About Practicing

A long standing principle for musicians in terms of developing their abilities and preparing for performance is to do plenty of practice. Whilst this strategy can certainly be useful, it is also important to condsider the quality of the work undertaken during practice sessions. As many musicians will have experienced, an abundance of practice is not necessarily a guarantee of satisfactory progress or a satisfying performance. Recent advances in a number of different areas have provided the musician of the 21st century with some very useful resources capable of helping them improve the quality of their practice. Whilst they will not give the musician anything they do not already possess in terms of ability, they may be of assistance in helping them to realise their full potential. That is the point of practice-perfect.com - to show the musician what is available and how it might help them regardless of age, ability or genre. Set out below are three sections entitled psychology, the body (various aspects) and technology that briefly discuss resoruces in these areas and provide links to some of the relevant material on this site.

Psychology
In the musician's domain, under achievement in performance is often linked to a perceived lack of talent. However, developments in sports psychology have demonstrated that a great deal can be done to assist people in more fully realisng their potential through strategies such as those designed to increase focus of attention and minimise the destructive aspects of performance anxiety or stage fright. Literature written for musicians and featured on this site draws extensively from sports psychology. See the following titles to explore this area further - The Confident Performer, Notes from the Green Room, Mental Practice and Imagery for Musicians

The Body (various aspects)
The study of chronobiology or body rhythms has helped to shed light on areas such as specific times of the day that may be best suited to certain kinds of tasks. Physiology has provided us with advice on diet, exercise and efficient use of our bodies along with devices such as posture correcting chairs. See the following examples to explore this area further. For posture and body use etc. The Athletic Musician, for posture correcting chairs see Wenger Corporation.

Technology
Technology has given us digital devices of many kinds e.g. electronic tuners, electronic metronomes, mini-disc recorders, digital video cameras and a myriad of computer software programmes capable of many different tasks. For examples see The Amazing Slow Downer,  Music Minus One,   Wenger Corporation V-Room technology,   Tascam trainer series  and the  Yamaha Silent Practice Range.