Fun With Practicing! How to create and keep sustainable practice habits over the summer!

Do you or someone you know have a hard time finding the motivation to practice your instrument over the summer?

The Kamloops Interior Summer School of Music (KISSM) and our Summer Series programs are great for helping students continue to play when school is out for the Summer. Daily rehearsals, sectionals, and personalized instruction from our mentors keep everyone very busy in the month of July! After all of the hard work at KISSM is over, how do you retain your progress and keep practicing over the rest of the summer?

Practice can come to a standstill for a number of reasons. Sometimes people put too much pressure on themselves and the need for progress makes the idea of playing your instrument stressful. Alternatively, students might be bored and unsure on what a proper practice routine looks like. A formal practice routine can include a warm up, technique, and repertoire. However, practicing does not have to be limited to working on those fundamentals, but instead, you may treat yourself with whatever music your heart desires! Here are some practice ideas that may help you get back on track!

“Choose your own songs that you would really like to play in your free time! You can simply have fun on your instrument with no pressure :)”

• Kyle Bates - Trumpet - KMC staff

If you’ve always wanted to try something new in music, summer is your time to shine! No deadlines and time to rest! By trying new styles of music, you can discover so many different parts of music without the pressure of lessons or school in the way. If you are a guitar player, try learning TAB or playing with a singer. If you play a band instrument, explore jazz and improvisation! The options are limitless 🎵.

“Make little goals that you want to achieve each week! It makes things a little bit more doable.”

• Liven Carlson - Percussion - University of Victoria

Don’t take more than you can handle! Small goals are useful for tracking what you have done and what you will do when practicing. For example, getting your one octave A major scale feeling good by the end of the week and taking the steps to do so. This type of goal can be easier to accomplish rather than starting a huge project that will cause stress during summer vacation. Even if you get nowhere in a practice session, you will still benefit from picking up your instrument and putting in your best effort :)

Keeping up these skills over the summer will propel any young musician miles ahead. Whether you are in band, choir, or musical theatre, there are so many opportunities to grow and share your music. You can see past and present KISSM members performing and sharing their talents around Kamloops. Many of these former students have told us that during the three weeks in KISSM, you can improve the same amount that you would in a regular school year!

So keep up the good work, and keep playing this Summer!