Practice Makes Perfect?
When asked to complete the following sentence, “Practice makes ____________” most students will answer with confidence “Perfect!” After shouting “NO!” (this always gets their attention!), I demonstrate the following:
I play a passage of music very poorly (poor posture, intonation, rhythm, etc).
I play the passage over and over (students are usually annoyed by the 3rd time through).
I ask “Is it Perfect?” (The answer, of course is “No”)
I say “But I practiced it over and over and over!”
I then ask the question again “Practice makes ___________.”
Students try to come up with answers and eventually I fill in the blank.
PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT!
Therefore, if you practice correctly, you’ve made permanant the correct way to play and if you practice incorrectly, you’ve trained yourself to play incorrectly.
For a great article on productive practicing, check out Dr. Robin Deverich’s article on Practice Tips.
Topics: Students, Parents, Classroom Teachers, Private Teachers, Basic Skills |
September 19th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I love it! Practice never did make perfect for me. I’m definately using your phrase from now on.