Practice

Why is practice so important?  Playing an instrument involves  many different skills and many different muscles in your body.  You are asking these muscles to do things they have never done before and to work together in ways they never have before, and this takes practice.  Practice is simply giving your body a chance to repeat these skills until they become easy and automatic.

How much should I practice?  Beginners should practice 10-15 minutes at a time, at least 4 times per week.  Advanced students should practice 15-20 minutes at a time, at least 4 times per week.  Students with private teachers and/or who are involved in groups such as MCYO or PVYO will practice for longer amounts as determined by your private teacher.

I have trouble remembering to practice--what should I do?  The very best thing you can do is schedule your practice time.  Pick a time that you are home and available to practice and make it part of your daily routine.  For instance, you could set the 15 minutes after dinner as your daily practice time.  Write it in on your homework planner and check it off every day that you do it.  This way you think of it like homework and you see it on your to-do list every day.

What should I practice?  Every practice session should consist of three things.  First are warm-up activities, such as buzzing on a mouthpiece if you are a brass player, sustaining long tones on clarinet or flute, or bowing in front of a mirror for string players.  Second, work on the exercises Mr. Vaughn assigned for your homework that week.  Find the most difficult measures and work on them slowly before trying the whole exercise or piece.  Finally, end with something fun!  Play your favorite piece so that you always end on a happy note.