Posted by Arnold on March 06, 2003 at 16:26:03:
In Reply to: Practicing tips posted by Alan Herold on March 05, 2003 at 18:54:58:
These are simply my opinions: Time isn't always the answer. While it probably makes you feel good to tell people you practice 6 hours a day you may be wasting tons of time just to pad your ego. Be as efficient as possible. Have a very structured idea of what you want to do. Make decisions about what you will be working on before you touch your horn for that practice session. Work on small digestible chunks with the metronome. Play it correctly 3 times in a row and them bump up the Met two beats per minute. This process may feel very slow and tedious but if you stick with it, in the long run you will know the music inside and out. Much like the tortoise and the hair fable, slow and steady practice wins the race. Keep track of your progress. Write down daily metronome markings so that you can see why it is worth it to do it this way. Work on things you can't play. Put your ego aside and accept that you have to sound bad before you can sound good. Stick with it. Be patient with your growth. Don't assume you have to "make it" by a certain age. There are many of us late bloomers out there. Know that it is a long and winding road to get where you want to be.Throw yourself the occasional bone and just play some of your favorite music. Not working on, just playing this music, for fun. This is good for the soul. Push your range, technique and musicality, daily! And be sure to take care of your chops, playing your horn well at 50 is much more impressive than 6+ hours of practice a day now. Perhaps this is just my slant from being in a conservatory where more practice must be better, right?
Arnold