Guidelines for Practicing at Home
Practicing individually at home is an important and necessary way to grow as a musician. However, some students (and parents) are unsure exactly what should happen during that practice time. Here are some helpful suggestions to make sure practice time is useful and productive!
1. Find an appropriate space to practice...
Students may use the practice rooms at school any time there is a teacher present. At home, a room with a door works well for practicing, both for sound-dampening reasons, and for reducing distractions. It’s best if a student has a music stand to use, but pinning the music to a bulletin board (or taping it to a door or wall) will work too. Folding music stands are available at local music stores for around $20. Make sure that you do not read your music while it sits on a table, or other horizontal surface, as it will negatively effect your posture in and out of the classroom.
2. Schedule your practice time throughout the week...
The current practice requirement for full credit is 90 minutes per week (fewer minutes per week is worth partial credit). It’s up to you when and how much you will practice, but you will improve more if you spread out the time. You will learn more and become a better player if you practice for 15 minutes on six different days, or 30 minutes on three different days, than if you cram in an hour and a half on Sunday night. Remember, it is incredibly difficult to practice for such a long duration of time and achieve the necessary amount of focus to improve "overnight".
3. Posture is important...
Sit or stand up tall, hold the instrument up correctly, and maintain a good bow hold ALWAYS! If you find yourself to be tense in a specific area after practicing, talk to Ms. Miller the next day; it may be that you are sitting or holding the instrument incorrectly. You’ve heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect,” right? Well, it is a lie. The truth is that “Practice makes permanent.” If you always practice with bad posture, then you won’t be able to play with good posture, and your musical potential will suffer (and you'll be sore!). If it helps, put a small stuffed animal next to you or on your stand while you practice, and pretend he’s your teacher. Whenever you look at that stuffed animal, pretend that he’s reminding you to check your posture and bow hand.
4. Practicing involves more than playing through the music...
It is ok to play through each piece once or twice when you want to play for fun, but your main job when practicing is to break the work down into smaller parts. When you need a guideline to practice think of 5-5-5. First, find the 5 toughest spots in your concert music (they can be from five completely different pieces of music). Second, you practice each of these sections for 5 minutes only (use your time wisely). Finally, use a metronome to slow the music down to a more manageable tempo and play through the tough spot focusing on rhythm, pitch accuracy, bowing, and dynamics. Increase the tempo each time you play it 100% correctly. Even if you don't reach the desired tempo, make sure to play through the passage 5 times accurately at the fastest tempo you can play before moving on to a new section.
If you don't know what to practice, think about which sections we have been working on in class, and work on playing those sections perfectly. You should be practicing the challenging spots, as well as the easy spots you can already play well. This is the only way to improve, and be a better orchestra team member. Keep in mind that faster isn’t always better. It’s best to start slowly, in order to make sure every single note is accurate and perfect. Using a metronome is a great way to keep a steady tempo. There are online metronomes or you can purchase a real metronome starting at around $20.
5. Analyze the work for maximum musical results...
Are there any markings in the music you should be paying attention to? Be a good detective and find all of the dynamics, bow lifts, slurs, low or high fingerings, accidentals, tempo markings, etc. in your music. Also remind yourself about things that should be happening that are not written on the page such as vibrato, playing in tune, and keeping a steady tempo. It always helps to write reminders in your music as you practice and to find new musical markings, just like we do in class.
6. You can play other music, too!
If your school music is going well, feel free to spend some of your time playing other music. If you take private lessons, play in a youth orchestra, or play at church, you’ll want to make sure you practice that music too. Practicing scales and etudes is also a great way to improve your technique. If you would like extra music to play, there are MANY books for violin/viola/cello/bass available at school, online, or at music stores. Many students really enjoy having books that include movie themes, fiddle tunes, Disney music, etc.
7. Have fun!
Find ways to make playing and practicing more exciting and enjoyable for you. If there’s a recording available of your music, play along to the CD or online sound file. Get together with friends and play music with each other. Compose your own music, or just improvise in a key of your choice. When you’re ready, give informal “concerts” to your family and friends, to show off what you can do. Make sure you’re enjoying being a musician, since you’ve worked so hard to learn these skills on your instrument. That’s what making music is all about!
Practicing individually at home is an important and necessary way to grow as a musician. However, some students (and parents) are unsure exactly what should happen during that practice time. Here are some helpful suggestions to make sure practice time is useful and productive!
