Starting today, the Studio is on a 6 week sabbatical, and I hope we all take this opportunity to rest and enjoy our summers. Here are three tips for your summer sabbatical practice.
1. Maintenance, Not Progress: Your main goal for these 6 weeks away from piano lessons is to maintain the skills you’ve developed in the last year. To do that, focus on technique - scales, cadences, arpeggios - and enjoyable repertoire. It can be beneficial to re-learn older pieces with newer skills and sharpened ears. You can also work ahead in your books, or find new songs that utilize the skills you’ve learned, but if you grow frustrated with more advanced skills, step back to hone the skills you know.
2. Make a practice rhythm: 4-5 days a week, 30 minutes a day is most ideal (5-15 minutes for beginners, 45-60 minutes for advanced students). Write it in your planner and keep that time sacred. It’s your practice time for your musical investment.
3. Rest is good: With summer travel, summer camps, summer adventure, summer heat (see a pattern?), you're prone to fall off the practice wagon at some point. That’s normal and okay. In fact, an extended rest period - as in, 2-4 weeks - can be beneficial to your overall musical development. Professional athletes require off seasons to maintain a healthy and functional body; professional musicians operate the same way.
If you follow these tips, then you’ll keep your skills sharp so that you’ll be ready to dive into new repertoire and technique.