Making the Most of Your Flute Time: Practice & Play Scheduling
Everyone knows that in order to become a better flutist, you have to practice regularly. After all, you can’t expect to get better at playing flute without actually playing flute! But I am frequently asked by my students, “How often and how long should I be practicing?” Structuring a practice session really depends on the individual, but here are some tips on scheduling and making the most of your flute time.
Set Goals
Before figuring out your practice schedule, determine what your long-term goals are (at least one to four or more months away). A beginner might want to eventually be able to practice for 15 minutes in a row without getting dizzy while an advanced player might need to prepare for a performance or competition.
Then break these long-term goals down into short-term goals (one to four weeks). The beginner this month might try to play five minutes in a row a few times a week before working up to 15 minutes, while the advanced player will need to break down their music and set a timeline for learning the different parts. Frequently the goals themselves will help determine what the practice sessions should be like.
If you need help setting goals and organizing your thoughts, try filling out our free “Flute Goals Chart”.
“I Don’t Have Time to Practice”
This is something I hear a lot, and while I can understand where you are coming from as life seems to always stay busy, you do have time to practice. Or even if you don’t currently, then that just means you haven’t made time to practice. You will make the time if it is important enough to you. If you don’t have time, it means that you have prioritized something else over practice. While there are days where you won’t be able to practice because there are activities that really should take priority over flute, in general you should be able to make the time that you need.
One of the reasons that people think they don’t have time to practice has to do with their misconception about what a practice session should be like. They think that if they can’t sit down for an hour without interruption to work on their music, then it is not worth doing. However, I always say, “Quality over quantity!” If you really focus and work on a specific goal or two, you can get as much done in 10 minutes as when you are just kind of goofing around for an hour. In general, most people have at least 10 minutes available in their day they can allocate to their flute. It is preferable to do several practice sessions like that throughout the week as opposed to only having one or two longer sessions.
Also, consider finding a general time to practice that both works with your schedule and personal preference. For example, I almost never want to practice first thing in the morning, so I generally do my sessions in the afternoon either before teaching or during breaks between lessons. You might find that you like doing it right after breakfast (make sure to brush your teeth before playing!) or before dinner. And who says you can only practice once in a day! Maybe you would prefer to take breaks and do two or more small practice sessions instead of a longer one. For more information on organizing your practice, please see the blog post “How to Structure a Productive Flute Practice Session“.
If worse comes to worst and you truly do not have the opportunity to get your flute out, then you can still practice, just without your flute! For more information, please see the blog “How to Practice Flute WITHOUT Your Instrument!”.
Log Your Practice Time and Activity
One of the ways to stay honest with yourself and improve your practice is to complete a practice log. If you do not have one, don’t worry, you can download our “Flute Practice & Play Log” for free!
In this log, there is a space where you can jot down some of your goals for the week (perhaps referencing some of the ones that you wrote down in your “Flute Goals Chart”) as well as how you intend to achieve those goals. Fill this section out first at the beginning of the week.
Then for each day you practice, fill out both the amount of time that you practiced as well as the main things you accomplished during the session. You might be surprised at how you ended up allocating your time and all that you got done. Then you can make an honest assessment of how your practice sessions went and can make adjustments for future ones if necessary. You can also see what goals you were able to achieve or which ones you need to continue on next time.
Leave Time for Play
In the practice log, there is a column for the amount of time practiced, but there is also one for the amount of time played. Don’t forget to leave time to play! It is not the same thing as practicing, although they are often confused.
Practicing is where you are really focusing and trying to accomplish your goals. Playing is where you are making music simply for the love of it or just doing something else flute-related for fun. Remember why you started learning the flute in the first place as sometimes we practice so hard that we forget why we are doing it. Or conversely you might find yourself accidentally playing a lot more than you practice, which is why sometimes you can get as much done in a really productive 10 minute practice session as opposed to a long one just filled with playing. There should always be a good balance between the two. It probably won’t always (and shouldn’t always) be a 50/50 split, but make sure that you minimize the number of sessions that are only 100% one or the other.
Reflect and Make a Comment Sandwich
As part of your reflection of the week, I would encourage you to create a comment sandwich. A comment sandwich is where you critique your playing, including both the good parts and things that still need improvement. Always start positive and mention one thing that went well, then something that you want to work on, then end with something else that went well. So the bread of your sandwich consists of your positive comments with constructive self-criticism smushed in the middle.
You might be surprised just how hard it is to come up with the positive comments. You will probably find that you want to do your sandwich the other way around as it is very easy to criticize, but don’t do it! Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small, and you will begin to see all the areas where you are improving step by step!
Happy practicing (and playing)!!
