Does Practice Make Perfect? ...not always

By: Lee Tribbey

Often people receive a banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar or some
other musical instrument as a birthday, Christmas or special
occasion gift. There's glee and joy everywhere. The giver of the
gift knows how much the receiver of the gift wants to learn this
instrument and the receiver of the gift is ACTUALLY holding the
coveted instrument in his/her hands instead of lusting for it
down at the corner store or through the shop window. NOW WHAT?

Finding an instructor that fits into a busy work schedule is
hard enough.but once you decide on a lesson plan, then the
student must calculate the practice time, how to practice, what
to practice - and let's face it.not all people learn something
the same way. We have math-wizard types that write everything
down, social butterflies that strictly learn by only talking to
others about it and yet others that envision a categories and
divisional compartment-style strategy for a problem and
logically devise a plan to solve the problem in a completely
different way than there next door neighbor! So.in order to
learn a musical instrument, how much practice time is enough and
what kind of practice is right for you?

First the student must identify some goals. 1.What is the
desired gain? Do you want to be a virtuoso or a hobbyist? 2.How
much discretionary time is available to invest in the learning
process 3.Is the student really willing to invest the time for
the ultimate gain 4.Would the student be satisfied with a more
social/casual study of the instrument 5.Identify why the student
wants to learn 'this specific instrument"

There is no set amount of time that anyone should practice a
musical instrument. When I was enrolled in programming classes,
I could have studied nightly for 5 hours each night. It would
have taken me years to learn the art and craft of computer
programming. Though I'm intrigued by the systematic logic of it,
my aptitude is towards another genre all together. However, on
the other hand, if I spent an hour every couple days with a
passionate hobby like playing the violin, not only would the
time fly quickly.I'd also be learning at a much greater pace
since the built-in passion is the motivation for advancement.

So as much as it's important to practice, a step back from that
strategy is to first find the compatible instrument that fits
you as a person; as an extension of your personality. If you're
learning the guitar because it's cool and every guy can snag
chicks if he plays guitar..- & obviously that's the modern-day
hip-factor mindset, however, you might not be actually aligning
your highest aptitude for musical fulfillment with your most
creative advantages you have to offer.

It's been my experience that every person has a certain level of
musical talent. My enjoyable challenge has been to assist them
in this adventure and actually locate their best abilities as
quickly as possible. Then and only then can we match student
with instrument and truly begin a fun and exciting Zen-walk down
the road of happiness and contentment; where music, aptitude,
personality and soul all congregate. Once this piece of the
mystery puzzle is in place, I've never had to work at motivating
a student to practice.





About the author:
Lee Tribbey is the marketing manager of LessonsAnytime.com, a
totally online music teaching emporium and instrument lesson
resource.