Opinion: The Importance of Practicing

Our own Daniel Carvajal shares his opinion on the importance of practicing:

My History of Not Practicing: What Not to Do!
During Middle and High School I played the French Horn and Trombone. The French Horn was my main instrument in school and the instrument I got a grade in. The trombone was purely extracurricular and I played it in Jazz band. Guess which instrument I practiced, and which one I didn't? If you guessed I didn't practice the trombone you'd be wrong. I was notoriously bad at practicing the French Horn. This was because of a few reasons...

1. When I first started the instrument in 7th grade I didn't practice as much as I should have when starting out. I was the only French Horn player so I had no reference for how I should sound.
2. By the time I was in high school my lack of consistent practicing became a problem as I was decidedly further behind than the other players in my section. This made me feel slightly challenged and nervous when playing. No one enjoys being nervous so my enjoyment of the instrument also began to decline.
3. Once I started to enjoy the instrument less I liked practicing even less, which made me practice even less than before. Now that I was practicing less, I became more nervous, liked the horn less, then practice less, and so on is a terrible cycle.
4. By the time I finally took lessons, I was long past the point of enjoying the instrument, and I was wasting my parents money and time. Don't let this happen to you!

This is my unfortunate story with the French Horn. 

The Right Teacher Inspires Practicing
My experiences with the trombone were positive and I think it's because when I started the insturment, I immediately started practicing. I also attribute this to the instructor I also started with at the same time, named Michael Parnell (yes who is now my boss). He persisted in making sure I practiced regularly and I did. I stuck with the trombone through high-school and half of college before my studies took up the majority of my time. But the foundation of practicing made me enjoy almost all of it.

How to Start Practicing
Starting a new instrument requires practicing but knowing how to start practicing can be a challenge. I recommend taking a look at our Tips For Students page for ideas and our recommendations on how to not only make practicing fun, but to develop the habit when it matters most.

So that was a brief story about the importance of practicing. I hope you enjoyed it and please if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
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Daniel Carvajal