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How to Practice During a Re-Model

April 10, 2013 at 2:14 AM

I finally took the plunge and am buying the house I've been living in for the past 4 years. We are set to close this week. Next week, remodeling begins.

Having lived through a remodel before, there are a few things I anticipate: dust, debris, orchestrated chaos, and very little time. Luckily, the dust, debris and chaos part can be managed a bit by simply evacuating to the part of the house not undergoing renovations. Time however is a different story.

This round of renovations has me tearing down wall-paper, ripping out carpet, and any other DYI task I can handle to keep costs down. I have to do this all within my contractor's schedule. Needless to say, my practice time is quickly evaporating. It is time for me to switch to a modified practice routine until the major renovation is complete, which means 30 minute sessions versus my normal hour a day and several hours on the weekend.

Taking the advice from my teacher, this translates to ultra focused sessions. Instead of working through entire pieces, scales, or etudes, only a measure or two of each will be focused on with intent, method and repetition for a week at a time. Only then move on to the next bit.

It will be interesting to see if this is more effective for me than how I've been practicing.

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Mendy, congratulations on the big change! From renter to homeowner; that's big.

I'll bet money your change in practice time and habit works to your favor. I agree that, when one has a limited amount of time, focus is crucial. I also think that being forced to shift the variables around, shake up the equation, is a good thing for any regular practice or discipline. Unfortunately, it's not always a comfortable thing at the time...

Enjoy the chaos - you will reap the benefits eventually, and they will be oh so sweet. : ) And congrats again on the house purchase.

There is nothing like other tasks with deadlines to keep you focused. I've been doing that kind of violin practice a bit as well and I still feel as well prepared for rehearsals as I did before. Congratulations on buying and remodeling the house!
Congratulations Mendy! Oh, you can all do it!