Practice

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.

Practice makes perfect.

To be a successful musician, you have to practice at least three hours every day.

GO PRACTICE.

We’ve all heard sayings like these at one point or another. Practicing your craft is a very important part of your life as a musician, and it is not enough to sit in a practice room playing the same lick over and over. Without direction or purpose, you may very well feel like you’re not making any progress. And the next thing you know, you’re throwing your tuba stand at the wall of your practice room.

Not telling you how I know that. But trust me. I do.

So how do you practice and not get bored? How do you structure your practice to get the most out of the time you have? How can you fit practice into your already busy schedule?

Tips for a Successful Practice Session

1) Limit yourself to 20 minutes at a time.

This is especially helpful for those of us with short attention spans. If I sit down for a long practice session, I tend to get really distracted or bored. Then I get frustrated when I’m not making progress. My solution is to limit myself to 20(ish) minute practice sessions, or even shorter if I’m having a really hard time staying focused. This gives me time to reset, rest my face for a second, and come back to the horn fresh. If you spread a few of these sessions throughout the day, you’ll find that the time adds up, and you’ll have two or three hours in before you know it.

2) Start with fundamentals.

Always start your sessions with fundamentals: long tones, scales, flexibility, breathing. Your warm up should be designed to focus on your fundamentals and to reinforce good concepts. About half of your practice time should be devoted to your fundamentals. This reinforces your good habits so that you can apply them to the literature that you’re working on. I like to spend about an hour solely on fundamentals at the start of my practice sessions, just so I get in a good headspace. Vary these fundamentals based on what you’re working on. If you’re struggling with excerpts that are in your low range, work on long tones or etudes in your low register. If you notice that your airstream is a little weird when you articulate, work on breathing exercises. And long tones. Always long tones. Remember: your warm up is not only to warm up the muscles in your face, but to create good habits.

3) Get rid of distractions.

This is especially important for me. If a squirrel runs by my practice room window, I have to fight the impulse to go chase it. Practice time is me time. Time to be selfish and to focus on my craft so that I can be the best that I can be. If you get distracted easily by your phone, tv, or radio, just put them away for a little bit. Take this time to focus on yourself.

4) Engage in the music.

If you’re working on a musical passage, don’t just go through the motions of playing the notes. Actually engage in the music. Hear the piano part in your head. Sing your part as you play. Be musical. Notes that you produce should never be taken for granted or thrown away. Play every note with your best possible sound. Remember: Practice makes performance. You will only perform as well as you practice.

5) Test out new things.

The practice room is a great place to experiment. Test out a new embouchure. Try that other mouthpiece. Take risks. Your practice time is all about you. No one really cares what you sound like in a practice room. Besides, if someone has time to be bothered by what you sound like in a practice room, they should probably be practicing themselves.

And Finally…

Rehearsals are not for individual practice.

I repeat.

Rehearsals are not for individual practice.

When you show up to a rehearsal, you should already know your part and what is going on around you. Rehearsals allow the conductor to communicate musical ideas with the ensemble. If you show up to rehearsal and are fumbling through your part, then you wont be able to shape the music to the best of your ability. And then the rehearsal becomes a sectional. Nobody likes that.

So, know your part before rehearsal.

Happy practicing.