There are many ways to practice music at home.

You can repeat your piece/song/drill/scale/etude until you’re fatigued, bored, or both.

You can run through all your current music until you’ve played everything from beginning to end.

You can play the parts that are easy and then just slow down for the hard bits, without stopping to figure out what makes those bits so hard.

None of those strategies is going to make you a better musician or make you enjoy music more. That’s because practice isn’t about repetition. It’s about teaching yourself when your teacher isn’t around.

We shouldn’t really call it practicing at all. Self-teaching is a much more accurate description. And while it’s true that different people learn in different ways, there are a few things common to all learning and to learning music in particular.

Being curious: How is this music constructed? Are there patterns, shapes, and signals that I should see and understand before I start to play my instrument?

Having a plan: What am I specifically trying to accomplish? Am I concentrating on the rhythm, the notes, the form, the fingering, the expression, or something else? The fewer things I focus on at any moment, the more I can accomplish.

Watching yourself: Once I’ve seen the patterns and decided where to focus, am I able to observe myself as I play?

Assessing your work: Without judging myself or taking things personally, can I assess my attempt objectively? If so, can I accurately describe what happened and learn from both my successes and my flops? And can I then modify my plan accordingly and try again?

You can apply each of these four steps to anything and everything you do when practicing. Start slowly. This method takes a lot of mental energy and attentiveness. At first, you may only be able to practice for five or ten minutes this way. But keep at it. If you like, take notes or keep a practice journal to remind yourself of what happened. You may find yourself learning more deeply and more enjoyably than ever before.