I'll never forget being in music school and one of the tutors (who I respected greatly) happened to overhear me practising in the next room. When I went for my lesson, he asked if it was me practising in the other room. I answered yes (naïvely hoping for a compliment).
He said without hesitation "That was the worst 20 minutes of practise I have ever heard." "You could have easily spent a whole hour on any one of those things you rushed through".
Despite the embarrassment, it is one of the most helpful things anyone has ever said to me. And it has taken me the past ten years to really address it.
In the past I was burdened with all kinds of psychological, consequently physical issues relating to music and the practice of music.
I now love practising music and look forward to it every day. I focus on settling my mind and making my fingers and body feel happy and flexible.
As of 2026 this is my current practice:
I do my technical work in three keys per day and then move up to the next three the following day. Eg. C,Db,D on day one and Eb,E,F on day two.
[Scales 30 Mins ] 1/4 Notes at 40BPM and never above 80. Major, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor. Working through unusual fingerings (g 1-2, 1-3, 3-4-5 etc.) Hands separately (LH down, RH up) then contrary motion. Barry Harris' 7th arpeggio then pivot through major and minor scales.
[Chords 30 Mins] Working through Lennie Tristanos chord lists, which I retrieved from Ed Paolantonio. I am attempting to memorise these left hand formations thoroughly and get them into my playing. I also take chordal figures that I like from recordings, usually McCoy Tyner or Herbie Hancock and spend time absorbing them in the three keys I'm working on that day.
[Tunes 30 Mins] Learning standards melody only with metronome. Left hand then right hand then unison. Using metronome and bumping it up in small increments. Then I will do an exercise given to me by Michael Kanan, the great NYC pianist: Play the left hand-chords to a tune on beat one of each bar until you are truly comfortable with that. Play chord one bar, improvise a line one bar etc. So you are grounded to the pulse. Then play the chords every two beats. Then play the chords every one beat.
[Listening 30 Mins] This comes from the Lennie Tristano school via Ed Paolantonio. Picking a great example from the recorded history that really resonates with you. I pick the best players I can think of and find my favourite solo. I isolate the solo and save the mp3 to my mp3 player. I listen to the solo until I know it inside out (you never truly do!). I listen to it again and again and again. When I think I can start to sing it. I listen again. Then I attempt to sing it. This is a simple and enjoyable way of immersing yourself in the music. It is doable even when you don't feel like playing or practising.
That is the gist of my current 2 hours per day practise. If I have extra time I will work on free improvisation, classical repertoire & sight reading.