Though musical savants with uncanny musical powers such as seemingly photographic memory and true perfect pitch must complete years of intense practice before being performance ready. What about the many cases of musicians who do have the drive to practice long and hard but never make the grade? I've even had musicians tell me they can "get worse" after practicing. This is a likely reason that many stop playing music instruments altogether, becoming frustrated, overwhelmed and believing that music simply isn't for them.
Over the years I have occasionally heard an objection to the "practice makes perfect" cliche. Implicit in this statement is the idea that the way you practice is important to play music. Interestingly, researchers have found marked differences between the way amateurs and professionals practice. Many parts of the brain are required to both listen to and perform music. A level of physical strength is required, fine muscle coordination and muscle control are essential and of course extensive mental training and conditioning is necessary. Like most musicians, throughout my childhood and adolescence I simply practiced instinctively. In my experience, most teachers do not give extensive thought to the finer details of how to practice.
A large amount of listening to music in our modern world is done with no conscious thought at all. However as a child listening to free online music is general. Note how difficult it can be to keep tapping perfectly in time once the music stops playing. So to develop your musicality, all you have to do is listen! But attentive listening requires effort. Try to listen to music in styles that you are not familiar with, and note the differences to other styles of music. Classical music often focuses on thematic and harmonic development, jazz music contains intricate solo lines and variation, pop music highlights catchy melodies. Singling out the different instrument lines in a piece of music will also help develop your sensitivity to harmony both homo phonic and polyphonic. For advanced listeners, note the form and structure of the piece of music.
Play music is so powerful an art form because it can reach inside you and somehow illicit intense emotions and pleasure in the listener. Subtle and beautiful emotional shades can occur when you listen to music you love. Fully absorb yourself in the music you love. The timbre of the instruments and rhythms used are important but particular attention should be applied to the harmony of the piece. Your brain is focusing on many different activities such as controlling your muscles, counting time, making sure you're hitting the right notes, relaxing and anticipating what is to come. So whenever possible, shift your focus momentarily, pretend you are a passive observer in the room and listen.
Ideally, small simplified sections of a piece should be able to be played faster than the final tempo you're aiming for. A smart musician knows that it's often the notes around a particularly troublesome spot that cause problems. If you play music sooner or later chances are you will be playing in public. Performing poses many challenges such as an unfamiliar room or even an unfamiliar instrument, often no chance to warm up and of course nerves. The better you know your repertoire, the higher the chance of you and the audience enjoying the show. To help with memorizing try to spot patterns and logic in the music.
