How long do you practise?
I never have enough time to practise as I always have tonnes of homework/coursework to do, I try to do at least 30 minutes a day even if it means not doing some homework, but in the holidays I can find time to practise for an hour and a half. How do you manage the flute homework (or work) balance?
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Liz
What a good topic. I hope lots of people offer their thoughts.
I always suggest to the people I teach that they first of all draw themselves up a timetable and see if they can fit a practice slot in.
The other thing I suggset is when they are doing homework/coursework/revision to have their flute out and music ready on the stand. Then have a timer of some sort. Set themselves the goal of doing 20 minutes homework/coursework/revision then do 10 minutes flute practice, then 20 minutes homework/coursework/revision and 10 minutes flute practice, etc. This way time isn't wasted. If you watch yourself when you are working you'll notice you waste time in all sorts of ways - getting a drink, sharpening a pencil, stroking the cat, checking Facebook, etc. If a time restraint is put on what you are doing, you get much more done as you are focussed. Also what a nice reward for a bit of hard work - flute playing!
steve_mansfield
It's a great topic - and for me, it's less about duration, more about ways of focusing the practice. Regularity is vital, ideally the same time each day (get a practice rhythm hard-wired into your day, that fits with your own rhythm) and half an hour of really focused practice beats an hour of "cruising practice" every time. An hour a day, split into two halves, either some time apart from each other, or at least with a 10 minute half time break to recharge the brain, works better than a continuous hour (of course, that principle can be applied to longer stretches if relevant) . Trevor Wye's 'practice plan' is a good template. Also key is knowing when to stop on any item you've really been struggling with. If it's simply not working, put it aside. Do something else. You clearly aren't meant to crack it today. If (finally!) you play that "impossible" bar or piece of passagework perfectly, after hundreds of attempts, I've always remembered Emma Williams wise advice - well done, but now DON'T be tempted to try to play it again in that practice session. Enjoy the morale boost of having broken it at least once, and give it another go next session. Finally, if tired, just settle for scales, familiar exercises (e.g. Reichert) and tone work - never a waste of time. Don't try to scale challenging technical heights or the delights of the fourth octave when feeling jaded, still less if unwell. It won't work and you'll likely just get demoralised.
Finally, don't waste practice time on the 99 bars you know very well you can play. It's a cop-out that may flatter the ego, but really it just wastes precious time. Take on that wretched bar that is still standing in the way of being able to perform the whole thing. A great tip I got from one teacher was to photocopy that bar, cut it out and stick it on a sheet of plain paper. There are then no surrounding bars or anything else to distract from it, and it virtually becomes, for a while, a minipiece in itself. All your eye focus is forced to be on it - it has to be - there's nothing else to look at or divert you. I found that worked quite well with conquering some stuff like those tricky licks in Rutter's Waltz and the bravura runs in the final parts of In Ireland - that kind of thing.
Steve
Dawkes Music
I think Liz is correct when she talks about being efficient with time. It's true of work/revision and also of your practice time. It's better to do 30 minutes effective practicing than 60 minutes of poor practice...i'm sure your teacher can help with tips on efficient practicing.
You'd think working in the Music Industry and for a woodwind & brass company would make practice time easier...think again! Retail is the same in any industry and can be very time consuming...dare I say it sometimes the last thing I want to do after a long week is see any more musical instruments, let alone practice one :)
Sam @ Dawkes
Dani
I study only music and english, so i can practice a lot!! but i have english homeworks and every day i have to study many solfege lessons, so i try to study my flute lessons for two hours or more, but sometimes it's not enough and i try to play two hours in the morning and two more in the afternoon, cause i have a lot of things to practice!!it's hard but it's also a lot of fun!! =)
BecksyBoo
Thank you for those tips. I get distracted by my little sister and brother and by the next door's neighbours cat, Gemma. My Mummy is always telling me that my practise time could take me half the time it does. I must try not getting distracted then I can stroke the cat and play with my brother and sister for as long as I like!
Sam Banks
I pratise flute for about a hour then move onto piano, then recorder, then oboe, then clarinet, then guitar! and that... usually takes 3 hours!
mysongislaughter
I have to juggle homework, coursework, revision, numerous extracurricular activities and saxophone and piano practice alongside flute, so I feel your pain. I've worked out how much I think I should be practising every evening (1 hour) and if I can't do that, I'll do half an hour. Some days, I'll be so busy/tired/ill/lazy (usually the latter) that I don't practice at all, but I try to play SOMETHING every day, even if it's just sax at a band practice. My theory is that you've got to do your best, but not at the extent of schoolwork because you can practice in the holidays but by the holidays you've missed a coursework deadline.
Nicola
There are some good tips here. One thing which I find infuriating is wanting to practise when I can't e.g. in the morning, when everyone else is asleep. I've not really found a solution to this...
I might try the tip about photocopying a particular bar. I have tried before to block out the other bars by putting paper over them but always tempted to do something a bit easier.
Nicola
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