Getting the Most out of Your Practice Session

String Pedagogy

(Written for young musicians and first published in the Scroll)

Dr. William K. Koehler
Professor of Double Bass/Music Education
Illinois State University

We all want to improve in all areas that are important to us. Of the many things we enjoy in our lives, music making is very important to us. The more we study music, one of mankind's greatest accomplishments, the more we notice our strong interest and emotional commitment to performing. As we steadily improve over time, we develop a strong desire to reach a high level.
Before we know it, this desire and excitement prompts us to devote larger amounts of time and effort to attain the musical goals that we set for ourselves. Our teachers give us valuable information to help us to improve our music-making skills. In addition to in-school rehearsals, we need to practice these newly learned techniques every day. At home, our practice sessions must be structured so that time is used efficiently. We should come away from each practice session with a strong feeling of accomplishment! Below, I have listed a number of techniques which promote successful practicing. If these techniques are implemented, they will speed along your musical development!

First, it is important to know what you want to accomplish before you start practicing. Have a clear goal and model before you sit down rather than just "going through the motions". There may be one phrase that is giving you trouble in the piece that you are working on. Devote 15 minutes exclusively to that phrase. Then play the whole piece. With each practice session, you will
notice that you are coming closer to playing the whole piece perfectly! If you are a beginner, play one part at a time before going on to the rest of the piece. 

The second point is to be aware of receiving regular instruction from your teacher. When you practice at home, remember those technical tips that your teacher gave you, and develop your ability to trust your own way of accomplishing these techniques. As we improve as musicians, we develop perception and memory of the physical movements involved in performing specific musical tasks. We use perception and memory to improve our present knowledge of how to execute these motions and how to reduce error.

Thirdly, use repetition. Repetition is a valuable tool for learning how to improve those "troublesome passages". Once a passage is learned, however, you need only devote a small amount of time to keep it. Spend time on new passages until they too are learned. Work on those difficult passages, repeating them until they are automatic! Repetition is the best way to develop
performance skills. Regular daily practice, which is distributed over the week, is best for developing a consistent technique; while concentrated doses are best for memorization. If you want to memorize a piece, it is best to devote perhaps an hour or two in one sitting (Saturday is a great day!). Fourth, mental practice is very valuable. First study the new piece of music away from your instrument (a great time might be on the bus ride home). In this way, you can give attention to all stylistic performance practices and prepare yourself mentally before you play it. You will then perform the piece with dynamics and develop your ability to perform more emotionally/stylistically. Develop your ability to hear the music in your head without playing it. Beethoven was great at this
because he developed acute deafness as he grew older. He was still able to write his great musical masterpieces because he was able to hear the music in his head without playing it! This is the mark of a true musician.

Fifth, practice difficult passages slowly. Slow practice is the key to rapid technical progress. All the mechanical glitches are worked out when playing in slow motion. Make a game out of it by slowing down all aspects of playing (tempo, vibrato, shifting, trills, and left hand finger action). Practice at slower tempo and gradually increase the tempo to develop rapid
technique!

I hope you will incorporate these five practicing suggestions into your daily practice routine. Pass this information on to your musician friends, and discuss with your friends the ways that you personally learned to accomplish each musical goal. Everyone has their own way of learning, so, learn from each other as well! Good luck and let me know how things are going by writing
me at Illinois State University! (W.K.K.)

I encourage the readers of this article to photocopy it and pass it on to students. They can tape it onto the first page of their music books.