Interleaved Practice: be more effective in the practice room
I’ve got a problem with block-practice.
A few years ago I started shifting my practice to shorter, timed bursts of practice on small passages when I found I was getting bored easily, frustrated, and not getting much done in longer practice sessions (aka block-practice.) I eventually learned that I was essentially starting to morph my practice into a form of interleaving without realizing it was already a thing, so I got fully on board.
Instead of spending a really long time working on one or two things, and hoping it sticks because of how long you practiced, break up your practice session into bite sized focused chunks (I like 5 minutes max for each round), mix them up, and frequently revisit them in the same session to solidify what you’re doing.
The variety keeps your mind focused and interested, which helps in retention and performance. We’re also allowing our mind to process what we just worked on in the background while moving onto something else to then revisit and solidify.
A trick with this is to work deliberately on the sections within its time limits - no mindless repetition for 20 minutes where you’ve checked out onto autopilot.
How to start? Brain dump the things you want to get done today or during the week - the short goals, but be super specific down to the measure number chunks and what you want to accomplish.
Then divide however long you want to practice into 3-5 minute chunks, and map out what you can realistically do. Make sure that you have each thing you’re working on repeated during the session - so don’t pick 6 different things if you only have 6 chunks within your practice session.
Next, set a timer and go!
Coming from a block-practice past, this might feel a little weird or slow to see results, but it’s helping things stick not only in the short term, but the long term. It’s about working smarter, and not harder - it’s quality over quantity.
If any of this helps, or you’re going to give it a shot, let me know!
I have also put together a template version of my own practice journal that utilizes this method built with short and long goal planning, and reflective journaling - which is available to buy in my resource shop (click here) - and a Notion planner template version of it is coming soon! If you currently take lessons with me then the practice journal template is already part of your available resources.
If you’re looking for a flute teacher or wanting to try flute lessons, I have space available in my online studio - would love to work with you! Click here for more information on my flute lessons, or click here to contact me!