Practice makes perfect

Practice makes perfect - such a common saying particularly in the world of learning music.  Sadly this saying is only half true.

Practice makes permanent!  Only perfect practice makes perfect

This should be the actual saying, and it is a very important distinction.  Whatever you practice will become permanent, and this is so important to think about when playing your instrument.  If you let yourself get away with bad habits, they will become permanent (or at least very hard to fix!).

The trick to getting better is not the amount of time spent practising, but rather regular intentional and careful time with your instrument.  Always be aware of what you are training your brain and body to do while playing, and whether or not that is actually what you want to become your permanent habit.

Practising while keeping this in mind is so much more tiring, and requires careful and constant attention to detail.  You will probably find you cannot practise for as long when you start focusing like this at all times.  My top tip for helping focus while practising - dark chocolate 85% and up!