Practice Log Stardate: 319730.76
 

Practice makes perfect, well it at least makes for a better semester!  And we discussed that very thing today.  After our warm up, the dreaded "P" word was discussed in all its glory.  Here are some things we came up with:

1. I want you to put together a daily "Practice Log" (thus, all the Trekian references).  Don't spend much time on it, and it doesn't need to be fancy, but do be honest and record aspects of each of your practice sessions throughout the week.  Here's the suggested composition:

a. Date of practice session

b. Time of beginning and ending of each aspect of the session.

c. Your rating as to the effectiveness of each aspect.

In this way, we can analyze your practicing at each lesson and determine methods of improving.

2. Write down a schedule for yourself for the entire week, each week.  Suggested by Katie, this is a good method for allowing yourself to find actual times in your schedule to practice, and then sticking to it! Very important!

3. Plan each session.  Don't go into a practice session "cold" and just hope for the best.  Plan exactly what you hope to accomplish and then stick to your plan.  There is SO much to practice that it can quickly become overwhelming without a plan.

4. You should divide your practice time into two daily areas:

a. Maintenance

Warm up

Flexibility exercises

Articulation exercises

Technique exercises

Scales

b. New Stuff

Studio Assignment

Ensemble Music

Transcribing

Improvisation Chord/Scale Tools and Vocabulary

5. Budget AT LEAST two hours per day for all of this.  You will probably want to budget more!

REMEMBER:

"The rate and amount of your improvement as a musician is directly related to the amount and quality of your practice time!"

Happy Practicing!

 Membership in ITA

For more good reasons on becoming a member of the International Trombone Association, go to this link:

  Really Good Reasons