Okay, so I’ve been diving into this thing called “massed practice” lately, and I wanted to share my little experiment with it. It’s all about cramming your practice into one big chunk instead of spreading it out. Sounds kinda intense, right? Well, it kinda is, but also kinda cool.
Getting Started
First, I picked something I wanted to get better at – playing the ukulele. I’m pretty terrible, to be honest, but I’ve always wanted to learn a specific song. So, that was my goal: learn this one song using massed practice.
The Deep Dive
- Blocked out the time: I cleared my Saturday afternoon. Like, completely cleared it. No phone, no distractions, just me and my uke for a solid three hours.
- Found the resources: I grabbed a YouTube tutorial for the song and some chord charts online. I wanted everything ready to go so I wouldn’t waste time searching during my practice block.
- Dove in headfirst: I started by watching the tutorial all the way through, just to get a feel for the song. Then, I broke it down into sections – intro, verse, chorus, etc.
The Grind
This is where the “massed” part really kicked in. I spent the next couple of hours just repeating those sections over and over.
First five times was not good, my finger even got hurt.
It was brutal, honestly. My fingers started to ache, my brain felt fried, and I kept messing up the same chords. But I pushed through. I figured, that’s the whole point of massed practice – to push yourself to the limit.
The (Slight) Breakthrough
After what felt like forever, something started to click. I noticed my fingers were moving more smoothly between the chords. I still messed up, but not as much. And I could actually play a few parts of the song without looking at the chord chart. Small victories, people!
The Wrap-Up
By the end of the three hours, I was exhausted. My fingers were sore, my head was pounding, but I could actually play a rough version of the song! It wasn’t perfect, not even close, but it was way better than when I started.And I did feel good.
My Takeaway
So, would I recommend massed practice? Maybe. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s intense and frustrating, but it does seem to work. At least, it worked for me in this one little experiment. I think it’s good for when you really need to cram something in, like if you have a performance coming up or something.
But for everyday learning, I’m not so sure. I think I prefer spreading my practice out a bit more. Less pain, less brain-fry.
But hey, it was a fun experiment, and I definitely learned something – both about the ukulele and about my own ability to push through discomfort. And the most inportant, I did it!
