Breaking a Bad Habit
1. Introduction
It is ok to admit you have a bad habit when playing your instrument. These bad habits can come in many forms. As an instructor, I have observed habits that negatively affect your sound, technique, physical and mental health, the learning process, and more. Identifying your bad habits is the first step to breaking them. I have been guilty of saying “Well, it’s not that big of a deal, is it?” Breaking a bad habit can seem like an impossible task, but do not ignore them. Here is my process for addressing these issues for myself, and for my students.
2. Patience and Mindfulness
Before we discuss how to break these habits, you will need both patience and mindfulness to overcome them. Patience is crucial. It will take time to break a bad habit. Expect to spend several months, but that is ok! You might see progress early on, but the goal is to eliminate a bad habit from your playing completely. That’s where mindfulness comes in.
When addressing a habit, be mindful of it when you are playing. I like to leave a small sticky note on my stand that might say “back of the hands facing the ceiling.” Something short and concise to keep the thought in your head. Mindfulness is the first step in breaking a bad habit.
3. Finding the time.
Students of all ages are extremely busy. We might not always have the time to devote 30 minutes or an hour a day to break a bad habit. To start, I recommend 5-10minutes a day isolating a bad habit. This is 10 minutes of mindful practice focusing specifically on techniques and exercises to correct the issue. Let’s say you wake up at 7am every day. Set the alarm clock to 6:50am instead; you now have 10 minutes of extra practice time.
The summer time is a fantastic time to work on improvement goals. During the summer you are likely to have more time to overcome a bad habit. No recital to prepare for, no course work to complete, dig in! Spend 30 minutes each day addressing the issue, and as always stay mindful. By the end of the summer, you will have overcome your bad habit!
4. Isolating practice
Regardless of when you decide to address a bad habit, I recommend isolating the issue in your practice sessions. You address the issue at hand for a specific amount of time, and when you are done with that session, move on. For example, you can
practice fixing a technique issue for thirty minutes. When you move on to learning a new piece, remain mindful, but focus on learning the music instead. You are not going to eliminate a bad habit in one practice session. Isolate it; practice it; move on. If you are learning a new piece and get caught up because of a bad habit, you will get frustrated and not make progress.
If your lateral strokes are not lifting off the bars, and you work on them for 30 minutes, you should not expect the lateral strokes in the piece you are playing to be fixed instantly. When practicing the piece, focus now on phrasing, notes, and sound. I always tell my students to trust in their practice. Know that if you isolate your practice, focus on the issue, and remain mindful, it will become second nature. Keep good practice habits.
5. Revisiting Repertoire / Easier Repertoire
Once you have made progress with isolating the technique, you can start applying it to pieces of music. I always encourage my students to revisit an old piece they already know when working on changing a technique or breaking a bad habit. We no longer need to focus on learning notes, rhythm, dynamics, etc. That is all done! Now we can focus on isolating smaller details in a musical setting.
I also recommend playing a piece that is easily sight readable and not too difficult to learn. This gets us thinking musically, while focusing on a particular aspect of our playing we wish to address.
6. Recording
If you are a student, recording is a fantastic way to check on aspects of your playing before a lesson. It is also a great way to watch a performance and see the progress being made. It is not always easy to listen to yourself or watch a video, but these are not being shared with anyone! They are there to help you grow quickly and independently.
7. Find the right teacher.
Most important of all in breaking a bad habit is finding the right teacher. A great teacher will help you on the path to success, as well as give you supplemental materials to help in the process. They will be able to provide feedback and provide more challenging exercises as the technique develops. Teachers will also bring to your attention techniques that need improvement that you may not be aware of.
It is always reassuring having a teacher guide you through a challenge, to set goals, deadlines, and make sure you are progressing at an appropriate rate. In a world with virtual lessons becoming more common, reach out to a teacher you admire and see if they are willing to help!
This will take time and patience, but YOU CAN DO IT!
