A rehearsal log turns practice into small, checkable steps. Write a target before you start, a result when you finish and one next step, and each session builds on the last.
This lesson is part of the SPM subjects and learning resources section. Performance and listening assessments follow your school’s arrangements; the log works with any instrument or voice.
What goes into an entry?
Use five short items.
- Date and time spent.
- Passage: bar numbers, not “the piece”.
- Target: something you can check.
- Result: what actually happened, with a count.
- Next step: one specific action.
Worked example: four days on one passage
This is an original, fictional log for bars 5 to 8 of a short piece.
| Day | Target | Result | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 20 min | Bars 5 to 8 at 50 beats per minute, hands separate | Right hand fine, left hand stopped at bar 7 | Left hand bars 7 to 8, five times slowly |
| Tue, 20 min | Bars 7 to 8 left hand, no stops, five times | Four of five clean | Join hands at 50 |
| Wed, 15 min | Hands together at 50, bars 5 to 8 | Two stops, both at the bar 7 change | Count aloud through bar 7 |
| Thu, 15 min | Hands together at 50, counting aloud | One clean play in three | Repeat, then try 56 |
By Thursday the log shows exactly where the difficulty sits, the change in bar 7, and what worked.
The mistake that costs marks, and time
The common slip is a vague entry that cannot guide the next session: “Practised the piece for an hour. It went okay.”
| Item | Vague | Specific |
|---|---|---|
| Passage | The piece | Bars 5 to 8 |
| Target | Get better | No stops at 50 beats per minute |
| Result | Went okay | Two stops, both at the bar 7 change |
| Next step | Keep going | Count aloud through bar 7 |
Keep it short
A log you keep for two minutes a day is better than one you stop writing after a week. If an entry takes longer, cut the detail and keep the target and the result.
Check yourself
You practised bars 1 to 4 of a melody for 15 minutes. You played them at 60 beats per minute and made a mistake in bar 3 twice in four tries. Write a log entry with a target, result and next step.
Answer
Your details may differ. A model entry:
- Passage: bars 1 to 4.
- Target: four clean plays at 60 beats per minute.
- Result: two clean plays out of four; the mistake was in bar 3 both times.
- Next step: play bar 3 alone five times at 50, then rejoin bars 1 to 4 at 60.
It names the bars, gives a count and sets one next step.
What to study next
If bar 3 goes wrong because the rhythm does not add up, revisit connect a short rhythm to its notation. Then try the Music original practice set.
The structured answer self-review can check whether each log entry has a target and a result. A teacher can look at your log with you in online one-to-one Music tuition.