Have You Noticed This?

​How do you...prepare for practicing?

Becoming aware of what our thoughts and feelings are before we head into a practice session can make all the difference in the world in terms of how productive our practicing is. 

This isn't a common topic that comes up, but it should be.

We talk a lot about preparedness when it comes to storms, taking tests, interviewing for a job, and other things like that. 

But there's another kind of preparation we do before we perform many tasks; and that is what is happening in our thoughts and emotions as we approach a specific activity. 

• Think about how you feel the night before and exam. You're cramming, worried that you're going to forget everything, and maybe even judging yourself for not studying more during the semester. Lots of emotions, right?
• Now let's switch sides and think this time about how you feel before a big celebration, or a fun family gathering, or a special date. You're excited, a little nervous if it's a first date, filled with hopes and dreams for how much fun you're going to have, etc...

Both of these experiences stir a lot of emotional activity before the event even happens. One is more on the negative side and the other is more on the positive side. 

Take this concept now, to your piano practicing. Have you ever even noticed or thought about what feelings and emotions you are already experiencing just by thinking about practicing? They are there...and if you haven't felt them before, take some time in the next week to notice exactly what is going on "inside" of you, before you sit down at your piano. 

I want you to pay special attention also to your thoughts. Thoughts will produce and emotional response! 

• If you feel anxiety and some level of fear about practicing what you're currently working on, your emotions are going to respond to those thoughts and you will bring that into your practice session. 
• On the other hand, if you are feeling excited about a new piece, or learning a new technique, your emotional response will mirror your thoughts again, and you'll bring that energy into your playing. 
• Also notice what kind of thoughts and energy you're bringing into your practice session with baggage from your day...stress from work or school, an argument with a friend or your spouse, things like that. All of these, have an affect on your practicing and ultimately your playing. 

The important thing to remember here is that you will bring some type of energy into your practice session. It's just how we humans are made - we are emotional creatures. 

Noticing that, and paying attention to how we respond to the thought of practicing is going to change our practice time. 

If you've never thought about this before, then you want to first just start noticing how you respond in your feelings and thoughts when it's time to practice. Just observe...don't judge. Don't try to change anything except your awareness of what you are feeling. 

Do this for a few days to a week. 

Then...start "approaching" the thoughts that bring anxiety, fear, worry, guilt, etc...by not dwelling on them but instead counteracting them with more positive and confident thoughts. 

For example:

Replace:      "I can't do this" with "I will get this if I keep working each day on it."
                     "This is too hard" with "I can break this down so it's not so hard."
                     "I can't get all of this done everyday" with "I can accomplish one thing well each practice session."

Every time you have this type of a conversation with yourself (and your emotions), you are clearing the way for a more productive and enjoyable practice session. Try coming up with your own list of positive reactions you can give to your more negative, stressful thoughts and feelings as this will give you ownership over your emotions and they won't 'control' you as much. 

Not everything that you notice in this energy will be negative, certainly! Take hold of all of those positive things that you find and keep them alive and active in helping you to prepare for your piano practicing. 

Realizing that we come to each piano practice session with a given range of emotions and thoughts and knowing that they will effect how well we practice, can really change our practicing.

• We'll learn things faster because we have less emotional junk blowing around.
  
• We become more excited and enthusiastic about practicing because we're seeing better results. 
• We come up with less excuses as to why we "can't" practice one day.
• We end up feeling generally better in other areas of our lives because we're learning how to overcome some of the negative conversations we have with ourselves. 

So the concept of "Be Prepared" isn't really the issue here. This is more about...you are already preparing; start noticing how you do it and see how you can change it to have a better practice session! See the difference?

Stay Tuned to PianoLessonsOnTheWeb.com to learn much more and accomplish your dreams of playing the piano!

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