Goal-oriented Practice by Gretchen Saathoff

I saw myself as I read Gretchen Saathoff’s new e-book, “Goal-Oriented Practice – How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer.”

• Simply sightreading…never really practicing.
• Always starting from the same spot in the music.
• Not thinking to turn on the metronome.
• Guessing at the meaning of unfamiliar musical instructions.
• Jumping up to answer the phone, or worse, carrying on conversations with various teenage children that wander through the room.

But, just as Gretchen’s e-book was easy to read, organized and to the point, I see how my practice routine can be streamlined.  Starting today (thanks to Gretchen)  here is my plan. I will:

• Organize the music on the piano and get all the printouts from IMSLP in binders.
• Order a new copy of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas so I can write my own fingering in and return the two copies I’ve borrowed from two different people.
• Plug in the metronome and set it back in its place…hopefully the cats won’t find it again.
• Write down my practice goals for the week.
• Find a chair in the house that really works for my piano and look into buying an adjustable bench. Mine is just too high.
• Set aside one uninterrupted hour each day this week to be fully present while practicing.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

In the meantime, I recommend that any pianist (or piano student) who’s living in the real world of deadlines and distractions head over to GretchensPianos for more tips and ideas for productive practice.