Are You Practicing Enough? - PHH 201

Here's a question we've probably all wondered about at some point: am I practicing enough?  As a teacher, I can tell you that my experience has demonstrated that if a harpist - and this includes me - has to ask the question, the answer is probably no, you're not practicing enough. But of course, the real answer is likely a little more complicated. It depends on what you're trying to do. On the light end of the practice spectrum, if you're just trying to keep the rust off either your fingers or your pieces, you probably only need a few minutes each day. On the other end, if your ambition is to learn a piece or stretch your technique or develop a skill, you are going to need more time. I know it would be helpful to know exactly how much time you're going to need, but coming up with a number would just be guessing.  Even so, that doesn't mean there aren't some factors that can guide you that will keep you from overworking yourself or underutilizing your time. Simply put, your goal is to practice enough to make progress, but not so much that you actually sabotage your efforts. Today I'll tell you what this means and how I think you can find the right amount of practice time for you. I've talked about practice time with you before on the podcast. In the first show of this year, 2025, I shared an acronym to help you remember what to include in your practice. That acronym spelled the word "practice" and the letters stood for Play, Review, Aspire, Create, Technique, I, Connect and Enjoy, That's episode 190, and I will link to it in today's show notes. In episode 148, I taught you about practice bursts, short 15 minute chunks of time that you could use to keep on track when your schedule won't allow you a longer practice session. I will link to that episode in the show notes too. But today, we're taking a different approach. We're going to look at why we practice, how our practice can help us maintain the status quo, or help us achieve a goal or help us stretch our skills and grow. We'll talk about time and how we need to manage it and how to truly enjoy the time we spend at the harp. Because that's what harp happiness is all about. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Join the April Seminar course, Rhythm Makeover. PHH #190: Transforming Your Practice in 2025 PHH #148: 10 Surprising Benefits of Practice Bursts Harpmastery.com Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]   Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode? LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-201