice Less, and Become a Great Musician.

It seems like every serious musician is all about practicing more and more, and on top of that, every teacher pushes the limits even further, to the point where people actually believe you need to practice 5, 6, 7 hours a day to become a great musician!

There is no way it's healthy to be cooped up in a small practice room for so long, nor is it necessary. And I can prove it.

You might think I am crazy, but I can show you that not only can you achieve just as much by practicing 1/5 of the time, you can actually create MORE progress by practicing less.

Consider this:

Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto noted a trend that in Italy, 80% of land was held by 20% of citizens. This observation grew into what is now known as the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, which can be applied in many other ways. (More info here.)

An applicable example:

Artists often create 10-12 songs per album, however, in most cases only one (maybe two) of these songs gets serious airplay. These singles account for merely 10-20% of the album, yet they create 80-90% of the audience! This is just one of the many instances of the Pareto Principle, it has also been widely used in the subject of productivity.

For instance:

80% of deficiencies are caused by 20% of problems.

80% of work is completed in 20% of the time spent.

I realize these numbers are still somewhat vague and abstract, so let me give you a personal example from my experience as a vocalist.

There was a time when I was practicing quite a bit every single day, locking myself in the practice room for hours at a time. I had realized that fundamentals are incredibly important to any great musician, and first thing once I got into the practice room, I would spent maybe an hour to an hour and a half just doing voice strengthening exercises!

My voice got a lot stronger during this period, but I was still having a lot of the same problems: trouble holding out long tones, vocal control, keeping a steady volume as I went up in pitch, etc.

But then I got to thinking, what is the common trend among these problems?...Breathing.

There it was, the 20% that was really causing 80% of my problems. Yet I was only working on breathing the same amount I worked on everything else. I started focusing intently on my breathing exercises which took up about 15 minutes per day, then I would do a warm-up and I noticed many of my problems started fixing themselves during the rest of my practice time.

I cut down my practice time by over an hour, and actually got better!

This is only one small-scale example of how to apply the Pareto Principle into your life.

The 80/20 rule is very practical, and very valuable. Not only does it increase your productivity, but it gives you time to actually have a life! You can be serious about your profession and still have fun. It is possible.

What you need to do to make this work:

• Make a list of everything you are having trouble with, and ask yourself, "What is causing the majority of my problems?", this is what you need to focus on during your practice sessions.
• Practice with a purpose. Now that you know exactly what you need to work on, focus solely on that. No distractions, and no multi-tasking.
• Don't try to "do it all" every day! It's better to focus on that one pesky problem, because once you start making progress with that, everything else will start to fall in place.
• Set time limits. The pressure of a deadline will force you to focus and get your work done, not just sit in the practice room for the sake of being there.

So basically, productivity has risen to 160%, while this person has gained 3 hours of free time!

And some people will say, "but what if I have to learn a whole song?! I can't just learn 80% of it." Very true, but I can guarantee you that there will be specific sections of the song that will give you a lot of trouble. These are the sections you need to focus on, rather than trying to learn a song from start to finish. No one says you have to start learning a song from the beginning! Pinpoint these spots before you begin and get them ingrained in your memory, and the rest of the song will come a lot more easily.

The secret is about working smart, and working with intent. Always keep a clear picture of what you want from your practice time in your mind. I suggest actually writing down on paper what you plan to accomplish before even entering the practice room, and keeping that with you to avoid getting distracted by anything else.

Remember, not all problems were created equally. You shouldn't treat them like they were. Play favorites, and tackle one thing a day, two at the most. Don't spread yourself too thin.

There will always be people who like to brag about how much time they spend in the practice room, and these people will probably be good musicians, because at some point during those 6 hours a day I am sure they get some work done. But would you rather work with this outdated time-spent approach, or a result-oriented approach? Rise above others who are too close-minded to ever realize that they can have more out of life than just time in the practice room. Becoming a musician is about having life experiences as well as musical-growth, and now you will actually have the time to have both.

Feedback? Questions? Email me: Nehal@Musicians-Make-It.com