BAD HABITS BECOME VERY EASY

BAD HABITS BECOME VERY EASY

Bad habits are very difficult to break. They creep in effortlessly, slowly, little by little until one day ‘BANG’, and we suddenly become aware of our bad habits fruition and the awareness of the harsh reality of how difficult it will now be to fix and re-train, re-think, re-form, re-practice. Everything done up to this horrid event has contributed to the bad habits existence, which has now become a very
disappointed result.

Proper technique and practice right from the beginning is extremely important and often over looked. It is a poor attitude of teachers who thinks ‘It doesn’t matter, they are just a beginner’, as this is the most important time and plants the seeds of possible future greatness.

As a music teacher, little mistakes and small habits are of major concern. The left hand fingers a bit flat, the bow elbow a little low or the violin not level will become major hindrances in the not too distant future. Small errors must be fixed NOW before they become ingrained habits that are almost impossible to break.

Correct practice is very important, practicing small errors everyday for a few minutes will eventually become disastrous. If I sit at home recite ‘one plus one equals three, one plus one equals three, one plus one equals three’, when asked ‘What is one plus one?’, I will most likely reply ‘three’, and this would be very wrong. This is exactly what bad practice habits create.

We are all fundamentally what we do, think and say each day. So don’t let anything become a bad habit, pay attention to detail and be aware of what you are doing. Don’t let music become a mistake for life. Music is wonderful, music
is a gift for life.