How to Practice
borrowed from School Band & Orchestra Magazine, 4/07
by Terry Guynes
Ever felt like you have worked and worked and worked on a section of music, but at the end of each session there just wasn't improvement? Don't worry if you have - just about every musician alive has felt that way at one point or another. Hopefully, after reading this article you will have a few more tricks under your belt to make your practice sessions more efficient and the results of your daily band rehearsals more effective.
Don't Set a Clock; Set a Goal
Most band directors give either a general guideline or set a daily goal of practicing about half an hour each day. Some students even have an egg timer that they set. The bell goes off after 30 minutes - "ding!" - and the practice session is over. Playing for a fixed amount of time is the wrong approach. When sitting down to rehearse, the goal should be to be able to play something that couldn't have been played the day before, or something that was difficult from that day's band class. It may only be one measure, or it may be 10 measures. It really doesn't matter - just realize that the bigger the goal, the more time it will take to achieve. When an actual goal is set instead of a time limit, practice session will last longer and improvement will come much quicker? Why? Because after each practice, it will be possible to play something new - or something that was difficult to play will have become easier.
Many students pull out their band music and play the pieces that are fun when they sit down to rehearse, but never really get to the music that is difficult. While this attitude is understandable, it doesn't really accomplish much. Remember to set a musical goal: "I will be able to play the three measures at a tempo of 120 beats per minutes by the time I get done today. Tomorrow my goal will be able to play it at performance tempo of 160 beats per minute." While it is good to review music that is already familiar, don't waste too much time on it - only play it it once or twice and move on.
Make Practice Fun: Play Along with a Friend or a Pro
Sessions can be made more fun by practicing with a friend. Work together to get the parts down or help each other out. Listen to each other play and decide what needs improvement. We are often our own worst critics, but a friend might hear things a little differently, or may be listening for a different aspect of performance, like articulations. The biggest advantage of practicing with a friend is that he or she can help make sure the phrasing is consistent and that breathing is occurring at the same intervals, when necessary. Phrasing can make or break a musical passage; breathing is something that is usually done subconsciously, but if it isn't paid attention to, it's impossible to realize if the breaths are being taken in the correct places or not. A friend can encourage us when we are doing well or give us a 'heads-up' when we need to concentrate on a specific area of musical performance.
Another way to make practice time more fun is to play along with professional artists. There are music books that have written material and CDs to play along with. However, development of the musical ear, also known as "ear training," is vital to individual musical development. One way to develop the ear quickly, while playing real music and accompanying a real band, is to buy a recording of a professional who plays your instrument and try to figure out what they are playing, and then try to play along with them. I recommend listening carefully and trying to perform the exact notes that the pro is playing. As this becomes easier, try some improvisation CDs, like those available by Jamey Aebersold. Improvisation is a difficult technique to master and will require some guidance, but it's a fun part of playing any instrument. Playing along with professional recordings or the Aebersold CDs won;'t cover all areas of technical development - like learning sclaes and arpeggios - but ti does make a portion of practice time more enjoyable.
Start Slow
Real improvement comes from taking music that is difficult and practicing until it can be played with ease. How does that happen? Well, the first thing to remember is that if you can't count it, you can't play it. If this means writing in the counting on sheet music, then write in the counting. If it means putting arrows on the beats and upbeats, then put in the arrows. Do whatever it takes to play the music with rhythmic accuracy and precision.
Remember to start slow. A child first learns to roll over, then to support him or herself on his or her arms, then to sit up straight, and then how to stand. Only after all of this occurs does a child learn to take his or her first step. The other important thing to remember is that even after learning how to take that first step, a child will fall many times before learning how to run! Learning to play an instrument is similar. Expect to fail many times before becoming proficient. It's okay - it's a natural part of the learning process. Dwelling on failures will bring frustration. That's why it's important to slow things down. - way, way down if necessary. Take it as slowly as required in order to play all the correct notes and rhythms. Getting the fingers to do what the brain is telling them to do is very difficult. While tackling a difficult passage, pound your fingers down. This forces the brain to tell the fingers the correct pattern and it develops the muscle memory in the fingers, hand and arm. The other thing to do is to say the notes in the passage. Then say the notes and finger along. Then try to play it (yes, pounding your fingers down), but only after saying the notes and fingering the passage correctly.
While changing the articulations, start slow and build speed. The important thing is to do this gradually. For example, when practicing a passage with a metronome at 80 beats per minute, play it through at least 10 times before changing the tempo. This many repetitions is important because the goal should be to be able to play whatever is being practiced 10 times in a row without mistakes. if a mistake is made on the eighth repetition, start over at one. This may seem tedious, but it can really help build improvement. After getting through 10 times and 80bpm, speed up the tempo, but only to 84 or the next notch on the metronome. Don't jump to 120bpm! Speeding up the tempo too quickly will cause mistakes and mistakes only reinforce errors. The point is to get the brain to forget the mistakes.
Change the Articulations: Stay Slow
Changing the articulations will make it easier to recognize the actual articulation that is written in the music. It also makes the fingers repeat the pattern several times, which will help diminish the chances of making a mistake in the future. Don't just change the articulation once - change it several times. When notes are arranged in groups of four (very common with eighth and sixteenth notes) slur two notes and tongue two notes, or tongue two and slur two, or tongue the first and last and slur the middle two, put accents ont he different notes, etc. There are many different ways to change the articulation.
Be Patient
Progress will only become visible as mastery of the difficult passages becomes easier. Remember this is a very slow process. Development of any skill takes time. It can take days, weeks, months, years, or even decades. Countless hours of sweat, sometimes a little blood, a lot of tears, patience and dedication are necessary to become a musician who is even slightly proficient at his or her craft. Keep this in mind during practice and while monitoring progress. Unfortunately, in this age of instant gratification, we often get used to things happening immediately. it is important to understand that improvement might not be apparent right away.
Conclsuion
These are only a few ideas that may help make practice time more efficient. Don't just put in the time - make that time worthwhile. Dedicate yourself to improving how you use the limited time available for practice. There are other methods to improve practice efficiency, and don't be afraid to talk to your director. Directors always want to help their students improve - that's why they became teachers in the first place!
