Practising slowly is an important part of your daily routine. It is important to not just play at fast tempos, but to also slow down the music so that you can truly understand and appreciate each note. If you can play a piece perfectly at a slower tempo, you will find it much easier to progress to faster tempos than if you tried to practice at a fast speed without first starting slow. With that being said, many musicians struggle with effective slow practice because they do not approach it in the proper manner. So here are some methods you can use to practice slowly:
Pay attention to your technique
When you practice music slowly, musicians often let their minds wander off because they aren’t focusing on the speed and intensity of their playing. This makes it difficult to spot mistakes in your technique as you aren’t fully concentrating on every note individually. Practice music slowly, and try to be aware of each movement of your fingers and hands, which will help strengthen your mind-muscle connection. Doing this might seem trivial, but it will help you when you’re playing at much faster tempos.
Split your practice into chunks
This technique is often used when practicing quickly, but it can also work well when you practice music slowly. Breaking up a song or section into chunks of 3 bars or less will allow you to truly master each aspect of the music, which should make you more comfortable with playing the piece from memory or even starting in the middle of the song.
Use a metronome
Using a metronome is essential if you want to practice music slowly and efficiently. Many musicians forgo using a metronome when practicing slowly, as they feel that it isn’t necessary when playing at comfortable speeds. On the contrary, a metronome will help you understand the space between each beat and where to place every note. Practice music slowly, as the slower bpm can give you a fuller understanding of a song’s rhythmic structure. This can be just as useful as using a metronome for fast tempos.
Slow the music down too
When one wants to practise music slowly, most people practice their instruments solo without any accompaniment. This makes it difficult to understand the part that you are practising in the context of the song. Using the software, you can easily slow down the song to match your tempo, which will be both more enjoyable to practice with and better for your musical technique. You can use Garageband, Riff Studio, Anytune and a variety of other apps to do this.
