Four Very Different Reasons We Practice Music

This article is based on Time to Practice Podcast Episode 35, a solo episode with host Christine Goodner where we discuss different reasons we practice. The text has been edited slightly for ease of reading. This episode is sponsored by Music Practice Makeover. This new resource is out on March 21st, 2022 and is all about helping young musicians with home practice. You can pre-order the kindle version now to be delivered on publication day. You’ll be able to order a paperback copy, and through other platforms, on the 21^st.

At a talk I gave recently about practice, I mentioned in passing that there are many reasons why we practice. They are all different and all valid. At the end, a parent told me thank you for sharing that because their spouse was a professional musician who couldn’t wait to practice growing up, and it seemed like something was wrong since their own child was resistant to it.

That made me think about how important it is to talk about the discipline of practice.

I recently shared some thoughts about this on my Instagram account www.Instagram.com/Suzukitriangle. If you want to look for my post there you can read some of the ideas below with graphics.

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below:

The basics of what I want to share with you today is this: in my work conducting interviews, giving talks and workshops, and working with many families over the last two decades, I’ve realized there are many, many reasons we practice.

The first is that sometimes we have to practice.

Sometimes it’s a teacher, a parent or caregiver, perhaps an orchestra director who is assigning us practice. And we really have to come back and say that we’ve done it. So there’s no getting around the fact that we will practice and someone else is going to see that it happens.

And it makes me think of episode seven of the Time to Practice Podcast when Dr. Shu-yi Scott came on the podcast and she was sharing how in her younger years, she was in a very rigorous school program where she just really had to practice. And that’s why she got it done.

I also think about some of my own students who yes, need to come back and tell me they’ve practiced, but they also might be in an orchestra for their school where there’s a grade given based on a practice log they keep, or they have auditions to figure out the chair they’re in at their local orchestra.

And sometimes these outside forms of accountability are what cause us to practice.

And even as adults or professionals, if we need that outside accountability, there are coaches or teachers of our own that we can work with. There are people who have whole programs around how to practice and you can have a group feel to that or a mentor you are accountable to. I think also for the children who need this, as they get older, as their adult (parent or caregiver), we can help them create an if/then rule.

Like if I get my practice done, then I can (fill in the blank). Whether that is play video games or read as much as I want in my book or whatever it is that your child is wanting to do.

Of course, homework and academics is going to be in there as well. But if we make a rule for ourselves, like “okay, I can do this other thing I want after I practice” it can help motivate us to get it done.

Of course, another reason we might practice is because we want to practice.

Some people really like practicing right from the start. Just like the parent. I mentioned at the beginning of this article. I have a student now who, when she was five years old, her family had to tell her that she couldn’t practice If she woke up at 5:00 AM because everyone else was sleeping and she really needed to wait. There are eager practicers at any age, that can’t wait to practice.

They enjoy everything about it. And that’s great. No one is going to complain about this.

In fact, I think sometimes this is the thing we all want our children to have or ourselves to have, and it can be a clear sign that this person really should learn music because they love to practice. But I don’t think that’s the only indication.

And it’s not something that we should expect to tell if our child loves music, or their instrument, or not.

It’s wonderful when this happens. Also, we don’t need it to be this way for music to be a great activity for us.

There’s so much to love about music, performing, going to lessons, interacting with our teach or playing with peers, social events around music. Our list could go on and on. And some people are driven by those things, not the desire to do the practice itself.

I think music practice could be thought of like the running laps of a sport.

Some people find the running satisfying in and of itself. There are whole sports like cross country. All you do is run. And some people really love that. Others are willing to do the running because they know it will make them stronger or help them play their specific sport.

Both are valid.

The main thing is the laps have to be run to be in the best shape we can. And the same goes with practice.

Some of us want the results from practice, just like the runners who do their lap to be in shape for a game. We may drag our feet getting started, but we want the results, like getting a great performance showing up at our lesson or a rehearsal, well prepared, getting to play the music that we love.

And sometimes we can only do that when we’ve learned the skills needed for a specific piece that we’re excited about.

Satisfaction can come from mastering difficult skills that used to be hard for us. So that’s what I think of as the third reason we might practice, we really want the results from the practice itself.

Enjoying the Process

And then there are those who enjoy running. They enjoy the process of practice. They like the problem-solving aspect of practice. And they like how playing in the music room feels and sounds. They like to make progress and seeing positive results and how it feels to be in the middle of that process.

Maybe you can think of more reasons one might practice. I’d love to hear your ideas!

We all have different motivations: maybe we practice because we have to, maybe we practice because we want to, maybe we want the results that come from the practice and maybe we enjoy the process itself.

The message I want to leave you with today is that when I speak to professional musicians, educators, performers, music therapists, and more, I hear all of these reasons for why they practiced as a child.

 I even hear all of these reasons for why they practice right now.

I think somehow we get the idea that it’s only those who want to practice or love to practice from the start that are destined to go on into music. And while that approach does make it clear that a person loves music, all these other reasons for practice are just as valid. They still get us the end result of having had practiced.

People whose parents told them they had to practice go on to be professionals.

People who want the results, but don’t love the actual process go on to be professionals>

And becoming a professional musician isn’t the only reason to take lessons or learn an instrument.

My goal is to help develop humans who love and appreciate music

Who learn many things about themselves and the world through music

I want my students to learn how to practice, whatever their reasons are for practice itself.

I want them to learn how to work with themselves and how they learn.

I want them to feel and express emotion through playing music.

And I want them to be able to learn, and play their instrument, to the best of their ability.

There’s so much more to love about music than the discipline of practice itself.

Just like there is more to love about playing a sport than the running laps itself or the doing pushups.

When we can take the pressure off of worrying if something is wrong because we have to require practice or a child doesn’t naturally love it, then instead we can put our energy into helping them figure out how to enjoy the process more, how to make it feel more enjoyable and less like a chore, or how to add some creativity and games to the process.

We can think about how to help them structure practice, or how to help them get started with their music practice if that’s a challenge.

We can help our children learn how to connect to what they do love about music and focus there.

Even if that love isn’t for the discipline of practice itself.

Links from this Episode:

Preorder the ebook: Music Practice Makeover

Find Christine on Instagram