Two Ways to Practice

I've been thinking lately about two ways to practice.

Of course there are many ways to think about practice, but looking at things this way has helped me lately. I'll stick with a music analogy but it's easy to see how this applies to aikido, or to other things.

Technique

The goal of technique practice is to learn to do something correctly. Often that "something" is just a small element of the whole.  In this type of practice you usually stop when you make a mistake, fix the mistake, and try again. Or you may continue to work in rhythm without stopping, but you may slow down or simplify in some way until you can "get it right." Getting it right means not just the outer form: playing the notes or doing the correct movements, but the inner as well: remaining relaxed, staying focused, keeping good posture.

Playing Through

By "playing through" I mean playing the entire tune (or a significant section), keeping the beat, and not stopping even when I make a mistake. For example, when I play a jazz or folk tune (32 bars or so), I play it through repeatedly for long enough that I can begin to relax into it.

The goal of playing through is quite different from practicing technique: While of course we want to be as correct as possible, the primary objective is not to stop. Most of have a tendency to stop and think when we run into difficulties, but when playing through, you are training yourself out of this tendency. I actually want to stop focusing each note, each chord, each flub, and hear the piece as a whole.

Benefits of Both Types of Practice

I'm finding that each way of practicing offers different benefits. 

Simply: in technique practice, you're focusing on details. In playing through, you're looking at the big picture. 

In technique practice you're building muscle memory. In playing through, you're making use of that muscle memory so that you can devote your mental capacity to the musicality of your playing. If you're playing with others, you're listening, blending, anticipating what's to come. 

I feel my mind works differently when I'm attentively trying to apply all the elements of my practice to playing in real time, without slowing down to think.

Finding a Balance 

I practice more efficiently, and improve more quickly, when I balance both these types of practice. Since "playing through" is my challenge, I try to allot myself a certain amount of time to doing it, without slipping inadvertently into technique practice. I even use a timer.

Whatever method I'm focused on, I try to do it with attention, listening and observing myself...with compassion!