A couple of weeks ago, I posted some musings and tips related to practicing. This week, I wanted to focus more on the mental aspect: how do you get motivated to practice? When and where should you practice? And how do you overcome those pesky problem spots?
Realtors always use the phrase “location, location, location.” So why not apply that to your practicing philosophy? Sometimes this is a difficult concept: college practice rooms can be a bit, let’s say sub-par in their comfort level and aesthetics, noise is often an issue in places such as a dorm or an apartment complex, and flautists with children–who knows when and where the opportunity will strike! However, if you have the opportunity to make your practice facility a comfortable one, that will go a long way towards making your routine a more mentally pleasant one. Try to choose a space with lots of natural light, plenty of space to move around, and a relaxing atmosphere.
And speaking of time–the bane of every musician’s existence, right? Particularly for college students and professional musicians, practice is truly part of the career requirements. Dr. Tammy Evans Yonce, Professor of Flute at South Dakota State, had this to say to Flute View magazine: “Make sure that you block off time in your schedule specifically for practicing. Avoid using it for lunch, socializing, homework, errands, sleeping, and so forth. As a musician, practicing is part of your job, so treat it with professionalism. Arrange your practice time for when you practice best. Some people love getting work done first thing in the morning before anyone else is around to be a distraction. Others work best late at night. Maybe right before or after lunch is when you’re most alert. Figure out when your most effective practice time is and make sure you schedule around that. A reasonable amount of focused practice is better than lots of unfocused practice.” (Flute View, Sept. 2014)
And lastly, there are many different philosophies for handling difficult technical passages. Here are a few that I have learned and found useful over the years:
1. Use that annoying metronome. Yes, it may seem a bit elementary, but I work well under methodical scenarios. Set a daily tempo goal, and increase the isolated passage by one click–but only if you can play it well!
2. Altering rhythms: have a difficult 16th-note passage? Swing it! Swing it backwards! Turn it into triplets. And so on. Being able to play different patterns and get them comfortably under your fingers will go a long way to playing it “normally.” Plus, admit it…it’s kinda fun.
3. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Three measures giving you trouble? Take it one at a time!