From the outside, practicing an instrument looks pretty straightforward.
But anyone who actually plays knows there are a lot of small habits and moments that don’t really make sense — unless you’ve been there.
Tuning… and then tuning again
You tune carefully at the start.
Play a few notes.
Then immediately feel the need to check everything again — just in case something shifted in those last 30 seconds.
You tell yourself it’s fine.
But your ear says otherwise — so you check it again.
And somehow, one string still decides to drift right when you finally get into the piece.
Playing the same line over and over
Not the whole piece — just one line.
Again.
And again.
And one more time, but slower.
To anyone listening, it sounds like you’re stuck. But in your head, you’re almost fixing it.
Starting from the middle for no reason
You don’t always begin at the start.
Sometimes you jump straight into the hardest part, or a random section in the middle, because that’s where your brain decided to focus today.
Stopping mid-piece because something felt off
Everything is going fine — until one note doesn’t feel right.
And suddenly, you stop.
Even if no one else would have noticed, you did. And now you have to go back.
Practicing without realizing how much time passed
You sit down thinking you’ll play for a bit.
Next thing you know, it’s been an hour.
Or somehow… only ten minutes.
Talking to yourself while practicing
“Again.”
“Slower.”
“No, that wasn’t it.”
At some point, practice turns into a quiet conversation with yourself.
For those quiet conversations with yourself, make it official with the tee I just want to drink coffee and play my fiddle — because everyone needs a little motivation (and coffee) during practice.
And still wanting to do it again tomorrow
Even with the repetition, the small frustrations, and the moments that don’t quite work…
You come back.
Because every now and then, something clicks — and that feeling is enough to keep you going.
