My How to Practice Series

Recently I did a 4 week deep dive on how to practice over on the QuickStart Clarinet YouTube channel, and I compiled it all into one organized page to make it really easy for you to access.

Click Here to get to my How to Practice Page (www.quickstartclarinet.com/practice)

I will also be adding any future practice resources I put together onto that page as well, so it can be a one stop spot for all of my best practice resources.

I am all about being efficient in the practice room, so I hope this proves to be a useful asset to you!

If you prefer reading over watching videos, here is a quick run down of one of the videos, my Top 10: Practice Tips. You can also go to the practice page to get a download of The Ultimate Practice Guide, which has written instructions on how to use it as well!

Here are my my Practice Tips:

Organize
1. Set Goals - Know what your long term goals are so you have something motivating you to get into the practice room, and you know what you are aiming for once you get there.

2. Plan Your Time - Have specific times that you practice and have specific things to accomplish in that time. Get in, get out and make progress.

3. Warm-Up - No matter how much you need to cram for, or how much you just want to play your music, do not skip warming-up and working on the fundamentals!

Simplify
4. Slow Down - This allows your brain to process more information, including noticing more of the mistakes you are making.

5. Break It Down - Take the tricky things and isolate the things that are tricky about them. Practice just the phrasing, or just the articulation, etc.

6. Build It Back Up - Once you have gone slow or isolated the tricky things, you have to gradually put them back together while maintaining the improvements you made.

Mindset
7. Less Is More - Quality is always greater than quantity. It is better to do a few phrases perfectly rather than a whole piece sloppily.

8. Don't Leave Mistakes - If you are practicing you might as well fix any issues that you hear. Don't get too bogged down, but do try to hold yourself to high standards.

9. Explore The Details - Practice is a lot more fun if you think of yourself as a detective trying to piece together a performance that would make the composer inspired. Rather than a robot trying to emulate a recording.

10. Trust The Process - It won't be easy, but if you put in time practicing with a clear intention to improve, you will improve. Do the time and trust the process.

These tips and The Ultimate Practice Guide are definitely the most actionable, but there are a few other videos focused on practicing that may be helpful for you over at www.quickstartclarinet.com/practice and depending on when you are reading this, who knows how many other useful practice resources I may have over there!

Happy Practicing,
Josh