Nathan Wong Assignment Task 1A FCP113

Assessment Task 1A
In a broad sense, practising is a repeated activity done in order to acquire and maintain
proficiency. Practise is an essential part of improving at anything and as a result, countless
studies have been conducted to find out how to effectively practise. Although there are many
different ways to practise, this is my practise schedule that I use. However, I have found lots
of room for improvement and will explain my practise schedule and steps that I can take to
improve it and further escalate my practise routine.
This is my practise schedule:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute scales
scales scales scales scales scales scales
10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute break
break break break break break break
20-minute piece 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute piece run
run through piece run piece run piece run piece run piece run through
through through through through through
20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute break
break break break break break break
30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute specific
specific practise specific specific specific specific specific practise
practise practise practise practise practise
Hour break Hour break Hour break Hour break Hour break Hour break Hour break
20-minute run 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute run
through other run run through run run run through other piece
piece through other piece through through through
other piece other piece other piece other piece
20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute break
break break break break break break
30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute specific
specific practise specific specific specific specific specific practise
practise practise practise practise practise
20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute 20-minute break
break break break break break break
10-minute last 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute 10-minute last piece
piece last piece last piece last piece last piece last piece

I start off with scales, as scales are not only an essential tool to help warm up, but also help
with finger strength, agility, and hand co-ordination. Intimately knowing scales and playing
them before I practise also helps me paint a clearer picture of the piano, boosting confidence
when I do start playing my pieces. Many different articles have been written on the
importance of scales, including improving technique, note accuracy, and becoming more
aware of tonal centres (London Piano Institute, 2016). After warming up and taking a small
break for my hands, I will then run through one of my pieces, trying to implement parts
where my teacher suggested improvement and noting mistakes. Then I will do another run
through, usually much slower or with a different articulation, really trying to focus on parts of
Nathan Wong Assignment Task 1A FCP113

the piece that I am not satisfied with. In my practise schedule, my breaks are just as important
as my playing parts. During my breaks, I will walk around my house and think about
mistakes I could fix and improvements I could make. I will play through the piece inside my
head and think about strategies I could use to fix the parts. After my break, I will get on with
the meat of the practise schedule, which is the refining of specific parts that need work. These
can be parts that don’t feel fully stable and secure, or places where lines don’t feel smooth
and flowing. This is inspired from Mark Bain’s video on Performance Under Pressure, in
which I form a clear intent and work on it.
“It’s best to simplify your schedule so you have a clear idea of what you need to do, when
you need to do it and why you are doing it” (Mark Bain, 2023)
After this comes the long break where I can rest my hands and mentally prepare myself for
the next piece, in which I repeat the same process with the first piece. Following this, I have a
break and shortly work on another piece that hasn’t been worked on that day. I find it
important for me to have a random rotation of the pieces I practise and the placement of when
I play them to avoid falling into a pattern in which my practise becomes much less effective.
This structure really helps me for different reasons. The first one is that it significantly
reduces the chance of my hands getting injured. With a proper warmup and regular breaks, I
can play with full force and dynamics without having to worry about getting injured,
increasing the effectiveness of my practise. Another big reason is that it prevents my brain
from slipping into ‘ordinary practise’ mode. Every time I break my brain is forced to rethink
and reset itself, heavily increasing effectiveness. Mark Bain suggests a 3 to 1 break ratio.

“Use a 3:1 ratio of practise to break time – this means if you do a practise session for 30
minutes, take a 10-minute break” (Mark Bain, 2023)
Mark Bain also emphasises the importance of getting a good night’s sleep and recommends
putting way all electronic devices before sleep.

“Sleep is the biggest influence on how well you will learn and perform… It is particularly
important to keep any electronic devices… outside of the room that you sleep in” (Mark
Bain, 2023)
After implementing this, I got a much better sleep and my practise felt healthier and more
effective. Reading through The Bulletproof Musician also helped me formulate my breaks in
between to really maximise the effectiveness of my breaks.
When discussing with Simon about my practise schedule, he suggested putting specific times
of when to practise and changing order of scales. Specific times would help with organisation
and add an extra layer of motivation with my practise and changing order would also prevent
me from having ordinary practise, instead forcing me to deliberately practise, massively
increasing effectiveness.
To further advance my practice routine’s effectiveness, I can apply Mark Bain and Simon’s
advice for developing healthy and effective practise routines. I can apply these by
implementing the 3:1 break ratio, having a specific bedtime for better sleep, having a specific
Nathan Wong Assignment Task 1A FCP113

time for when to practise and changing the order for my practise routine to prevent myself
from slipping into mindless practise, where my practise becomes much less fruitful.
In conclusion, although I have tried to make my practise routine as healthy and effective as
possible, I have found that there is always room for improvement and growth. Mark Bain,
Simon, and plenty of other online articles have given me plenty of new ideas and techniques
to further progress my musical ability.

References

Kageyama, N. (2018, May 22). How Many Hours a Day Should You Practice? Bulletproof Musician.

https://bulletproofmusician.com/how-many-hours-a-day-should-you-practice/

Struggling to Get a Tricky Passage up to Tempo? Why “Perfect” Practice May Actually Be the

Problem. (2016, July 3). Bulletproof Musician. https://bulletproofmusician.com/struggling-

to-get-a-tricky-passage-up-to-tempo-try-this-clever-practice-technique/

Clear, J. (n.d.). Deliberate Practice: What It Is, What It’s Not, and How to Use It. James Clear.

https://jamesclear.com/deliberate-practice-theory

‌Deliberate Practice By Anders Ericsson: What It Is And How Can You Deliberately Practice

Something» Y Samphy. (2021, May 31). https://www.ysamphy.com/anders-ericsson-

deliberate-practice/#:~:text=How%20Can%20You%20Deliberately%20Practice

%20Something%3F%201%20Prepare

NPR Choice page. (2019). Npr.org.

https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2013/09/03/216906386/10-easy-ways-to-

optimize-your-music-practice

10 tips to help you practise more effectively. (n.d.). Classic FM.

https://www.classicfm.com/lifestyle/wellbeing/musician-practice-tips/

‌8 Reasons why you need to practice your piano scales daily | LPI. (2016, January 22). The London

Piano Institute. https://www.londonpianoinstitute.co.uk/8-reasons-why-you-need-to-

practice-your-piano-scales-daily/

‌Why Scales are Important. (n.d.). Scales-Chords.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from

https://www.scales-chords.com/articles/Why-Scales-are-Important
Nathan Wong Assignment Task 1A FCP113

‌Why Learn Piano Scales - 5 Important Reasons. (n.d.). Piano Lessons Info. Retrieved March 17, 2023,

from https://www.piano-lessons-info.com/why-learn-scales.html