# Practice *adapted from writing by Dr. Steven Hemphill of Northern Arizona used in the Kansas State University Percussion Handbook* ## How to Practice Schedule practice at the same time each day and treat it like a job or a class. Keep all materials — method books, literature, stick/mallet bag, metronome, pencils, notebook, manuscript paper — in one place, ready for every session. A practice journal helps carry goals from one session to the next. Define immediate goals for every session. What is your greatest weakness right now? Which technical problems deserve the most attention? Keep long-term goals in view and let your short-term goals serve them. ## How to Warm Up Stay physically relaxed. Warm up completely with a proven technical routine. Check your arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, back, neck, and face for tension — tension inhibits flow and causes exhaustion. Mind your posture and breathing. Start each day with a familiar, comfortable piece, then move to harder work while staying relaxed everywhere. ## Slow, Careful Practice Slow practice is one of the most important tools on any instrument. Practicing faster than you can play accurately means practicing mistakes — and learning them. Always practice at a tempo that produces correct playing, then increase speed progressively. The discipline this takes is a major musical commitment. ## Frequent, Short Breaks Repetitive-motion injuries are common among musicians. Take brief breaks during every session: step away from the instrument, hands empty, and gently flex your shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, and fingers. Breaks also keep you mentally fresh — concentration is what makes a session productive. ## Using the Metronome Set the metronome where you can play a phrase easily, without mistakes. Play it several times. Move up one or two notches. Repeat until you reach the marked tempo. If mistakes appear, slow back down. Internal timekeeping — a clock-steady pulse — is crucial to performance. The metronome (or a drum machine or sequencer) builds it. ## Repetition Divide the music into short phrases — one measure to a line or two. Repeat each phrase many times, always playing into the start of the next phrase so the connections don't suffer later. Repeat technical exercises (scales, arpeggios, sequences, rudiments) many times and at all tempi, especially extremes. Check for flow and relaxation at MM = 60, 90, and 120. Repeat a pattern for 2–3 minutes, not just 10 or 20 times. ## Kinetic Awareness Through controlled repetition, focus on the feel and motion of playing — without watching your hands or a mirror. Tactile sensation builds accuracy and relaxation. Repeat passages for three or four minutes at a time, without pause, and let body memory form. ## Staying Alert Aim beyond muscle memory ("autopilot"): stay aware of physical activity, sound, and sensation. A kitchen timer keeps your attention on the music instead of the clock. ## Over-Compensation Practice difficult passages *above* the marked tempo. If you can play it faster than required, you can relax and play more expressively at performance tempo. You can also recompose a passage into a harder exercise: add ornamentation, widen intervals, double material between hands. Use alongside [[#Slow, Careful Practice]]. ## Always Play Musically Practicing is a lifelong process — demand musical quality in everything you play. Strive for a singing style with artistic qualities that speak. Enjoying your instrument's sound is a prerequisite for real concentration. **Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.** ## The Practice Doctor — An Analogy for Practicing Treat practice like a doctor's office: you are the doctor, the piece is the patient — except the patient can't say where it hurts. Your ears decide. - The "doctor" identifies an area with a technical or musical problem. - The "doctor" examines the area and diagnoses it. - The "doctor" prescribes a dose of musical exercise: - extract a few notes and repeat the fragment many times - play the fragment very slowly, focusing on the specific difficulty - work it slow to fast, incrementally, with the metronome - play it very slowly, emphasizing a specific detail - play it with harder substitute material (over-compensation) - play it above the required tempo - play it at extreme dynamics (ppp or fff) - vary its direction, emphasis, shape, and articulation - invent an original exercise targeting the technique in question - The "doctor" re-examines the patient: play the passage in its original context several times. - Then either: a) re-diagnose and continue treatment, or b) declare the patient cured and find the next issue. ## Memorizing Memorizing gets easier with practice and experience. Repetition is key — and memorize all musical details (including stickings) from the outset. Do not memorize notes first and musicality later; see and hear the whole work intact. If memorizing is troublesome, follow steps 1–4, then add any of 5–12: 1. Learn the music until it is fairly comfortable. It doesn't need to be up to tempo yet. 2. Practice one phrase at a time at about half tempo. Repeat each phrase twenty to thirty times. Repeat this over two or three days to confirm correct memorization. 3. Combine phrases into longer units, repeating many times. 4. Bring the music up to proper tempo. 5. Study the music away from the instrument (mental practice). 6. Sing the music, and sing back passages without looking at the page. 7. Write the music out from memory. 8. Check the page occasionally to catch anything learned incorrectly. 9. Evaluate recordings of your playing (audio and/or video). 10. If technically manageable, play the work "cold" at the start of several sessions. 11. Develop your own concentration exercises. 12. Memorize short etudes against the clock, as briefly as possible.