How to Practice Well

Note to parents:  More isn't always better!   When students get tired, they start poor habits like slouching, resting their elbows or wrists on their hip or leg, and changing their embouchure (mouth muscles) to accommodate. It is better for students to play shorter amounts of time with good posture and instrument hold, than to play for longer periods of time and acquire bad habits that are really difficult to break.   

Note to students:  Practice Makes Permanent!  Be sure to practice daily, or almost daily - but don't practice mistakes, funny sounds, or ugly sounds.  If you get frustrated, mark the places where you need help, and practice what you CAN do.  Ask me for help at your next lesson.  Always have your music set up on a music stand or DIY music shelf, so you can play with great posture.  Make sure you are holding your instrument correctly.  Keep a pencil nearby so you can mark spots that need more work.

Warm-Up (2 to 3 minutes)

String students: Wash hands, prepare your shoulder rest and bow.
Band students: Wash hands, rinse mouth, assemble instrument carefully.  Blow hot air into the instrument to start.  Warm-ups use gentle sounds, never high or blasting.  Trumpet and trombone students often warm-up with just the mouthpiece at first.
All students: Concentrate on your posture and holding your instrument correctly.  The first few pages of your book shows you how to do this.   When you play, work towards having a clear and beautiful sound.  

Quick review (1 to 3 minutes)

Practice examples from the last page or lesson you mastered.  Pat yourself on the back (again), and move forward!

Current lesson (5 to 10 minutes)

Play through your most recent goal or example.  Using a pencil, lightly mark the spots that give you trouble.  Break it up - go back and work on just those spots (I call this "Whack-A-Mole" time).  Look up fingerings, play a few notes in a row over and over again, slow it down, speed it up, memorize it if that helps you.  Now, go back and play the example again from start to end - are there any new "moles" to whack?  Erase pencil markings you don't need, and try another example!  Do the same for other songs you still need to work on.

If you get frustrated, take a short break.  Go back to an old lesson if you wish.  Later, come back to the spot that gives you trouble.   If you haven't figured it out before the next lesson, be sure to bring it to my attention at the beginning of your next class.

Reflect on your accomplishments (2 or more minutes)

Celebrate! Pat yourself on the back, then play through the examples you've recently mastered. 

End with something fun (2 or more minutes)

Play your old favorites, start composing something of your own, or figure out how to play a tune you've heard in movies, video games, or on tv.

Clean-up

Clean your instrument as you pack up.  See the "Practice Tracks, Tips & Reminders" page if needed.  

How can my child practice quietly?

Chances are, your child just needs to find the right TIME to practice.  Preferably not when someone is napping, and not during quiet hours.  Students have been told never to blast or scare anyone with their instrument sounds, and we always work towards no squeaks on the clarinet and saxophone.  But if your child is truly not allowed to make sounds on the instrument for 10 minutes at any time of day where you live, here are some suggestions:

Rhythm exercises - there are rhythm exercises in the book, and every exercise/song is also a rhythm exercise.  Your child can tap it on their knee, clap the rhythm, sizzle the rhythm, brass students can buzz the rhythm on their mouthpiece, flute students can play it on their mouthpiece (cover the end for a quieter sound), and string students can pluck or shadow-bow. 

Reading exercises - students can read the note names out loud, and when they are comfortable, they can read the note names in rhythm, too.

Fingerings - wind players (and later on, string players) can do their fingerings on the instrument while saying or singing the note names out loud.

None of the above will help improve tone quality or strengthen the embouchure muscles.  If you can find a little time during the week or weekend for your child to play their instrument with a regular, full sound, that will definitely be better than nothing!  Try having them practice in a room with the door shut, point the instrument towards an open closet full of clothes (the fabrics help absorb the sound).  For trumpet, trombone, and string instruments, consider buying a practice mute.