Homework
Student Homework
When, Where & How to Practice
It's extremely important to set up a frequent, predictable practice regimen from the start of any musician's career. In addition to learning the language of music, we are eagerly coaxing the development of many muscles that are used to produce good, characteristic tone on the instrument. Here are some tips to make practice sessions as productive as possible.
Be Consistent! All musicians should plan to practice at least 3-5 times per week. On average, beginners should spend 10-15 minutes practicing in each sessions, intermediate players should be spending 15-25, and advanced players should be spending at least 30 minutes.
Be focused! It's hard to pay attention to already difficult tasks when there's a lot of distractions. Choose a distraction-free location in your home complete with all of the necessary materials - a music stand, a pencil, and all the "extras" that your child's instrument might need (reeds, valve oil, etc).
Set a routine! Students should start each practice session with a warm up, scales, lesson book assignments, and conclude with sections from their concert music. It's very easy to practice the "favorite part" first and to ignore the challenging sections - this will only compound the difficulty of those sections! Refer to the flow guide below to help in how to practice.
