Remember to Bring your pencil to practice, lessons and rehearsals and USE it!

Presenting our 7th Annual Violettes by Becky Youth Music Composition Competition Students

Have you thought about discussing out loud why you or your child are playing music? Can you think of ways to improve your musical expressions? What do you want to communicate with your audience?

What are you cooking? I am a foodie. I cook a whole lot of exotic foods. I used to be capable of spending days preparing an ultra special dish. I am aging, and prefer to make quicker meals, even for guests. I will never be capable of dieting, even as the middle aged spread has become so difficult to shed. My solution is to have a serious exercise routine, so that I feel good about my body, and don’t even think about nibbling all day.

It is so easy to fall into the habit of playing repetitive segments without putting thought and heart into your music. Putting a small breath or space between phrases can highlight them. Varying dynamics, varying tone, tempo and possibly phrasing can add interest. Or keeping the sound exactly the same repeatedly may also be making a point. Just put thought into what your options are, and what kind of feel you want to portray to your listeners. The end result is to communicate a feeling to your audience.

What should you learn when practicing a musical instrument besides the notes? There are so many things to concentrate on during practice, that you should pick specific goals for each session. What are goals that should be included in all practices? Perhaps you should get in the habit of always practicing with good tone and intonation?

When all other practice tips for mastering a hard musical passage fail, like practice slowly, practice backwards or vary rhythm patterns, “Sleep On It” is a great valid recommendation! Neuroscience has proven it’s value. I have proved it’s worth personally over and over.

When practicing a musical instrument, you may run into deal breakers that make you so frustrated you want to quit! Have you practiced slowly, and still can’t come close to playing a difficult phrase? What can you do to lift yourself out of this misery? There are several options. Take the quiz in our previous practice tip blog. In the Practice Tip 12 blog, we discussed practicing rhythm patterns. If you are still needing help, read on.

Pointers for practicing every musical instrument are discussed in this blog. What little tricks should you remember when you are frustrated with a difficult phrase of music? These pointers are a musical gift! Take the practicing hard spots quiz below. Read and internalize the next several lessons for practicing hard spots.

Should you record yourself practicing an instrument?

I am terrified of recording myself practicing my flute, and I resist doing it, putting it off as long as I can. But I always record myself when I am nearing the end of learning a piece if I will be performing it. Once I get over the fear, and record it once, it becomes so exciting. I can fine tune my playing problems by myself. You (usually) improve with each recording.

What is the best way to learn to play by ear? Are some people naturally able to do this? What can you do to be able to play be ear?

How should you practice an instrument? What will inspire you to practice longer? Do you need to find a teacher that will teach your favorite music?

I have told this practicing story before, but I will tell it again because I don’t think anyone reads to the end of my blogs.

“…If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On...” For purposes of practicing, planning to playing music for others can inspire you to play. If you play for family or friends, it can be informal with mistakes and corrections. It is a great way to practice playing in front of people before a formal performance.

Why is it great to start classical music lessons for kids? The music repertoire covers a whole lot of technique. And one thing that is needed is to learn to love your metronome!

How do you choose a music school? How do you choose a music teacher? How long should you practice?

Whether your kids attend a music academy west or east of the Mississippi, they have to be inspired to practice. Did you pick your kids’musical instrument or let them pick out an instrument themselves? I would love to hear from you on this.

You might ask about learning music, “How can I become better at music?”, “How can I practice effectively?”, “How can I practice every day?” “How long should I practice?” This is a series about practicing to encourage and inspire. Although it is meant for children, adult music students will enjoy it too.

Music Scales - there are several reasons why it is great to warm up for practicing with scales and scale patterns. If you think of any that I missed, please write me.

What Motivates You to Practice?, including quiz for kids learning an instrument.