Being Practical about Music Practice

Articles on Music | Topics: music, musical

by Nathaniel King

Being Practical about Music Practice

You get out of music practice what you put into it. Although you cannot expect to be an overnight talent in most cases, you can increase your performance power by the way you practice.

Being practical about music practice involves a variety of aspects. In order to get the most out of your music practice, you should keep in mind the following:

Remember to warm up before practice. A musician who doesn't warm up before practice is similar to a track star who doesn't stretch before a meet. Those who warm up before practice often learn quicker than those who do not. Not only that, but they are apt to perform better as well. Warming up before practice will calm your nerves and loosen you up. This is very important in order for you to get the most out of your music practice.

Set realistic goals for yourself when you practice. For example, you may not be able to play every single song in a music book after one hour. In some cases, especially for long scores of classical music, it may take you weeks to master it. Therefore, just concentrate on one section of the music and make that the amount that you will learn for that time period.

Strategize when learning a difficult section of music. One example of a practice strategy would be to play a difficult phrase of music over and over again until you conquer that difficult fingering pattern. Likewise, you can play that difficult part of the music first at a slower tempo, and then each time you practice the song increase the tempo. Soon you will be playing the song in the tempo it is supposed to be in.

Analyze the various components of the piece of music you are practicing. You should first look at the key signature and see how many sharps and flats are in the music. Along with checking the key signature, you should peruse the music and spot any "accidentals". Accidentals are notes that are in a song that are not part of the original key in which the song was written. Often this involves composing a melody of a song with notes that are raised a half a step lower or higher than in the key signature.

Accidentals in music are often signified in one of three ways. Those ways are as follows:

By a sharp sign, which means the pitch of the note played is raised a half step,

By a flat sign which signifies that a note is lowered a half step,

By a natural sign which means that the note returns to the original pitch designated by the key signature.

Accidentals are not really accidents, but a figure of speech for notes that do not originally belong in a certain key signature. However, someone could accidentally play them wrong if not careful. Noting these in music and playing them correctly each time takes careful analysis.

When you are analyzing a sheet of music you also want find out what style the music is played in, how fast you should play it, and in what timing the music should be played. You will also find other instructions, such as to go back to the beginning of the song written in the music. In order to know what to expect out of a piece of music you should look it over before practicing.

Quote of the Day

... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education.... The three R’s, a little music and a good deal of dancing, a first rate dress-maker and a bottle of magnolia balm, are quite enough generally to render charming any woman possessed of tact and the capacity for worshipping masculinity.

—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)

Practice as often as possible. If you are a serious musician and you want to pursue music as a career you need to practice every day if you have the time. Many professional musicians, in fact, practice several hours a day. They are dedicated to their task. Most successful musicians have a defined and regimented repertoire that they usually follow while practicing.

A typical practice schedule should consist of a variety of components. These components are as follows:

--Warm-up: Most successful musicians will run through scales, chords, arpeggios, and book warm-up exercises before tackling a difficult piece of music.

--Speed Building: One aspect of practice while warming up and practicing songs is to build your speed. During warm-up you can play chord progressions first at a slow speed and then work your way up to as fast of a speed as possible. This same principle should be applied when you are attempting to learn a difficult song.

--Sight Reading: Sometimes during practice it is good to challenge yourself by playing through a piece of music you have never played before. This will help build your site reading skills, and will help you learn new music faster and faster.

--Rhythm training: This is a very important aspect of music, especially if you are not playing solo. You need to help yourself learn how to keep a rhythm so you can play the music in the correct timing. Using a metronome during practice or counting the beats of a measure to yourself in your head will help you during practice.

--Ear training: It is important to teach yourself how to hear various chords so you know when others are playing what chord they are playing. This is very useful if you are asked to play a song that you have never played before and someone wants you to play it on the spot. The more practice you get the better off you are.

Practice music that is your level. This is one of the most important aspects of practice. If you are practicing music that is too easy for you will not advance your skills as a musician. If you are practicing music that is way beyond your level you may never do well and get discouraged. Be practical and learn music at your level.

Attend lessons regularly. If you show up to lessons a minimum of once a week this will greatly help improve the quality of your playing. Taking lessons helps you learn new techniques in order to make performing all types of music easier for you.

Most musicians are not overnight talents, but instead people who have developed their musical skills over a period of several years. If you want to be a seasoned musician you need to take to heart the importance of a regular practice and to practice in a way that will help improve you as a musician.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Being Practical about Music Practice" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by MusicInstrumentsCds.com.

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