What should you be hearing when your student is practicing?
Breathing exercises (slow, calm inhales and exhales of varying lengths) to build and stretch lung support, just as a runner would stretch his legs before running.
Instrument specific mouthpiece noises (brass mouthpiece buzzing and sirens, woodwind mouthpiece long tones, pitch bending, and articulations). As an outside listener you will not find these noises pleasant, but they are essential to building proper tone develop on the whole instrument.
Long tones: long notes held out to develop air and embouchure control in the tone quality.
Technique patterns such as scales, arpeggios, repeated articulation exercises, etc. By themselves, these will not sound like songs, but elements of these exercises will show up in every future piece that the student plays.
Pieces of music, such as music for band concerts, All-District and Region auditions, solos, and other pieces picked out by private lesson teachers.
-You should rarely hear the pieces played in their entirety (see Practicing Performing)
-Students should already know where their problem areas are and should isolate these sections. Here is a great method for tackling difficult sections of music:
*Students identify their 3 worst measures with parenthesis in pencil
*Students make 3 variations out of each measure they selected. Variations can be creative! Here a few ideas:
Rhythmic Variations
* Make all notes a single value (Whole, Half, or Quarter)
*Broken: Long-short (dotted eighth/sixteenth)
*Broken: Short-long (sixteen/dotted eighth)
*Fragmented
Dynamic Variations
*Soft when marked loud
*Loud when marked soft, etc
Articulation Changes
*Slur vs. Tongue
*Short vs. Long
*Heavy vs. Light
*Opposite of the written articulations
*Flutter tongue
Note Variations
*Play the whole measure on only one note (rhythm only)
*Leave out every other note, every third note, etc
*Play the measure backwards
*Transpose the measure to another key signature
*Students should slowly and perfectly perform each variation 3 times; if they make a mistake, they should start over and only go on to the next variation until the current one has been played 3 times in a row with no mistakes.
*After completing their variations, students should play the measure as it is written 3 times to check for improvement.
-You should hear these problem areas played very, very slowly (with a metronome; almost the entire practice session should have a metronome). Students should play tricky passages at a slow enough tempo with the metronome that they can’t make a single mistake. After slow and careful repetition, they may gradually increase the metronome tempo. Achieving a goal tempo may not be accomplished in a single sitting, possibly over a period of days or weeks.
-Other things you should hear:
*Student clapping and counting out loud the rhythm of their music with a metronome
*Humming or singing of the music
*Air playing (where air is going through the instrument while they are pressing the buttons, but no sound is coming out. This is to ensure rhythmic precision with the metronome as well as control in air speed and articulation. Also a good technique to isolate a problem area without fatiguing the embouchure)
*Saying note names out loud while pressing the buttons
*Audio recording themselves and play the recording back for personal critique
Sight-reading is the experience that happens the very first time a student plays a piece of music. It is a wonderful demonstration of their current music literacy because the students have to quickly process the music and use all of their existing skills to execute the piece to their highest ability. Sight-reading is often used as a music skill set barometer on exams and auditions, as well as annually in the state run University Interscholastic League Band Contest from 7th through 12th grades. Sight-reading is a skill that can be developed through careful analysis of the music before it is played. Sight-reading should be practiced on a regular basis to keep reading skills fresh. Students can simply find a few measures of music that they have never seen before and study it for a few seconds, then play straight through the music. Students will then evaluate how they did and make goals for improvement the next time they sight-read, such as key signature, rhythm, dynamics, etc. If students are unsure of their performance, they can record themselves playing and listen back while looking at the music to evaluate. The internet is a wonderful tool for finding music to sight-read, because any music will work and the internet has lots of it! As long as the notes are in a range that is playable by the student, it doesn’t matter what instrument the music was originally written for. Students can start with very simply music and eventually work up to much more difficult music that moves much faster. Sight-reading is also really fun because students love playing new music!
