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Boredom Busters

What should you do if you are getting bored in your practice time? Seek out appropriate challenges!

Ask your teacher for things that you can work on besides your current songs/exercises. I can guarantee you that your teacher will find something more for you to do. Also, ask about having more pieces to work on. Some people like having one thing to work on, others need multiple pieces at different levels of preparation. Both are fine, just let your teacher know if you need more pieces to work on.

Pay extra attention to the details in your piece. Focus on playing the different dynamics, playing with the pedal, playing the different touches (legato, staccato, etc.). Most pieces have a lot more depth to them than you would think. Search out all the details in the score and play them...this will help beat boredom AND make your playing sound so much better!

Experiment with different tempos. Yes, there is a correct tempo range, but try playing it faster or slower. How does that change the mood? Why do you think the composer chose the tempo s/he did?

Try playing it in different octaves. How does that change the feel?

Pay really close attention to how your hands, arms, body feels when you play. Is there tension anywhere? What can you do differently to relieve the tension? If you can't figure it out through experimentation, ask your teacher. There is probably some aspect of technique that you are missing and your teacher can help you find and correct it.

Zero in on one particular tricky spot and determine to nail it (see "Isolate, Drill, Expand") for a way to approach it.

In any case, your practice time is YOUR time to experiment, to work out problems, and to play music. Find different ways to approach it if boredom starts to creep in.

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