How Much is Enough?

Can you guess the NUMBER ONE excuse people have for not being able to practice? If you guessed "not having enough time", you'd be a big winner.

... and I believe it's a totally bogus excuse!!

The good news is that you don’t need a lot of time to practice. Believe it or not, 20 minutes a day can do the job. Sure, that’s not a lot of time, especially when I think back to the “good old days” when I used to practice piano no less than 4 (yes, four) hours a day. On top of that, I also accompanied voice lessons and choir classes, and gave piano lessons every day to help pay for my college tuition.

Of course, you will need to factor in your current goal. I have a concert coming up in 2 weeks so, when I was developing my play list, I spent more time at my hammered dulcimer. But now that I have made those decisions, I’m back to a 20-minute run-though every single day. I believe the key to making 20 minutes of practice a day work for you is consistency. This shorter spurt of practice several days a week will be far more effective than, for example, a two-hour practice session but only once a week.

Let’s make it our New Year’s resolution to develop the habit of regular practice, even if it’s only for 20 minutes a day.

Happy dulcimering,
Linda