Improvisation of music is defined as composing and performing music at the same time, in other words, making it up on the spot! While many people associate improvisation with jazz music, improvisation of music was also popular hundreds of years ago with classical piano music. Students can start improvising as soon as they can make their first sounds. While it is very important for students to be literate in playing the structure of their written music, it is also very valuable for them to be creative with the notes that they know. The series of variations listed earlier are also types of improvisation.
Practicing performing and preparing for performances is a separate type of practicing than the standard day to day preparation of music and musical skills. When a student has a performance such as a recital, exam, or audition coming up, they should start transitioning their practice mode to more of a performance mode. Here are some suggestions for a successful performance:
-Now is the time to be playing the music straight through without stopping, even if mistakes are made.
-Practicing performing in front of family members, neighbors, friends, skyping grandparents and other relatives, at a local nursing home, etc. Students need to practice being nervous while they are performing and need to learn how to control their nerves and performance anxiety.
-Do a few jumping jacks or another physical activity to get the heart rate up and then play straight through the music. This is another great way for students to have to practice performing while they are out of breath. They may find that they need to reevaluate their breathing plan in the music.
-Video tape a mock performance for review.
-Practice performing at the same time that the actual performance will take place, and practice while wearing the outfit that will be worn for the actual performance. Students may find that the outfit they had in mind is too constrictive of their breathing or is otherwise uncomfortable and distracting.
-Drink plenty of water in the 48 hour window leading up to the performance. Dry mouth from dehydration and nerves is a serious detriment to woodwind and brass players.
-Eat healthy, nutritious meals leading up to the performance for a calm stomach.
-Bananas help to calm nerves.
-Don’t over practice or over warm up 24 hours leading up to the performance, at this point the music can’t be crammed and physical exhaustion should be avoided. Icing down lips will help them to recover faster.
Finish each practice session with a fun, successful song. This can be any song that the student enjoys, and doesn’t have to be a song that they are currently working on. Amy Chua, the author of “Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother” discusses the virtuous circle of work and success, the idea that kids need to see success in whatever they pursue so that they’ll want to pursue it to an even greater degree. Ending on a positive note is always the best way to finish any project.
Instrument specific mouthpiece noises (brass mouthpiece buzzing and sirens, woodwind mouthpiece long tones, pitch bending, and articulations). As an outside listener you will not find these noises pleasant, but they are essential to building proper tone develop on the whole instrument.
Long tones: long notes held out to develop air and embouchure control in the tone quality.
Technique patterns such as scales, arpeggios, repeated articulation exercises, etc. By themselves, these will not sound like songs, but elements of these exercises will show up in every future piece that the student plays.
Pieces of music, such as music for band concerts, All-District and Region auditions, solos, and other pieces picked out by private lesson teachers.
-You should rarely hear the pieces played in their entirety (see Practicing Performing)
-Students should already know where their problem areas are and should isolate these sections. Here is a great method for tackling difficult sections of music:
*Students identify their 3 worst measures with parenthesis in pencil
*Students make 3 variations out of each measure they selected. Variations can be creative! Here a few ideas:
Rhythmic Variations
* Make all notes a single value (Whole, Half, or Quarter)
*Broken: Long-short (dotted eighth/sixteenth)
*Broken: Short-long (sixteen/dotted eighth)
*Fragmented
Dynamic Variations
*Soft when marked loud
*Loud when marked soft, etc
Articulation Changes
*Slur vs. Tongue
*Short vs. Long
*Heavy vs. Light
*Opposite of the written articulations
*Flutter tongue
Note Variations
*Play the whole measure on only one note (rhythm only)
*Leave out every other note, every third note, etc
*Play the measure backwards
*Transpose the measure to another key signature
*Students should slowly and perfectly perform each variation 3 times; if they make a mistake, they should start over and only go on to the next variation until the current one has been played 3 times in a row with no mistakes.
*After completing their variations, students should play the measure as it is written 3 times to check for improvement.
