What do I practice?

Recently I hosted my first chamber music festival, here at my home in Texas. Maybe I can talk about that later, but for now I just wanted to share a document that I made in lieu of the event- a sheet that I posted in each of the students practice rooms. After making the page, I realized- Hey! These are good reminders!

One is now hanging in my practice room.

What do I practice???

Find a problem à Determine why it happenedà Decide how/practice to prevent it from happening again

Intonation

·         If something is not in tune, check with your open strings for a centered pitch

·         If you notice a note is sharp, play it lower the next time. Or vice versa. Repeat until it is consistently in tune. (Example: practice a shift until you can get the shift in tune 7 times in a row)

Rhythm

·         Have I counted out difficult rhythms?

·         Have I used a metronome to find where I have a tendency to rush or slow down?

·         Do I know how my rhythm fits in with the other instruments?

Dynamics

·         Am I following all the printed dynamics? Do I understand their character?

·         Am I conscious of my dynamics throughout? Do I know who has the melody at any time?

Bow use / Articulation

·         Am I playing in the right part of the bow? Is my bow straight?

·         Am I using the correct bow stroke? Am I using the bow for the right kind of articulation?

Phrasing/Musical Direction

·         Where is the high point of the phrase? Am I giving the music a shape?

·         Use your most natural instrument (your voice) to sing the music to find direction. Sometimes technical difficulties limit our abilities to phrase; singing helps you find a musical line.

*No matter what you are practicing, you should always be making a beautiful sound!

*Listen to yourself! Your ear is your best friend!

*Don’t repeat something if it’s wrong. This is drilling the wrong information into your mind and body. Correct your mistakes, and then repeat the corrected version.

*Practice technical passages SLOWLY. Don’t just get the notes right.  Strive for cleanliness and evenness.  If you make a mistake most of the time, you are practicing at a tempo that is too fast.

*Make little goals at the beginning of each practice session, not unachievable ones. Practice for these goals and be happy when you do reach them. Keep a positive attitude.