Do you make your practicing harder than it needs to be?

I’m not a neat freak.  In fact, I’m not very neat at all.  I sort of thrive on a little bit of a mess.  But I have a very selective mess – I have sheet music piled everywhere, and music books mixed with reading books.   

But I also have a lot of bright lighting and a wide clear space for my harps, nothing on my benches and typically pencils and pens on the stand shelf.  It is my kind of organized – I have what I need where I need it when I reach for it – and when I reach, I don’t knock over piles of stuff!

How about you?  What does your practice space look like?  Have you made yourself a space in which to work or is your harp stuck in a corner?  Can you sit and play or do you have to move a lot of things (furniture, books, shoes, etc.) to get to it so you can do your work?

This might seem silly but actually, your workspace is important.  You will not practice if you can’t get to the most important tools you need – your harp, your bench, your music!  You might think you will move things out of the way and get your harp out each and every time you want to practice.  And perhaps you will, sometimes.  But few people are consistent in digging something out to use it and you are unlikely to be consistent.

So, if you are not practicing as well, as consistently, or as regularly as you think you should, take a good hard look at the location of your practice space, your harp, and the tools of your work.  Make any changes that will reduce the amount of fiddling around you have to do to get to practicing and see if you gain some consistency and improved practice!  Don’t put your baby in a corner – and don’t make your practicing harder than it needs to be!