Want to enjoy your music practice more?

I want to speak to you today about a really important piece of mindset and intention in your music practice. 

Something I find myself saying over and over and over again with my clients and students is... slow down! This is one of the things that people really, really struggle with, and I can relate because I've struggled with it too.

But if there was one thing that I recommend to anyone to apply into their music practice and really truly learn how to do properly, that is to practice slowly. 

I always say go slow to learn fast. This is truly one of the secrets to generating momentum and making progress in music. 

Want another way to learn as fast as possible? Check out my Free Micro Practice Cheatsheet here.

Here's the YouTube Video if you prefer to watch and listen.

Below that is a transcript if you prefer to read.

There are three stages along the process of accepting slowness in our music practice.

1. Literally, just accept it.

This is what music is asking of us. If we are really listening to the way that music is teaching us in our lives. This is one of the main things that we are learning, that you just can't get around the slowness, you can't get around the need for that slowness in your music practice.

We just need to get our mind to accept that this is what we need to do. We need to set the intention that we are going to practice in this way, and just surrender to the fact.

2. Embrace the slowness. 

What are all the opportunities that exist within doing slow music practice?

First of all, you are actually going to learn the fastest that you can by going slowly. It most definitely works in your favor for actually what you want, which is to get to the playing of the music that you love and to really enjoy that and be in the flow and the joy of, of that expression. It's really the fastest way there.

There are many more opportunities that we have. One of the biggest ones is to learn how to be compassionate and patient with ourselves. 

In every moment that we are being asked to slow down, we are being asked to be patient. 

Sometimes that's not easy. I get it. Music is giving us an amazing opportunity to develop a capacity, perhaps a capacity that we haven't developed yet.

It's also giving us an opportunity to bring curiosity and awareness into the music that we are learning. 

There's so much that we can perceive. There's so much insight that we can gain when we have the space, and the slowness gives us space. So if we're truly embracing the slowness in music practice, we have all of this space for attention, for awareness, for self-compassion, for patience, and it really actually brings down the pressure.

No longer are we being this hard task master on ourselves. We're actually giving ourselves love and we're giving ourselves patience and we're giving ourselves compassion and forgiveness for the fact that it's not happening just yet, and that's okay.

3. Enjoy the slowness.

When we have taken that opportunity to practice self-compassion, practice patience, practice curiosity about what going slow can actually offer to us, then we have the opportunity to enjoy it. 

This is when we start to transform our music practice from something that is frustrating, maybe confusing, perhaps overwhelming, into something that's just relaxing.

Once you’ve really surrendered that tendency that we have to try and push forward, and just relax into the slowness, it actually becomes something that we can truly enjoy. Because we have all of this space for bringing our attention to different parts of the music. We have all of this space for awareness. We have all of this space for curiosity.

We start to see that just the quality of a sound is beautiful. 

We start to see the movement from one note to another or one chord to another. We start to see the qualities of these sounds. We start to actually be able to tap into what it is that brings us so much pleasure and joy in music.

There are so many treasures waiting to be found when you just slow down. 

So remember, the first step is to just accept that this is what is required. Let go, surrender to that fact. The sooner you can do that, the sooner all of these gifts will be available. Be willing to practice the compassion and patience with yourself that this also requires for you to let that go, Then be ready to enjoy the gifts and the beauty and the pleasure of music practice.

And this is why one of my mottos is to practice the beauty of sound. When you go slow, you have the opportunity to do that. 

A great way to create an effective container for this is with Micro Practices. You can get a Free Micro Practice Cheatsheet here and start applying this super quick and effective practice container into your daily life.

I hope this has been helpful. Visit my website holisticmusic.com.au or subscribe to my YouTube channel by visiting the video above. I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you have any thoughts, insights, ahas, perspectives or challenges on this topic.

Practice the beauty of sound, and love the sounds you make!

Practice the beauty of sound, love the sounds you make!