[Music and musical instrument performance] Do you get worse when you take a break from practice?

Whether it’s an instrument or a sport, if you miss even one day of practice, you’ll lose your senses and become unskilled. Sports instructors often say that if you don’t practice, you’ll quickly become bad at it, but is this true? In fact, how long do you have to miss practice before you become bad at it?

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1 day off, 3 days back

Have you ever met a teacher or lecturer who utters such lines? It is said that the fastest way to improve is to keep working hard every day without giving up. Musicians have been educated from an early age to be “hard workers” and “great things”, and now they may be asking others to do the same. By being told this, there are quite a few people who have a fear that if they skip practice even a little, they will become bad at it, and they will force themselves to practice even on days when they are not in the mood. It is. However, the reality is that you can’t say that you’re bad just by taking a day off.

Even athletes have days off

Think of professional athletes. There are various professional sports players such as soccer players, rugby players, and tennis players, but they don’t work hard every day 365 days a year. If you practice every day, 365 days a year, you will end up overtraining, which will hurt your body and make you more susceptible to injury. Even professional sports teams take a day off once a week. It’s the same with musical instruments. Practicing 365 days a year is exhausting. Even professional musicians have days when they don’t touch their instruments. No matter how much you play an instrument, you will not get tired, but the performer will lose concentration and motivation.

If you skip 3 days, the audience will find out

But this time it must also be said that too much rest is dangerous. Paderewski, a Polish pianist, said, “If you don’t practice for one day, you will know the next day.” “If you don’t practice for two days, your wife will know.” doing. It takes a lot of effort just to maintain the technology, and once it is built, it can be regained in a relatively short time, but it is said that too much rest is not good. If the senses are empty, the player will be busy with training to regain their senses. It is said that maintaining the status quo is the limit, and it is difficult to improve from the current situation. Therefore, moderate rest is necessary, but moderate exercise is absolutely necessary.

when it’s mentally tough

For example, when you’re heartbroken, when you lose a parent, or when you’re frustrated at work, you probably don’t feel like practicing. Not only that, it is also not good to practice when you are not in good condition, such as when you are sleepy or hungry. Practicing in such conditions is not very edifying. In most cases, they cannot immerse themselves in the practice itself, and they think about other things, which makes it impossible to practice properly. Most people can’t even concentrate and end up just wasting their time. In such cases, it is best to stop practicing. Humans are emotional creatures, not machines. The best thing to do when things get tough is to do nothing.

when it’s fun

On the other hand, when I feel like myself, when I’m happy, and when I’m having fun, it’s also the time when I can concentrate on my instrument the most. At times like that, you need to be immersed in practice and devote yourself to practice. During this period, the more you practice, the faster your progress will be because your absorption is in a very high state. Enjoying music can keep you in the best condition. That’s when it’s important to stick to it. However, this cannot be said for professional musicians, but for amateur musicians, you should concentrate on practicing when you are in the right mood.