Just as it’s good to act as your own teacher in the music business, it’s also good at times to get a teacher or take lessons while you’re on the road with different instructors. While having one teacher who knows you and in a way can track for you, visiting different instructors and sharing some of your analysis and tracking of your playing can help them bring a different approach to and for you. This can up the inspiration and learning a great deal and enable you to get more excited about practicing if you’ve lost the desire.
Keep an eye on how you practice and what might need more work. For example, if you find yourself playing certain basic measures a little slower than in the past, you know you have an issue you need to address. In a way, be your own teacher. Keep an eye on your practicing process by taking a few simple notes about what you’re working on, how it’s coming, where you’re are getting better and where you’re abilities are stagnating, plateauing, or getting sloppy. Track the practice to keep yourself improving.
Give each practice a little review after you are done. From feeling confident to feeling sloppy and everywhere in between, leave yourself a private short review. Rate it by five stars, if you like, and give it an overall review. As you track this practice list and read over it, the themes become more apparent for what’s working and what isn’t.
Finally, list the time of day you practice as well as what you did that day or have to accomplish outside of practicing. Tracking this kind of information can help you know when you’re at your best and worst, as well as the right times to practice or the right time to cut yourself a little extra slack.