Muscle Memory

When you do the same thing over and over again, it gets planted into your memory. Think of a baby learning how to walk. At first, the baby has to crawl, trip, and fumble several times before the child learns to walk on two feet. After the child has walked enough times, they do it without any conscious effort because they're legs remember how to walk. As the baby learns to walk, they are slowly building neural pathways that makes it easier. The more you practice, the less effort it will take to focus on technique.  This phenomena is called muscle memory. ( It is important to say that technically, the muscles themselves don't store memory. Really, it's the brain storing memories of the actions the muscles repeat. The term ''muscle memory'', is used for simplicity's sake.)

Muscle memory can be a good thing and a bad thing. If you practice good technique, your hands will start to remember. If you practice bad technique your muscles will remember that too. It is important to use muscle memory to your advantage. If you make mistakes during practice, correct them right away and don't keep repeating them. Make sure you are aware of  posture, rhythm, and hand positions. You need to teach your muscles good habits. It will be much harder to undo if you practice the wrong way for a long time because the muscle memory will work against you. The more you practice the right way the easier it will get. Don't let a challenging piece of music discourage you.

Practice really does make perfect!