Pro Practice: Les Neish on smart practice

In the second of his five-part master class series for BBW, Besson Artist Les Neish outlines how to embark upon a session of disciplined, ‘purposeful practice’

Having spent five years at music college as a student, I was always interested in the subject of practice. Many of my colleagues and friends would happily boast about the six hours practise they had completed that day and I would feel a little worried because I was nowhere near that time in my practice routine. It is clear that a daily warm-up (time permitting) and diligent practice will result in better performance, but it is also the case that too much unfocused practice is just as bad as not enough disciplined practice. Not only can it be damaging physically and mentally, but it can lead us to believe that what we do is extremely difficult and that we will never be good enough.

As time has gone on, I have learnt that less practice can be more. With a busy travelling schedule and a young family, I am much more efficient and productive with my practice time and yet more confident about my ability as a performer. When my son was born, my practice time diminished and although I found that very tough at first, I finally learnt to adapt how I practise. Now, an intense 15-minute session can yield much better results than the hours I used to spend practising at college…

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