Technique Improvement

Practice

The Importance of Home Practice

The Importance of Home Practice Daily practice is the lifeblood of our band program. You must practice in order to reinforce concepts covered in class and to develop the necessary skills on your instrument to become a top-notch musician. Students are expected to take their instruments home everyday. You will never have a day where you don't have something to work on.

Have a "Practice System"

Warm-up Time: Play through the warm-up exercises introduced in class. Don't just go through the motions, though. LISTEN to what is coming out of your instrument and BE INVOLVED in trying to make it better!

Building Time: This time should be spent working on specific practice assignments (lines from the book, scales, music from band, etc.). Try to make at least one thing perfect every day.

Performance Time: This time is dedicated to performing musical works selected by you. Make time to play music that you enjoy!

Other Practice Hints

1. Choose a room that is quiet and free of distractions...no TV or radio.

2. Be sure to use proper seating and playing position and USE A MUSIC STAND.

3. Make use of a metronome. Break down hard passages and practice at a slow tempo. Don't raise the tempo or move on until you can play the passage or scale five times in a row perfectly. If you can't play something, you are going too fast!

4. Practice for results, not just to "put in time." Realize that there are some things you can fix in one practice session while other things may have to develop over time.

5. Play for your parents. Let them see and hear what you are doing in class.

6. At the beginning of each practice session, determine what your main goals are so that you don't lose focus.

7. Keep a journal of your practice time including date practiced, minutes practiced, your goals, and what you accomplished.

How Much to Practice

In order for a student to progress on an instrument at the expected rate, a regular practice routine must be followed. There is no "set" amount of time a student should practice each day, but here are some general guidelines:

A beginner in the first six weeks of study should practice about 20-25 minutes per day. A beginner should increase this time to 30-45 minutes per day starting in the second six weeks.

A second or third year player should plan on practicing at least 30 minutes per day, but, preferably, more like 45 to 60 minutes. This may be broken up into two sections (for example, 15-30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon). Occasional days off are fine, of course, but in order to maintain consistency, a student should practice at least five days a week. The student should try to avoid taking multiple days off in a row. It is better to practice in 30-45 minute "chunks" on a daily basis than it is to practice for longer periods on just one or two days per week. As mentioned above, the student should have a plan and make sure his or her practice is "focused" and not done simply for the sake of putting in time on the instrument.


Here are a few web-sites to help you with improving in band.

www.finalemusic.com - You can download Finale Notepad, a free music compositional program, from this site. You can also download Finale Performance Assessment, a new program that allows the directors to create a practice file for a student. The student will be able to use FPA to practice a piece of music. The software will mark student mistakes, and the student can then e-mail the file to the directors. It's like having a band director there with you when you practice (without the creepy feeling of having one of your teachers at your house).

www.howtomakefirstchair.com - Practicing resources and information about the book and video series "How To Make First Chair."

www.metronomeonline.com -A simple metronome for use when practicing. Publications

www.instrumentalistmagazine.com - Publisher of The Instrumentalist magazine, as well as Flute Talk. Both are great resources for students, music educators, and performers. For Fun

www.fingering-charts.com/musicracer - A cool game where you can see how fast you can name notes or fingerings. The names and schools of the students with the top 50 times are posted on the web site!

www.emusictheory.com/practice.html - Lots of neat tools for sharpening your music skills, including a rhythm tapper game.

www.musictheory.net - An interactive website to learn music theory with tutorials and trainers.