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Tomlin’s Harmonica Podcast · Monday · 19 min

How Much Should I Practise Harmonica? | Ask Tomlin

👉 Get the free harmonica questionnaire: https://hxajyaf5p9.zite.so How much should you practise, and when is it time to move on? In this episode of "Ask Tomlin" I help Nick work out how to spend a month on one lesson. Nick is in month two of Advanced Beginner and wants to know whether he should spend the full month on each lesson, even when parts of it feel easy. We talk about how to tell when something is properly learned. Can you play your scale up and down five times in a row without a mistake? If the fourth run falls apart, it still needs work. I share how I practise a scale in short rounds with a five second micro break, and what to do once you're locked in: add a challenge by raising the tempo, swapping the metronome for a backing track or trying another key. We also look at the bored, challenged or frustrated test, why it's fine to stop a challenge that's too hard, and why I wouldn't skip ahead to another month before you've done the meat of one. Then we get into whether you can work on breathing while you play scales, how to make your practice sound like music and whether to play along to a 12 bar blues straight after practising. This one is for any adult learner wondering if they're practising enough or in the right way. ⏱ Audio Chapters 0:00 – How much should you practise? 0:25 – Should I spend the whole month on one lesson? 2:45 – How do I know when something is properly learned? 4:31 – What do I do once I've got it? 6:02 – Am I bored, challenged or frustrated? 7:03 – What if a challenge is too hard? 9:50 – Why not skip ahead to the next month? 12:02 – Can I work on breathing while I play scales? 13:17 – How do I make my practice sound like music? 16:23 – Should I play music straight after practising? This video is brought to you by the ever-growing Tomlin Harmonica School - where you get a proper step-by-step curriculum, real feedback from real teachers on your own playing, and a genuinely warm community of fellow Harmonicats. Try it free for 7 days at tomlinharmonicaschool.com.

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👉 Get the free harmonica questionnaire: https://hxajyaf5p9.zite.so

How much should you practise, and when is it time to move on? In this episode of "Ask Tomlin" I help Nick work out how to spend a month on one lesson.

Nick is in month two of Advanced Beginner and wants to know whether he should spend the full month on each lesson, even when parts of it feel easy. We talk about how to tell when something is properly learned. Can you play your scale up and down five times in a row without a mistake? If the fourth run falls apart, it still needs work.

I share how I practise a scale in short rounds with a five second micro break, and what to do once you're locked in: add a challenge by raising the tempo, swapping the metronome for a backing track or trying another key. We also look at the bored, challenged or frustrated test, why it's fine to stop a challenge that's too hard, and why I wouldn't skip ahead to another month before you've done the meat of one.

Then we get into whether you can work on breathing while you play scales, how to make your practice sound like music and whether to play along to a 12 bar blues straight after practising. This one is for any adult learner wondering if they're practising enough or in the right way.

⏱ Audio Chapters
0:00 – How much should you practise?
0:25 – Should I spend the whole month on one lesson?
2:45 – How do I know when something is properly learned?
4:31 – What do I do once I've got it?
6:02 – Am I bored, challenged or frustrated?
7:03 – What if a challenge is too hard?
9:50 – Why not skip ahead to the next month?
12:02 – Can I work on breathing while I play scales?
13:17 – How do I make my practice sound like music?
16:23 – Should I play music straight after practising?

This video is brought to you by the ever-growing Tomlin Harmonica School - where you get a proper step-by-step curriculum, real feedback from real teachers on your own playing, and a genuinely warm community of fellow Harmonicats. Try it free for 7 days at tomlinharmonicaschool.com.

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