1. Find an appropriate space to practice...
Students may use the practice rooms at school any time there is a teacher present. At home, a room with a door works well for practicing, both for sound-dampening reasons, and for reducing distractions. It’s best if a student has a music stand to use, but pinning the music to a bulletin board (or taping it to a door or wall) will work too. Folding music stands are available at local music stores for around $20. Make sure that you do not read your music while it sits on a table, or other horizontal surface, as it will negatively effect your posture in and out of the classroom.
2. Schedule your practice time throughout the week...
The current practice requirement for full credit is 90 minutes per week (fewer minutes per week is worth partial credit). It’s up to you when and how much you will practice, but you will improve more if you spread out the time. You will learn more and become a better player if you practice for 15 minutes on six different days, or 30 minutes on three different days, than if you cram in an hour and a half on Sunday night. Remember, it is incredibly difficult to practice for such a long duration of time and achieve the necessary amount of focus to improve "overnight".
3. Posture is important...
Sit or stand up tall, hold the instrument up correctly, and maintain a good bow hold ALWAYS! If you find yourself to be tense in a specific area after practicing, talk to Ms. Miller the next day; it may be that you are sitting or holding the instrument incorrectly. You’ve heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect,” right? Well, it is a lie. The truth is that “Practice makes permanent.” If you always practice with bad posture, then you won’t be able to play with good posture, and your musical potential will suffer (and you'll be sore!). If it helps, put a small stuffed animal next to you or on your stand while you practice, and pretend he’s your teacher. Whenever you look at that stuffed animal, pretend that he’s reminding you to check your posture and bow hand.
4. Practicing involves more than playing through the music...
It is ok to play through each piece once or twice when you want to play for fun, but your main job when practicing is to break the work down into smaller parts. When you need a guideline to practice think of 5-5-5. First, find the 5 toughest spots in your concert music (they can be from five completely different pieces of music). Second, you practice each of these sections for 5 minutes only (use your time wisely). Finally, use a metronome to slow the music down to a more manageable tempo and play through the tough spot focusing on rhythm, pitch accuracy, bowing, and dynamics. Increase the tempo each time you play it 100% correctly. Even if you don't reach the desired tempo, make sure to play through the passage 5 times accurately at the fastest tempo you can play before moving on to a new section.
If you don't know what to practice, think about which sections we have been working on in class, and work on playing those sections perfectly. You should be practicing the challenging spots, as well as the easy spots you can already play well. This is the only way to improve, and be a better orchestra team member. Keep in mind that faster isn’t always better. It’s best to start slowly, in order to make sure every single note is accurate and perfect. Using a metronome is a great way to keep a steady tempo. There are online metronomes or you can purchase a real metronome starting at around $20.
5. Analyze the work for maximum musical results...
Are there any markings in the music you should be paying attention to? Be a good detective and find all of the dynamics, bow lifts, slurs, low or high fingerings, accidentals, tempo markings, etc. in your music. Also remind yourself about things that should be happening that are not written on the page such as vibrato, playing in tune, and keeping a steady tempo. It always helps to write reminders in your music as you practice and to find new musical markings, just like we do in class.
6. You can play other music, too!
If your school music is going well, feel free to spend some of your time playing other music. If you take private lessons, play in a youth orchestra, or play at church, you’ll want to make sure you practice that music too. Practicing scales and etudes is also a great way to improve your technique. If you would like extra music to play, there are MANY books for violin/viola/cello/bass available at school, online, or at music stores. Many students really enjoy having books that include movie themes, fiddle tunes, Disney music, etc.
7. Have fun!
Find ways to make playing and practicing more exciting and enjoyable for you. If there’s a recording available of your music, play along to the CD or online sound file. Get together with friends and play music with each other. Compose your own music, or just improvise in a key of your choice. When you’re ready, give informal “concerts” to your family and friends, to show off what you can do. Make sure you’re enjoying being a musician, since you’ve worked so hard to learn these skills on your instrument. That’s what making music is all about!
helpful resources
Tutorials/ Extra Orchestra Opportunities
Orchestra Tutor
Austin Youth Orchestra
Find Upcoming Concerts:
Austin Symphony Orchestra
Butler School of Music @ UT Austin
Austin Civic Orchestra
String Shops:
Westbank String Shop
Blackerby Violin Shop
Terra Nova Violin Shop
Orchestra Tutor
Austin Youth Orchestra
Find Upcoming Concerts:
Austin Symphony Orchestra
Butler School of Music @ UT Austin
Austin Civic Orchestra
String Shops:
Westbank String Shop
Blackerby Violin Shop
Terra Nova Violin Shop