When to Take a Break

In my opinion, unless you've broken your hand or fingers, you should probably never take a long break (more than a day or two) from playing your instrument. Sometimes, though, we need a quick break from practice. But when should we take one? And for how long? I wrote this post to answer these questions.

When (not) to take a break

A short break can be good for a few reasons:

1) It gives you a chance to relax your hands and fingers (and any parts of the body) from any built-up stress or tension

2) It gives you a chance to clear your mind and come back to practice with focus and attention.

If you're making good progress, you're feeling relaxed, and you're calm and not angry or frustrated, you're probably fine to keep practicing. If, however, you're feeling tense, angry, frustrated, and you don't feel like you need a moment to clear your head, then you need a break!

How long of a break?

Usually two to three minutes is a good break for your mind and body. Longer breaks are fine as long as you don't let it keep you from your practicing goals! If you're looking to do an hour a day of practice, make sure you do the whole hour. Short two minute breaks are a great way to bring you back into focus, and help you let go of stress when it builds up.

What if I'm really frustrated?

If you're getting really angry or frustrated with your work, and you feel you need a longer break, by all means take one! Just remember to feel good about the practice you've already done, and remind yourself that you should never completely give up. There's always hope! You can learn to play whatever you're working on.

Remember who you are as a musician, and try to embrace gratitude. Do those things often enough, and you'll find most frustration playing your instrument will fade.

Take breaks as needed

In the end, how often you break doesn't matter too much as long as you're not making excuses or trying to get out of practicing! Perhaps if we practiced perfectly, we'd never need to take a short break, but until then, take a short break when needed.