MAXIMIZING PRACTICE SESSIONS

Here are a few things to do to help establish a sense of rhythm.

Go for a walk with your metronome on and walk to it. It is good to do this everyday. Pick a metronimic setting that is a good comfortable pace for you, then walk to that every day until that beat is firmly established in your mind without the metronome, then move up a couple of clicks and establish that one.	When taking naps, see if you can sleep to the metronome. Some people find it very difficult to sleep to the noise.	Keep a metronome in your pocket or purse and turn it on from time to time while driving or other times when it is not going to drive others crazy.

Helpful Hints

One of the most helpful hints I ever received for maximizing practice time was to use the "click" method for a passage that is giving you trouble. Find the note that is giving you the most trouble. Slow the tempo to at least half. Do not hesitate to slow the passage more if that is what it takes to play acurately. Build the passage. Play that note, then that note plus the note before, then than note plus the one before plus the one after. Continue this process until you have accomplished the measure or passage of difficulty. Now move the metronome up a click or two and try the whole passage. If you play it well, then click it up a couple of more clicks. If you had difficulty at the new tempo, then build the passage again. Repeat this process, moving the tempo up a click or two each time until you reach the tempo you intend to use. It doesn't hurt to work on the passage a little over tempo, too, but don't make a goal of an inacurate tempo. It is only a tool.

Practicing in front of a mirror is very helpful to check your posture, your positions, to look for stress points, and to see that you are not starting any bad habits. This is a good posture for most instruments; Sit to the forward edge of you chair, not leaning with your back to the back of the chair. How far forward you sit will depend on the instrument you play. Sit up straight. Plant your feet firmly on the ground. For some instruments it helps to have one foot a little more forward than the other. The point is to be solid. A good posture will aide your alertness, help keep your spine healthy, support breathing, and will cause your audience or conductor to be more attentive to your playing. Yes, string players, you need to use good breathing habits, too.

I find that it is helpful to keep a journal from your lessons. This is an area that I am also learning to improve. My lesson journal has pages that I created from the computer with places for date, payment, comments, scales, pieces worked on, suggestions and techniques worked on. I scribble quick notes while my teacher talks. On the backside, I jot down questions for the next lesson, reminders to myself about things that may have given me trouble, or whatever else I feel I need to note. I keep blank manuscript paper in the back of the notebook. If my teacher wants to notate something or if I want to make manuscript notes of something he taught me, I just move that manuscript next to the appropriate lesson page. Journals by their nature are personal, so have fun creating your style.