Practice Tips

WHAT SHOULD I PRACTICE?

Athletes must train every day, and musicians must practice every day, or the same thing will happen to both; poor performance.

Each student is expected to practice at home so they are able to play our ensemble music. Scales are the best thing to practice. Here are the Junior District scales for each instrument, and this is the best place to start.

http://mmeaeasterndistrict.org/junior.htm

Your child will need a metronome. Any music store will have them, but don't get a fancy one with pre-set beats; just a simple one that does nothing but click. Until your child gets one, he or she can use an on-line metronome, like this one http://www.metronomeonline.com/

Then, your child should practice his or her ensemble music. Here is something we call the Five Levels of Music Preparation:

The Five Levels Of Music Preparation

Level 1. you can name every note on the page, and you know the fingering of every note on the page. You understand all printed symbols, repeats, DCs and DSs, and any other abbreviations.

Level 2. you can play every note on the page, one at a time, without any rhythm, with good pitch (matched to a piano) and good posture.

Level 3. you can play the whole page from start to finish, very slowly, getting most of the rhythms, but making no mistake in articulation or pitch.

Level 4. with a metronome set to a very slow beat, you can play the whole piece without any mistakes at all, in pitch, articulation, or dynamics.

Level 5. with a metronome set to full concert performance tempo, you can play the whole piece with no mistakes at all. I expect all my students to be at Level 5 by concert week. I can adapt the music for those that have particular difficulty.

I will tell the kids the metronome settings as we go along, and I will tell you as well via email.

More Practice Tips:

1. Practice a little Every Day; this is far more beneficial than one or two long sessions in a week.
2. Have a certain time each day that is set aside specifically for practicing. It will become part of your daily routine.
3. Split your practice session into smaller chunks. Example: technique work in the morning, then pieces in the afternoon/evening.
4. Learn each piece a phrase at a time (or each measure at a time). Practice a phrase Slowly until you have it then go to the next phrase.
5. Don't practice mistakes! Starting at the beginning of the piece and playing through to the end each time you practice is not an effective use of your time.
6. Sometimes start in the middle of a piece.
7. Record yourself, then watch/listen to it.
8. Practice the hard parts - not just the parts you like!
9. Listen to professional musicians! You should know WHO you want to sound like on your instrument.