Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Do you log your practice?

To log or not, that's a good question :-) I think it depends on the individual. I personally find that detailed logging distracts me, almost like "spending more time making lists than actually doing the things on the lists". I currently keep a very simple log by tweeting to an anonymous Twitter account. Somehow, the very act of tweeting motivates me and keeps me honest (MOYD 2012 also helps!), even when no one is checking. The downside of tweeting is that you don't get aggregate numbers, but I won't know what to do with those stats anyway so the "log" is simply a motivational tool. Once I drag myself to the bench, time flies. For me it's all about overcoming the initial inertia (I guess I am not "obsessed" with piano yet, otherwise I won't need motivation).

I have a 3-ring binder. On one page I log the time spent and the name of the piece, and then I have a sheet for each piece/project I'm working on where I put tempos, problem spots, ah ha!s, cadence work, etc. It helps me not lose a piece, and keep track of progress.

Cathy

I am just beginning to recover from my last practice log attempt (HI guys long time no see ). My dysfunctional pattern is to set some goals, make extremely detailed checklists to guide myself toward reaching said goals, recoil in horror when I see the enormity of the task ("I've gotta eat this whole elephant???), and in self-defense lose all interest in the subject at hand.

I'm just returning to the piano, but after this syndrome killed my last piano phase, I've been actively studying/experimenting with/challenging this particular tendency in other life areas. I've been using the very nice free software Task Coach to torment myself work on deconditioning myself from this to-do list phobia. I highly recommend the software (the phobia I could do without).

After reading this thread, I have decided to start a practice log for 2012 in order to keep track of the new pieces I am adding as I improve. I've only been back to taking lessons for just over a year and can see tremendous growth in my ability - unfortunately, neither I nor my teacher were dating anything as I moved along. A couple of months ago, I made a list of all the pieces I've learned over the year and have it in order as best I can.

Now I can see the value of noting the date a piece was started and keeping track of my progress. I started the log last night and reconstructed the first days of the year. From here on out, I will keep track of the total practice time, pieces I focused on and pieces I played for pleasure and make a few notes about metronome speed, problem areas, etc. I now realize the value of this information down the road but I am not going to allow this to become burdensome or detract from the time I spend practicing. I do not want to account for virtually every minute spent at my piano - but just write down enough to a useful reference in the future.

I use an app called Insight Timer to regulate my practice sessions - it also automatically logs the sessions so you can keep track of your practice hours. Insight was made for people who need something to regulate their meditation sessions, so its got some very cool Tibetan bells to mark the start and end of a session, as well as interval bells which allow a session to be broken up into smaller segments.

Insight is available on Android and iOs and can be found at https://insighttimer.com/

+1
My thoughts exactly... I'm going to adjust my log from merely recording my practice times to including references to my progress, or problem areas. Mostly though I will keep it simple yet informative... like AprilMae I don't need to account for every minute, just keep track of the bigger picture.

Happy playing everyone!

I used to keep a record in my head of hour many hours I practice in a day and a week. Later I realized that it is not useful to count the hours for the sake of making the hours as target. It is how the practice time is used that is important. Sometimes a 20 min practice is more fruitful than aimless repetition for over and hour. So I stop countin but think of what I want to achieve at the end of the practice before I begin. It can be familiarize this passage, or experiment with different fingerring for that passage, slow octave practice for this section or play through that piece. If Ive achieve my target, that's a good practice session for me even though it's less than an hour :-)

The PW Practice Log has been adjusted for 2012. I have to update it every January. I sometimes forget to do this until someone sends me a PM or an email.

Anyway it's back up to date and ready for your entries.

http://www.pcsincnet.com/PW_Practice_Club/

I log my pupils practice on homework sheets for their reference and also keep a copy for myself. It's worth doing for recapping purposes e.t.c.

THIS
I have been wanting to do this not only for piano but also for flossing... It's nice to get in a glance how I'm doing...
Also I like stickers

-BB

Something that has been working well for me this year is using an iphone app called "Just Practice"
I put in a schedule for each week of what I am planning to work on per piece (sometimes as little as 5 minutes to get over the mental block of I MUST practice for an hour or it isn't worth it). I then change the schedule after my piano lesson each week.
During practice to click each piece and it will start a timer. Done with the piece you can save and make notes.
So far has worked quite well for me!
-BB