Practice guide · for every musician

Building muscle memory is boring. Here’s how to get through it.

The repetitions matter. They are also repetitive. Once you know the part, make the boring repetitions easier to get through with a podcast, audiobook or sport on TV. If you can keep playing cleanly while your attention is elsewhere, that is also a useful sign that the part is becoming automatic.

By Matt · GigClick developer and drummer

Clean repetitions24

Podcast playingSpeech, not music

Technique stays clean · you stop watching every note

The part nobody sells

Knowing repetition matters does not make it interesting.

When I was a kid, in the dim, dark past, I did not understand why I should repeat the same pattern until it became automatic. Even if somebody had explained muscle memory to me perfectly, I am not sure it would have changed much. I avoided the work because the work was boring.

I understand the reason for it now. I still find it boring.

What has changed is how I get through it. Once I can play a part cleanly, I will often keep the repetitions going while I watch sport, listen to a podcast or put on an audiobook. It makes a dull but useful part of practice much easier to sustain.

I do not need a second device to do that. A podcast or audiobook can keep playing while GigClick runs on the same phone. GigClick does not turn the spoken audio down or pause it.

I also find that it tells me something useful. If the pattern stays clean while my attention is elsewhere, it is beginning to become automatic. If it falls apart as soon as I follow the conversation, it still needs more attention.

Do not distract yourself while learning the part. Distract yourself from the boredom once you can play it cleanly.

Repetition is not a character test

Accept that useful practice can still be tedious.

One clean attempt shows that you can play the part. Repeating it cleanly makes that version easier to play again without thinking about every note.

Why one good repetition is not enough

For a drummer it might be a sticking or foot pattern. For another musician it could be a fingering, chord change, bow stroke or articulation. Whatever the instrument, clean repetitions make the way you want to play it easier to find again.

Unfortunately, understanding a part often comes well before being able to play it reliably. The remaining work is not intellectually difficult. You know what to do. You simply need more correct repetitions than your brain finds interesting.

Full attention comes first

Learn the part before you add a distraction.

A podcast cannot tell you that your grip has tightened or that the awkward transition is still uneven. Before you put anything on, play the part cleanly several times in a row.

When I put something else on

01
Learn the part without entertainment. Decide how it should feel and sound. Use a mirror, recording or teacher’s feedback if that helps.
02
Slow it down. Give yourself enough time to notice tension, preparation and every awkward transition. The slow-practice guide goes further into this stage.
03
Repeat it cleanly. Look for several matching repetitions, not one successful rescue.
04
Put something on. Follow the match, podcast or audiobook for a while and listen for any change in your playing.

Leave the rhythm alone

Choose something that does not compete with the music.

Not every distraction is equally useful. I want enough interest to reduce the boredom, without another rhythm pulling against the click or masking what I need to hear.

Put onWorks whenWatch for

PodcastThe pattern is already familiarComplex discussion taking too much attention

AudiobookYou can hear your timing and sound clearlyHeadphones masking the instrument or click

SportYou no longer need to watch your techniqueStopping every time something happens

MusicBest left off for this jobA second pulse competing with the one you are practising

One device. Both keep running.

Start the podcast or audiobook, then open GigClick. Both keep playing on the same phone. GigClick will not turn down or pause the spoken audio.

Why I avoid music

Music is not neutral background sound. It has its own pulse, subdivisions, accents and changes. Even when I think I am ignoring it, it can pull the timing around or make it harder to hear whether my pattern is even.

Speech can still be distracting, but it is less likely to give you another steady pulse to follow. In one study, music made it harder to stay with a metronome than speech did. That supports choosing speech over music, although a demanding podcast can still take too much attention.

Research: Music and speech distractors disrupt sensorimotor synchronisation.

Automatic still needs checking

Bring your attention back before your playing starts to drift.

The distraction is mainly there to make the repetitions less boring. It can also show how much attention the part still needs. If your playing falls apart while you follow the podcast, it is not automatic yet.

Check your playing regularly

01
Start focused. Play the part with the technique and sound you want before the distraction begins.
02
Follow the distraction. Continue the clean repetitions while listening to the spoken programme or watching the match.
03
Check back regularly. Give the playing your full attention for a few repetitions. Listen and feel, rather than assuming.
04
Reset when needed. Pause the distraction, lower the tempo or stop and fix the difficult bar or transition if the quality has changed.

A session you might actually do

Twenty minutes of useful repetition

The exact times do not matter. The order does: attention first, repetition second, a final honest check.

5 minLearn and establishFull attention; play it cleanly several times in a row
12 minKeep it movingPodcast, audiobook or sport; no background music
3 minRemove the distractionCheck timing, sound and technique; finish with clean repetitions

A method you can keep using

Make the boring part easier to come back to.

Once the part is clean, put something on and keep playing. Check your playing regularly. If the timing, sound or technique changes, turn the distraction off and fix it. GigClick can keep playing alongside a podcast or audiobook on the same phone.