Practice Tips

This is taken from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website. Great stuff!

Practice Tips

Every good musician knows that regular practice is a must, but did you know that careless practice can actually make you worse? Before you tell your parent or you teacher that you have decided not to practice, think about the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW of practice that will help you play better and enjoy music more.
Who?

YOU! Good practice involves your mind, your body, your emotions, and the music. Your parent or teacher may be able to force you to spend time playing the notes, but only YOU can focus your mind and your feeling on the sounds you are producing, so that the music you play is beautiful and expressive.
What?

Practice that progresses toward perfection will include:

* Warm-ups
* Review of scales, etudes, or pieces you have already learned
* Your new assignment
* Something you really love playing, or just for fun ( maybe even make up a piece on your own)

When?

Dr. Suzuki said, "Only on the days that you eat!" The best plan is to make practice a part of your daily routine. If you know you will practice at a certain time every day, it will happen with very few exceptions.
How?

This is a VERY important question! Many students practice by playing straight through a piece or other assignment (often as quickly as possible) as if they were at a recital, then go on to the next thing, no matter what happened. Money won't buy better playing, but well spent practice time will. Here are some hints for getting the most for your practice "dollar."

* Set goals to try to accomplish in each practice session
* Be sure you know what the passage should sound like
* Work on the most challenging spots first
* Break the music down into small sections
(How do you eat an elephant? - One bite at a time!)
* Repeat the passage many times AFTER you get it right
* Before you end each practice session, play the entire piece, and enjoy!

A Band Parent on the Benefits of Music Education

Why Music Matters

This is a great recording by composer and educator Jack Stamp.  Here he tells us exactly why music education is important.  Good stuff!

Five Steps to Successful Music Reading

A common practice mistake for young students is to play an entire piece of music over and over again and expect it to get better through repetition.  After all, everybody says, "practice makes perfect."  Wrong.  Practice make progress.  And that's good practice.  

There are usually only a few trouble spots in a piece of music, which students will often struggle through and move on without fixing the problem.  It is like a speed bump in the middle of an otherwise smooth performance.  How do you get better???  Find the problem!  Figure out which part is tricky.  Once we have isolated the problem area, it's time to slow things down and use the best practicing system ever - The Five Steps. 


1.  Count the rhythm out loud
2.  Say the note names
3.  Say the note names and finger along
4.  Say the note names and finger along in rhythm
5.  Play the music and check for accuracy

Practicing with the five steps will take longer than simply repeating a section of music over and over, however, it will be significantly more effective than mindless repetition.  The more a student uses the system, the better they will get at identifying problems and fixing them quickly.  Eventually it will become a way of life and music reading will keep getting easier.