This is probably my most passionate area of learning when it comes to teaching music. You see the word “practice” or “study” and it likely brings you back down memory lane of any personal struggles when it came to the at-home piece of music lessons and/or academic studies. Most folks have never been taught different approaches and strategies for learning and studying which has resulted in me typically seeing two types of students. Student One is asked by a parent/guardian to play through their song five times while I make dinner, struggles to bash through the same challenging spots five times in a row, and continues to build frustration and/or anxiety as their lesson approaches because the same challenge spots are not drastically improving. Student Two realizes the week has passed without touching their instrument a single time, does a mad crash practice through material after school before their quickly approaching lesson, and now has frustration and/or anxiety because it will be obvious that they have accomplished very little if anything this week. The number of students I have taught that were Student One or Two, wanted to try again years after quitting, or parents/guardians sharing their story of never picking up their instrument again is why this is important to me. This needs to change and I want to pave this path with my students. I will encourage you to try different practicing methods that might be new to you, rethink what “practice” or “studying” means, and guide you to enjoy the process of making music and that this should be the ultimate goal.