-You should hear these problem areas played very, very slowly (with a metronome; almost the entire practice session should have a metronome). Students should play tricky passages at a slow enough tempo with the metronome that they can’t make a single mistake. After slow and careful repetition, they may gradually increase the metronome tempo. Achieving a goal tempo may not be accomplished in a single sitting, possibly over a period of days or weeks.
-Other things you should hear:
*Student clapping and counting out loud the rhythm of their music with a metronome
*Humming or singing of the music
*Air playing (where air is going through the instrument while they are pressing the buttons, but no sound is coming out. This is to ensure rhythmic precision with the metronome as well as control in air speed and articulation. Also a good technique to isolate a problem area without fatiguing the embouchure)
*Saying note names out loud while pressing the buttons
*Audio recording themselves and play the recording back for personal critique
Sight-reading is the experience that happens the very first time a student plays a piece of music. It is a wonderful demonstration of their current music literacy because the students have to quickly process the music and use all of their existing skills to execute the piece to their highest ability. Sight-reading is often used as a music skill set barometer on exams and auditions, as well as annually in the state run University Interscholastic League Band Contest from 7th through 12th grades. Sight-reading is a skill that can be developed through careful analysis of the music before it is played. Sight-reading should be practiced on a regular basis to keep reading skills fresh. Students can simply find a few measures of music that they have never seen before and study it for a few seconds, then play straight through the music. Students will then evaluate how they did and make goals for improvement the next time they sight-read, such as key signature, rhythm, dynamics, etc. If students are unsure of their performance, they can record themselves playing and listen back while looking at the music to evaluate. The internet is a wonderful tool for finding music to sight-read, because any music will work and the internet has lots of it! As long as the notes are in a range that is playable by the student, it doesn’t matter what instrument the music was originally written for. Students can start with very simply music and eventually work up to much more difficult music that moves much faster. Sight-reading is also really fun because students love playing new music!
Improvisation of music is defined as composing and performing music at the same time, in other words, making it up on the spot! While many people associate improvisation with jazz music, improvisation of music was also popular hundreds of years ago with classical piano music. Students can start improvising as soon as they can make their first sounds. While it is very important for students to be literate in playing the structure of their written music, it is also very valuable for them to be creative with the notes that they know. The series of variations listed earlier are also types of improvisation.
Practicing performing and preparing for performances is a separate type of practicing than the standard day to day preparation of music and musical skills. When a student has a performance such as a recital, exam, or audition coming up, they should start transitioning their practice mode to more of a performance mode. Here are some suggestions for a successful performance:
-Now is the time to be playing the music straight through without stopping, even if mistakes are made.
-Practicing performing in front of family members, neighbors, friends, skyping grandparents and other relatives, at a local nursing home, etc. Students need to practice being nervous while they are performing and need to learn how to control their nerves and performance anxiety.
-Do a few jumping jacks or another physical activity to get the heart rate up and then play straight through the music. This is another great way for students to have to practice performing while they are out of breath. They may find that they need to reevaluate their breathing plan in the music.
-Video tape a mock performance for review.
-Practice performing at the same time that the actual performance will take place, and practice while wearing the outfit that will be worn for the actual performance. Students may find that the outfit they had in mind is too constrictive of their breathing or is otherwise uncomfortable and distracting.
-Drink plenty of water in the 48 hour window leading up to the performance. Dry mouth from dehydration and nerves is a serious detriment to woodwind and brass players.
-Eat healthy, nutritious meals leading up to the performance for a calm stomach.
-Bananas help to calm nerves.
-Don’t over practice or over warm up 24 hours leading up to the performance, at this point the music can’t be crammed and physical exhaustion should be avoided. Icing down lips will help them to recover faster.
Finish each practice session with a fun, successful song. This can be any song that the student enjoys, and doesn’t have to be a song that they are currently working on. Amy Chua, the author of “Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother” discusses the virtuous circle of work and success, the idea that kids need to see success in whatever they pursue so that they’ll want to pursue it to an even greater degree. Ending on a positive note is always the best way to finish any project.
