Becoming a better musician about what you practice each day. It is also about how you practice each day. Read the steps below to see a good basic way to practice.
- Warm up your brain. Take 5 minutes to review note names and key signatures. You can do this at this music theory website.
- Breathe. Take a moment to do breathing exercises. If you don't breathe well, you have no shot at playing well. If there are no exercises that you do in band classes, just try taking several deep breaths in and out. Be relaxed as you breathe in. Be relaxed as you breathe out. After a few times, breathe in and then blow the wind from your body.
- Buzz. Get your mouthpiece and buzz a song you know for 2 minutes. It can be something you know from your iPod or phone or the radio or television. Just be sure you are buzzing with music that is playing at the same time. Your goal is to match the sounds from the music playing.
- Play a couple scales. Scales aren't always fun. But the better you get at playing in different keys and with a clear articulation, the easier time you will have with learning new music.
- Improve music. Instead of playing your band music from the beginning to the end, go to the parts you have trouble with. Focus on making the parts better. Here is an effective way to practicing music you find challenging:
- Always use a metronome.
- Go slow enough that you can play the right rhythms and right notes.
- If rhythm is a problem, try clapping or counting the rhythm out first.
- If notes are a problem, finger (or slide) through the music slowly a few times until you know you have the right fingers or slide position.
- Be patient. Getting better is not an instant achievement. It takes time to build the skills to do something right a lot of times. Think of how many times you probably fell before you learned how to walk.
Hang in there! Don't give up. And ask questions in the comment section below or to your music teacher at school.
Be better today.
||: Sing. Buzz. Play. :||
-Mr. Byars
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