Great Article on Slow Practice

Here is a great article on slow practice from The Bulletproof Musician:

"(Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim) revealed that one of the keys to his success (and building confidence as well) is super slow practice. A process of practicing in slow motion – while being fully mindful, highly engaged, and thinking deeply in real-time about what he is doing."

Am I being mindful?
Am I highly engaged?
Am I thinking deeply in real-time?

Those are perfect questions to post on your music stand as a constant reminder.

It's easy to be engaged with a stunning sunset but recreating that in the practice room takes years of practice.

Practicing Wisdom from Picasso

“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

-Pablo Picasso

There were a few people at Northwestern who always sounded good when I walked past their practice rooms back in the day.  They were doing it wrong and are no longer in the music business.

Regularly attack what you can not do and you will be amazed at the rate of progress.

Practice Room Advice from John Wooden

"Don't activity with achievement."

-John Wooden

The above quote is the problem with practicing for time (like practice records that only note time spent.) Our goal in the practice room should not be activity, but achievement.

Every one of us can get more done in a super-focused 30-minute practice session than in a distracted 60-minute one. So hide the clock, write down exactly what you are trying to achieve in any given practice session, and don't get up until it's done.

Sam Pilafian on the Importance of Pushing Limits in the Practice Room

"If we over-train via the literature like method and etude books, we're going to know more than we need to know in order to be able to cover the parts that are put in front of us."

-Sam Pilafian

The above quote was taken from Sam's fantastic interview in A Band Director's Guide to Everything Tuba: A Collection of Interviews with the Experts.  It is a good reminder to us all that we have to encounter everything we'd ever need to do on stage (and then some!) in the practice room in order to be truly prepared.

The best bands perform full run throughs of pieces and entire programs when they are mentally and physically exhausted, yet hold themselves to the same high standards.  The people most prepared to win an audition have played the excerpts during their preparations in every possible order including the worst ones for their chops.

Anyone who makes performing look easy has a secret.  It is easy compared to what they made themselves do in the practice room.

Two Quotes to Help You Get to the Next Level

"Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is a strength."

-Ranaan Meyer

"You need to be brutally honest with yourself about what you can and can't do on the horn."

-Joe Alessi

Honest appraisal of one's abilities is the first step in improving any skill.  The key is constantly practicing both the things you can do and the things you can't do so your assessment of your own abilities is not out of date.

Do you have an accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses today?

A Practice Tip for Students by Chris Castellanos

In Boston Brass master classes I used to hear Chris Castellanos mention a really great tip to get kids to practice more and more frequently.  When he was a student, he was taught to keep his horn out of its case on his bed each day.

He shares that there was only so many times he could walk past his horn lying there, ready to play, without picking it up and at least playing a few notes on it.  He found that he played a lot more if it was staring him in the face than if it was in its case in the corner of his room.  He also has found that it works for his students too.

So leave that horn out where it is very hard to ignore it!

Going Too Far

"The place that you want to get with your playing is to where you are uncomfortable with how far you've gone."

-David Zerkel

The only way to tell if you are playing a passage too loud is to play the passage too loud.  If you are practicing, the only true way to evaluate the sounds you are making is by recording yourself and then listening to the recording.

Whenever students begin studying with me, almost to a person they are uncomfortable at first with how far I ask them to take things like dynamics and accents.  You don't know how much dynamic contrast is too much dynamic contrast until you have captured yourself playing with too much contrast via a recording.

When I first joined Boston Brass I regularly found that I was uncomfortable with what I was hearing on my side of the bell, especially concerning the amount of front to the notes and accents.  But when I listened back, I found that I was simply matching Rich Kelley on the trumpet or JD Shaw on the horn.

The proof was in the recording and it turned out that my comfort level as it related to what I heard on my side of the bell was not only not relevant but had to be actively ignored in my pursuit of simply "making it sound right."

What in your playing do you need to take too far?

Great Advice for Fighting Boredom

"If you're bored, raise your standards."

-Joe Kirtley

I heard Joe share this quote during a master class at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me ever since.  It also reminds me of a great tidbit from Marty Hackleman.

Marty does a set routine every morning.  (Note: He chooses to not call it a warm-up but rather a routine where the byproduct of that routine is warming up both his face and his mind.)  When addressing a class at George Mason a few years ago, Marty was asked about getting bored with doing the same thing every day on the horn.  His answer was typical Marty Hackleman and sheds light on why he has been as successful as he has been in his career:

(This was a few years ago so I am paraphrasing a little.)

"Every once in a while I sit down to do my routine and after a few minutes I'm really not that into it.  Whenever this happens I go downstairs, make a cup of coffee, and then go back and continue with the routine.  In the rare event that I still don't feel that into it I simply get over myself and insist that it somehow be a little better than it was yesterday.

Sometimes the only thing that's better than yesterday might be making it easier or more effortless.  But I insist that something be improved from the day before."

-Marty Hackleman

It is the ability of players and teachers like Joe and Marty to always raise their standards no matter what the circumstances that set them apart from the rest of the music world.

What standards do you need to raise today?

Daniel Coyle on the Concept of Deep Practice

“Deep practice feels a bit like exploring a dark and unfamiliar room. You start slowly, you bump into furniture, stop, think, and start again. Slowly, and a little painfully, you explore the space over and over, attending to errors, extending your reach into the room a bit farther each time, building a mental map until you can move through it quickly and intuitively.” 

-Daniel Coyle from The Talent Code

I can not recommend the book The Talent Code enough for both teachers and players alike.  It is a fascinating look at practicing and talent with lots of very easy to understand science to back it up.  A lot of it immediately ended up influencing how I approach the horn and how I teach my students.

Every musician should read this book.

Fail Better

"Fail, fail again, fail better."

-Samuel Beckett

If that's not your motto in the practice room, something is wrong.