At the beginning of 2021, I wrote a blog about using a practice log and since then, a few of my students started to use a practice log. 3 months on and I must say, it has made a massive difference to some students! The progress is remarkable, and the most striking difference is the fluency with which they can handle the instrument now. Amazing.
So, is keeping a practice log the THING to do, then?
I’ve been keeping a practice log myself, but to be honest, not as effectively as my students. Mine has been a bit sporadic, I forget to log some sessions, and I don’t write notes all the time…. My students have impressed me with their approach that I’ve decided to interview 2 of them about how things are going.
A bit of background: the two students are aged 12 and 10, and they have been practising independently at home. Parents have told me in the past that daily practice routine wasn’t the easiest to keep going, especially during the lockdown period! They have one lesson per week and I give them a practice plan every week. Both have been using the online practice log that comes with My Music Staff.
Interview With My Student H (Age 12)
- When did you start using the practice log? 21st of December 2020.
- Do you log yourself or get help from your parents? I do it myself.
- Were you practising regularly before using the practice log? I was, however I practise more regularly since I started using the practice log.
- Do you practise longer now that you’re using the practice log? Yes.
- Does it help to know what you have to practise (like having a practice plan)? Do you think practice log would still be useful if you didn’t have a practice plan given to you?The practice plan helps a lot as I know exactly what to practise and the amount of time I should be doing it for. The practice log would still be useful as the student can understand what they have done previously, and what they need to work on for longer etc.
- Do your parents have to remind you to practise even with using practice log? Yes.
- Do you feel you have improved lots? Yes.
- What time of the day do you do your practice? Evening at about 20:30 or 21:00.
- What do you like about using a practice log? I like that I am able to see what I have done well and what I need to improve on or spend longer time on.
- What else would you like to see in the practice log, like charts, awards, and so on? I would like to see a graph showing the data of practice over a period of time. I think it would be useful to know how much more/less a student is spending time on their practising. I also think there should be a feature where a student can set a goal of how long they would like to practise, as it would motivate them to practise harder, and improve at the instrument.
- Do you ever feel like you can’t be bothered with practice (happens to everyone!) but because of the practice log you do it? Yes but I don’t do it because of the practice log.
- And, one question for mum. What do you think changed the most since Hannah started using practice log? She practises longer and more regularly.
Interview With My Student R (Age 10)
- When did you start using the practice log? January 2021
- Do you log yourself or get help from your parents? Log-in myself
- Were you practising regularly before using the practice log? Kind of
- Do you practise more now that you’re using the practice log? yes
- Does it help to know what you have to practise (like having a practice plan)? Yes
- Do you think practice log would still be useful if you didn’t have a practice plan given to you? yes
- Do your parents have to remind you to practise even with using practice log? sometimes
- Do you feel you have improved lots? yes
- What time of the day do you do your practice? depends
- Do you like using the practice log? Sort of
- Does it motivate you? yes
- What do you like about it? The resources
- What else would you like to see in the practice log, like charts, awards, and so on? Not sure
- Do you feel like you can’t be bothered to practise sometimes? yes
- What do you do then? Get shouted at by my parents.
- Does practice log help? yes
Questions for Mum or Dad:
- Was it tricky sometimes to get practice going? Yes
- Has using the practice log made it easier, or different in some way? Yes it has definitely helped R – he likes structure and clear instructions.
- What has changed the most? It extends the length of time he practises because there are clear objectives that he can just follow through.
And finally… I’ve done a brief interview with myself, Sanae (Age Many).
- Do I like using the practice log? Yes, I do but I do frequent short practices that I don’t log all of the practices any more…. Also, sometimes I have digital detox days when I don’t use any devices, and I can’t use the practice log app.
- Has it helped improve my playing? Yes, for sure, but I have a slight suspicion that with or without the use of practice log, I may be doing a similar amount anyway… This is probably because I know WHEN and HOW MUCH I can practise during the week and right now it doesn’t come in abundance.
So, as you can see, my students have been doing much better…
