Most people have been conditioned to think of practicing as simply repetition, playing the same thing over and over. But that is misleading and inaccurate. Why? Because as the saying goes, if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result. It doesn’t suggest that there is any active thinking involved and that is why many of us engage in hit-or-miss practicing. The way to improve quickly is, don’t play something again unless you have a plan to play it better! The key to doing that is, always ask yourself what you are going to do better before you play something again. And make sure to be very specific, like I am going to play the F# higher by making sure there is no gap between my second and third fingers, or by blowing slightly faster air.