Now Isn’t That Nice…..Amy’s Rules for Instrumental Practice.
When it comes to practicing—-putting a whole lot of time in doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting ahead. You can practice for an eternity and still come out smelling like……..rose?! (I hope you already know that joke!) Time is irrelevant, it’s how you practice that counts. Here are some suggestions:
1. Make sure you give your body time to warm up—Try to spend a least 10 minutes doing stretches–or any type of
specialized warm up for your instrument (vocal included). Remember—I developed carpal tunnel and tendonitis because I
didn’t follow this rule.
2. Take out your metronome—You gotta have one. It’s an exercise in itself to stay on tempo.
3. Start out by playing some great scales—This should be the technical side of your practice. Practice your scales and/or etudes.
If you don’t have scales to play for your instrument—I’m sure that you have a technical exercise or two you can work on:)
4. Work on a performance piece—Start to work on a performance piece, one measure at a time. Pay attention to your tone, tempo
and make sure you’re following all those little music terms you find measure per measure. If you don’t know what they mean, I have a music dictionary link on the resources page. It also might be a good idea to record yourself playing. I know that sometimes when en route—we don’t play what we hear. Give it a try–you’ll only get better.
5. Site read—Site read some new music. Give yourself a challenge.
6. Record your practice—After you’re done, make a journal and write down what you practiced and how long you practiced it.
If you do all of the above, I believe that you will only get better and better. Before long, you will be knocking off the socks of all your friends–give it a try.
