Journaling is helpful for many different aspects of life. Journaling is typically associated with writing down thoughts, keeping a diary, or tracking the daily/weekly progress of something. Keeping a journal is a proven method to organize thoughts and make progress whether that is for self-reflection or developing a hobby.
For musicians journaling can be a great way to track progress during practice sessions and master an instrument efficiently over time. There are many benefits for musicians to keep a practice journal.
Having a practice journal helps you to:
- Keep a record of what you have practiced over time
- Organize your thoughts around learning new compositions
- Be more intentional during practice sessions
- Be more productive during practice sessions
- Keep yourself accountable to practice more often and regularly
- Evaluate your progress in measurable ways
Personally, I have had trouble being consistent in my music practice. I have set times to practice every week, but I get distracted with other things and skip practice more regularly than I care to admit. My problem is that I don’t have structure during practice. I just pick up my guitar and play around on it writing new material and practicing random songs from my repertoire. That’s not very motivating nor does it inspire me to show up for practice.
I often lack motivation and feel uninspired to practice. However, things change drastically when I plan out my practice sessions ahead of time and have some goals in mind to accomplish for the week. I’m not sure why I didn’t consider using a practice journal before, but having one now is a life changer. I’m a lot more intentional with my practice sessions. I show up for practice. I’m more efficient during practice. Keeping a music practice log allows me to focus my practice and get better results.
A Very Functional Practice Journal for Sensible Musicians
Here’s the practice journal I use. It’s called A Very Functional Practice Journal for Sensible Muscians. This book helps me keep track of everything I need to get better results with my music practice. It is separated by weeks and days. For example, the first page starts out with an overview of the week. You can write down what you plan to practice, what you hope to accomplish and any questions you might need to answer for that week. That works especially well if you’re collaborating with a music instructor. There’s also space for tablature, technique, musical arrangements or songs you might want to practice over the course of that week and a little time log to log how much time you’ve practiced over the week. I use it as my guitar practice journal, but it could also be used with other instruments as well.
The weekly planning page is followed by 7 pages of daily practice logs. On the daily practice log, there’s space to jot down what techniques you practiced, what songs or compositions you practiced, and what you did for fun. On a side note, I love that there is space to jot down the fun things you did during practice sessions. It breaks up the monotony and seriousness of practicing. Adding a flare of fun to each practice session keeps things entertaining and interesting.
In addition to all of that, there’s also space to jot down reflections, notes, and questions to ask/answer later. There are also blank staves for jotting down musical compositions each day. If you need more room for that, there are 3 pages of blank staves and chord charts in the back of the book. I kind of wish there was even more space for that because I tend to write a lot of chords and compositions down in tab form or on chord charts. But I guess you need another book for that!
There are enough weeks and days of music practice log sheets to last six months. Just two of these books will last an entire year if you fill one sheet out a day.
Keeping a music practice journal as a companion for practicing music helps me to organize my random thoughts. For example, let’s say I liked or disliked a particular song I was trying to cover. In reality, some songs I try to cover just go horribly wrong and I wish I had never taken on the task. I’d jot down those thoughts right there in the music practice journal. Or, let’s say I had an encounter with someone at a show about a song I did that they liked or didn’t like. I’d jot down my thoughts about that. I have plenty of thoughts like this swirling around in my head about my music in general. It gets overwhelming sometimes because those thoughts get trapped and I tend to ruminate over them. Having a place to write those down gets them out of my head and clears my mental space for me to have better perspective and more clarity.
Music Practice Journal for Musicians
This Music Practice Journal helps musicians of all kinds maintain a healthy practice routine and keep a record of daily practice time. With a simple yet easy-to-spot cover, this music practice journal offers a convenient way to keep your practice efforts and thoughts all in one place. Keep it in your rehearsal space or take it with you on the go. Never lose track of your practice routine again!
What are some other benefits of maintaining a practice journal?
Accountability and Consistency
In addition to having more productive practice sessions, keeping a practice journal gives you a bit of accountability which is very helpful for those of us who need a little push in being consistent. The planning aspect of practice journaling combined with daily tracking journal prompts provides motivation to accomplish the goal and keep going. Plus, things are executed much better when there is a plan in place.
A Written Record
If you are working with a music instructor, a practice journal is a great way to show your work and collaborate with your instructor more efficiently. They can write down compositions in your journal for you to practice, make notes for you, and check your progress. The space for notes and questions can be used to keep track of any questions you might come up with during your practice sessions that you’ll need to save until you meet with your instructor again.
Evaluate Progress Over Time
After just a few months of using a practice journal, you’ll be able to review what you’ve covered previously and see how you have improved. Looking back at your work or challenges, and seeing how you have overcome them inspires confidence and motivates you to keep going.
Overall, the music practice journal is a game-changer for musicians. It’s a part of your music practice you didn’t know you needed. Not to mention, the cover is really cool. Get the practice journal here.
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