Five Reasons to Start Practice Log (Today)

A while ago I started using a practice log. So far it’s been a great tool. It’s hard to get into at first, but once you get in the habit it’s hard to not use it.

In case you haven’t gotten the hint that practice logs are a good idea, here’s some reasons why you need to start a practice log today.

  1. You Can’t Remember Shit.

    You can’t fool me. I know. You sat down to practice yesterday and had no clue what you worked on the day before. If there was a metronome used, the tempo you worked up to is completely blank in your mind.

    It’s hard to remember things. I don’t remember to buy things at the grocery store without a list; I have google calendar email me a reminder on people’s birthdays and anniversaries. One of the biggest issues with practicing is knowing where you’ve been and if what you’ve tried has worked. If that’s not written down somewhere chances are you will not remember it. And we have to think in terms of years too! If you can’t remember something for a week, what happens when you revisit a piece a year later?!

  2. Practice Log = Focus

    Ever sat down to practice and though, “well, I wonder what I should do today?” We’ve all been there. A practice log takes the questions out of the equation. What did I have trouble with during the last practice session? A practice log can help track these issues and focus your practice session in on them

  3. Crazy Ideas.

    Sometimes, while practicing, you’ll come up with an idea of how to practice something. Then you forget it. Write it down! I constantly keep notes about how to practice something. Notes on how to practice something can be simple or complex.

    Along those same lines, when you’re practicing, you’ll notice things. Sometimes it’s a musical event or feature that you’ve never heard in the piece before. Keep track of that! This will let you explore those musical features later and bring them out or put them in the background. In short, keeping track of the little things you hear helps develop an interpretation

  4. You’ll Know When it Feels Easy

    I determine when a given section is improving when it starts to feel easy. All that work I’ve put in comes to fruition, and I know that my hands are being conditioned to do the musical and technical things I want. I track these sorts of general feelings in my practice log. There’s often notes like, “this feels easier today,” or, “still feels tense and awkward, more (insert practice method).” General senses about a piece are just as important as the little details. Often these general senses turn into longer term goals, “measure 9-12 feel very tense and hard,” turns into, “This week’s goal for (piece title): Utilize (practice method) and try to nail down measures 9-12.”

  5. Goals on Paper.

    While small events can give focus (see number one) and become a daily goals (like, “practice measure 1-2 with stop/go techniques”), broader goals, as in number four, are also important. Having a practice log provides you with a way to get those goals down and quantified. There’s several different levels to set goals for: daily (see number 1), weekly, 3-6 months, a year, etc. You might write a yearly goal on the first page of your log, so you see it every time. Weekly goals could be tracked on your day off from practicing: sit down, read what you did last week and if it worked, formulate some goals for the week to come.

Bonus Reason:

  • A Venue to Write Yourself Angry Notes

    Some days are bad days for playing guitar. Nothing works, everything is hard. To alleviate some of the tension on those days, I write myself angry notes. Mostly because it amuses me. These are days where my practice log includes things like, “This was terrible today, stop sucking.” Worth a try!

Why do you keep a practice log? Leave some more reasons in the comments!

Posted on in Classical Guitar Practice Tips

Comments

  • Bobber

    Very good thoughts here. I’m wondering if you are using any particular software for your log?

    • Chris

      I’m just using a notebook. I suppose a simple text editor could work well, or a free blogspot or wordpress.com blog.

  • Bobber

    I think I will set up a wiki for myself. I can see how having a small notepad with you when you practice would be useful for some of the things you mention.

  • Sara

    Pretty cool post. I just came across your site and wanted to say
    that I’ve really liked reading your blog posts. In any case
    I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!

  • Dan Comerchero

    I’m glad you like it Cary.

    If anyone has any ideas for a practice log layout that they would find useful, let me know…
    I can design it for you for free, and you can keep it as a printable file. 🙂

    staffnotesonline@gmail.com
    or
    @FreeStaffNotes on Twitter

  • Guitar Lifestyle » Practice Logs

    […] terrible about keeping a log of my practice sessions. Chris Davis gives us five reasons why keeping a practice log helps. Here’s one of the reasons: Ever sat down to practice and though, “well, I wonder what I […]

  • NeverTooLateGuitar

    Just came across your blog. Great suggestion. I definitely need the discipline. I actually started a blog just to track my progress as a new player… adding practice logs to it may help me stay motivated to practice and to keep the logs.

    I’ll be subscribing to your blog.

  • Will

    some excellent advice Chris as most practicing is not very efficient.

    Will

  • Morgan Peline

    Good blog! I’ve just started playing guitar so this is all very interesting.
    Do you have an example of one of your practice logs that you can show us
    so we can see how you format it? Thank you!

    • Christopher Davis

      Generally, I just use a note book. Put the date at the top, time spend practicing on the left. Then what I practiced on the right. Below the “what I practiced” section I put notes about what I think would work better for further practicing.

  • marcus

    Thanks Dan! I spent a long time looking for these types of local bookshops here in vain.

  • SomeOldGuy
    SomeOldGuy

    You Can’t Remember Shit = me

    I think a Practice log is a cool idea.

    I’m going to start one… thx