Last time I wrote an introductory piece (see what I did there) regarding practice.
Here’s a brief recap;
1) set a goal for what you are going to practice,
2) set a goal for how long you are going to practice, and
3) set out a structure for that practice time.

This month I’ll use a 45-minute practice session as an example for how to execute the practice session using the elements I’ve just mentioned; what, how long and structure.

I’ll spend the first 10 minutes or so warming up. As a trumpeter this would include some breathing exercises (shared with my vocalist friends), lip buzzing exercises, long tones and various scales and arpeggios. Warming up is such a crucial part of practicing and is far too often overlooked or rushed through.

This really struck me as a reality back when I was in high school. I had an early morning jazz band rehearsal and barely got there in time for the first downbeat of the rehearsal. My chops were shot halfway through the rehearsal. By the way, “chops were shot” is wind instrument player-speak for “my lips and face were tired”. It’s cooler to say, “man, my chops are shot”, than to say “my lips and face are tired”. I remember apologizing to my teacher afterwards for my terrible playing and lack of endurance. He was also a trumpeter and asked with a knowing smile on his face if I had warmed up. I said no. He chuckled wistfully and said to me, “Well, there’s the answer to your problem.”  I’ve been warming up ever since. Sorry, I’ve digressed. Back to the topic at hand.

A good way to think of the warm up is to think of getting yourself physically and mentally prepared for the task at hand. If I am working on some jazz repertoire, I might use jazz scales and arpeggios as part of my warm up to get myself into that mode (the puns are all over the place, folks).

After you’ve warmed up, get into the main content of your practice. In this example, it is going to be my technical and repertoire work. I’ll spend about 20 minutes or so playing technical work. Technical work is often times based on scales and arpeggios, but in an extended fashion. Take a study in C major, for example. A regular major scale would simply be; C D E F G A B C. A technical exercise in C major may look more like; C D E, D E F, E F G, F G A, G A B, A B C, B C D C (ascending and back down). There are many books published with various technical exercises for individual instruments.

Your teacher will give you exercises from any variety of published work of your instrument. Your technical work should always have an objective. Turns, trills, ascending and descending lines over various keys create finger patterning and muscle memory that make it easier to apply to your repertoire and performance pieces. In addition, familiarity with your instrument over its dynamic range is also crucially important. You must be able to exploit the capabilities of your instrument to execute a delicate presto played softly, as much as a large fanfare played loudly. All of these elements of your playing are accomplished through your technical work. 

Now on to repertoire. The last 15 minutes or so will be spent working on my repertoire. As I mentioned before, your warm up and technical work should lend directly to your repertoire. Now let’s take a look at the finer point of how to achieve mastery of what you’re playing.

First, among any advice I can give, is take it slowly.  I cannot stress this enough.

Take. It. Slowly… no, slower… slower still. Okay, I think you’re there now.

Rushing through causes frustration and greatly slows the progress of your learning a given piece of music. But slowing it down, gives your eyes, hands, brain, and other body parts a chance to align and work together. You also have a greater chance of creating correct muscle memory by taking it slow.

It is good practice to use a metronome to keep you in check, and gradually work the tempo up as you become more familiar with the contours of the piece.

Also, pay close attention to the dynamic and articulation markings of the piece you are working on. Have a pencil nearby as well to mark tricky passages that require extra attention and focus.

That’s about it! We’ve gotten a clearer picture of what a great practice session looks like. We’ve decided on what to play, we’ve set the timer for 45 minutes and we’ve gotten into our playing; warm-ups, technical work and repertoire. Last and certainly not least – HAVE FUN!! Embrace the challenge of conquering a new piece of music – that’s the best part of the journey.