April 2014

100 Days

A number of the members of the Adult Starters group on Facebook decided to attempt the 100 consecutive days of practice challenge. Many of us finished today, myself included. Practicing for 100 consecutive days wasn't the hard part for me. The most difficult part was duration. I had determined that, for myself, I could only count practice if it was at least 45 minutes, and listening didn't count.

In all honesty, 100 days of practice netted me very few benefits because I was already consistently practicing each day. I think that it would have been a more beneficial exercise if it had been 100 days of focus on an aspect of playing. How much better at vibrato, or double stops, or dynamics would I be if I spent 100 days doing at least 15-20 minutes of just that? Or even 30 days, really?

The best part of the challenge was the camaraderie. We used a shared spreadsheet on Google docs. Even if we didn't mention it, everyone could see who was still playing along. Some folks measured the time they spent in practice and were surprised. A few stepped up their game. There was a bit of attrition. Overall, it was a lovely exercise.

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