"Practice makes perfect" is not entirely true idiom. Use these tips to perfect your practice.
This week I had a private lesson student who was making slow progress through a solo even though he was practicing every day for at least 30 minutes. While talking about practice habits and techniques, I found he was not playing through the entire piece multiple times, but getting hung up on the same parts repeatedly. This brought up the practice tip I'll share with you now.
Tip #1 - Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong.
Everyone has heard "practice makes perfect", but what if you're practicing wrong? Improper practice can not only yield less than ideal results, but can actually slow or reverse your progress. Consider this: You practice a song 20 times, but only begin playing it completely correct the last 5 times. You have actually practiced playing it wrong more than playing it right.
To improve your practice results, ensure you're playing correctly as soon as possible. You can do this by slowing the tempo and focusing on challenging parts before attempting a complete play through. By making sure you play the piece correctly more times than incorrectly, you're practicing effectively and yielding maximum results.