Hi musicians and welcome to another edition of the Musician’s Maintenance Weekly, where it’s my job to scour the internet and find the gems that will keep you playing healthy and strong.
This week, we’ll look at 1) What’s the most you should practice. 2) One of the most important things you can do during a practice break. 3) The best book I’ve read recently.
Onwards…
1. What’s the most you should practice? According to a video from Itzhak Perlman, five hours is physically the limit. And, it’s not even a full 5 hours. He states that you should play for 50 minutes and take a 10 minute break. Also, notice that Perlman doesn’t say you should practice for five hours, just that five hours is the physical limit. According to the syllabus for his Masterclass Course he practices for three hours at a time.
To dial in your practice structure a little more, try this. Take each 60 minute block and separate it out like this: 25 min practice. Microbreak (<1 min). 25 min practice. 10 min break.
The practice tips come about half way through the video, but watch the whole thing (it’s less than 3 min) for some other advice about practicing that you already know, but probably need to hear again as well. The advice is also true for ramping up your overall practice time.
Watch: Itzhak on Practicing (2 min 49 sec)
2. Here’s what you should do during that 10 min break: I’m a PT and totally biased towards movement, but it may be even more important to eat some food and drink some water. No, not a snickers, chips or junk like that! Those are food products, not fuel for your body.
Playing music is extremely physical. That physicality means that your muscles are burning a lot of fuel. If you want a high quality body that will perform to your high standards and not break down along the way, you may want to replenish what you burn with something of a higher quality than junk food.
I know I’ve already shared this, but Bronwenn Ackermann’s Sound Practice book address diet for musicians (specifically pages 14-16, 43, 44). The discussion mostly focuses on pre-performance nutrition, but I think some of the suggestions apply to practice breaks as well. She recommends things like: trail mix; a fruit smoothie; a piece of fruit (apple, banana, etc); yogurt with fruit; etc.
It doesn’t have to be a lot. Just a small snack to re-fuel. And while you’re at it, drink some water too (if you’re a brass player, that “condensation” didn’t just come out of thin air!). Extra credit if you add just a pinch of sea salt to help your body actually absorb the water.
Read: Sound Practice Health Handbook for Orchestral Musicians (pages 14-16, 43, 44)
3. The best book I’ve read recently: As a healthy, successful musician you’ve got a lot to keep track of. Practice schedule. Audition prep. Workout schedule (right!?!). Food. Marketing/social media. And on and on and on. Do you have a method to keep all those plates spinning?
I’ve been mostly winging it for a while now and it hasn’t gone that well. Bullet journaling has become very popular and I’ve played around with it some, but it’s never really resonated. Until, that is, I read The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. It blew me away. Not so much by the system of bullet journaling (you can learn the basics from the website and it’s covered in the first half of the book). But more so by the process he describes. How journaling is an iterative way to gradually figure out what works for you, how to break down big goals into small steps, how to accept imperfection, the Japanese concepts of kaizen and wabi-sabi and more.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the things you should be keeping track of and feel you need a method rather than another planner, then I’d highly recommend this book. I think it will help a lot.
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future (Affiliate)