1. Availability of an instrument

Let’s address the first fact, not everyone may have a steel pan instrument at home to rehearse their musical pieces after leaving the classroom. Students may forget some of the notes of their song due to a lack of availability of the instrument at home but allow me to offer some solutions.

One of my adult students has no access to a steelpan, so her solution to the problem was to draw out a steel pan on cardboard and rehearse her song. You might say, how does that work without sound? You see, playing an instrument is not just about the sound coming from the instrument, but it’s about the hand movement and your memory remembering the placement of your hand.

This has worked so well for my student that every time she returns to pan classes once a week she improves on her musical score without a doubt. Try it, it may just work for you.

·There are various steel pan apps on the google play store that can help if you don’t have a steelpan at home. The popular app is the ‘Digital Pan’ and it works really well so give it a try.

Your other option would be to purchase a steel pan to rehearse your musical scores. If there is another way you rehearse, feel free to let us know. We will be very happy to hear from you.

2. Find a quiet spot

Being intentional is everything and having a routine of going to the same place to practice your instrument can help and will prepare your mind mentally. By doing this, you are less likely to succumb to all sorts of distractions.

3. Practice with a goal in mind

Before you begin practice, you must set achievable goals. Ask yourself: What do I want to accomplish today? You can take the music by number of bars a day. Find what works for you and if you are still unsure ask your steel pan teacher for help.

4. Warm Up

Before you begin to play your instrument, do a few warm ups. This may include breathing exercises, wrist movements with your sticks in hand and also rehearsing your scales in an ascending and descending order. Warm ups can be approximately 5-10mins long.

5. Before you begin

As you are ready to practice, a few things should be done. Make sure to look through your musical score to identify the key that the music is being played, the clef, dynamics, tempo of the song and possible key changes.

In conclusion remember that practice makes permanent so be sure to practice at least three times a week, one hour a day with a 10min break. This can also be further broken down with half hour practices, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. There is no set rule for practising your instrument, so find what works for you and let us know how you are doing.