No truer words were ever spoken than the phrase that I lifted off of a Ringo Star Tune, “You have to pay your dues, if you want to sing the blues, ‘cause you know it don’t come easy”. What that means is that no matter what career path you choose, there will come a point when you will have to work your “butt off” to achieve your goal whether it is to become a doctor, lawyer, or CEO, etc. Of course, this also applies to becoming a professional musician.
Becoming a better musician is a cumulative process. I have had two basic types of flute students over the years. The first type might practice for 1-2 hours on Monday but then not practice again until Thursday or Friday. When I asked them how much did they practice for the week they would tell me that they got in 4-6 hours for the week. But when I pinned them down on how many days they practiced, they told me 2-3 days out of 7.
My 2nd type of flute student practiced 1/2-2 hours a day, but practiced every day. The total practice time for the week might the same as the 1st student but having the practice spread out through the week is what is most important.
It is a documented fact that when we practice something on the flute for the first time the information is stored only in the short-term memory. After 10-15 minutes of practicing, the pattern becomes easier and we think that we got it down. Now here is the catch! Let’s say that you do not practice again for a few days. And then you finally get around to practicing that same pattern, and you find out that when you attempt to play it, the fingers will not allow you to do it. You feel like you are looking at it again for the first time. Does this sound frustrating and familiar?
The problem is that the data from your first practice session never made it to your long-term memory. Believe it or not, this is how many young musicians practice. This is no different than for someone who tries to cram for a test the night before, only to discover the next day when they start to take the test, they realize that they forgot everything they studied the night before! Same thing!
It actually takes doing the same repetitive thing over and over for several consecutive days in a row and only then does the data transfer over to the long-term memory! In other words, you have to practice the same thing around the same tempo every day for several consecutive days for it to end up in your long-term memory! Once you have it at a slow tempo, then you GRADUALLY start to crank the tempo up. Not only are you gathering data for the brain but you are also developing muscles/tendons and other tissue.
Here is a perfect example on how to practice correctly. At one of the universities that I taught at, the piano teacher’s studio was right next to my flute studio. Even though the walls had insulation I could still hear him “somewhat” when he practiced. He was a monster pianist! He had a DMA in piano performance from The Cincinnati School of Music and could play anything. My office was next to his for several years. He always practiced the same way! When he was starting out learning a new piece, he always took these steps:
- He would start out with playing one hand and VERY slowly work through a few bars at a time, then the next few bars and so on. After a few minutes he would play with the same hand through the entire part he had been working on, taking care not to play anything fast, just working through the patterns and rhythms.
- Then he would start back at the beginning and this time, using the other hand, and would follow the same steps he did with the first hand.
- Next, he would put both hands together and practice it even slower taking care not to tense up the fingers, just working through it.
That entire process may have taken him one to two hours, and he may have only been looking at the first part of the song! At the next practice session, he would review what he did for the previous practice session before going on to new parts. It may take him a week or longer before he even worked through the entire movement at that super slow tempo.
Now, here is the secret to what he was doing.:
- He always practiced and reviewed what he did the previous day before going on and working on new material.
- By reviewing the music every day before adding new material, he was transferring the data from his short-term memory to his long-term memory and building up muscle memory also.
Now what he did next completely brought home the trophy. Once he could play through an entire movement at some kind of unified tempo, he immediately started using the sacred metronome (I know, we all have a love/hate relationship with it). He would always start extremely slow and then (ever so slowly) he would begin to crank up the tempo (raising the tempo one notch at a time). He usually started his new music three to four months out from the performance date (either a solo piano recital or soloing with an orchestra). He would always work it out so that usually about a month away from his performance, he was at tempo and really cooking. He would take the extra time to work on the finishing touches of the music. He also always memorized his entire program of music!
Now keep in mind that he usually had an hour’s worth of music for each performance. That is thousands of measures of music that he had to work on during this time. Typically, he was already practicing when I got to the university by 8:00AM and when I left in the evening he was practicing again. He would practice before his piano lessons, between his lessons, and after he was through for the day. Despite that he was a full-time piano teacher at the university, he probably practiced more than six to eight hours each day. Over the weekends he would be in his studio all day practicing. Over the years (as I taught at different universities), the above example was by no means unique! Every professional musician I worked with had the same practice habits and dedication. I was no different!
When I worked on my DMA in flute performance (UGA) I was attending school full-time, teaching adjunct at two different colleges, and had a private teaching studio with sixty students but still managed to get in between six to ten hours each day. This is what it takes for professional musicians!
Now before everyone throws their flute into the garbage can, let’s put this in prospective. Let’s gear this down. So, what is the bottom line.
- Regular practice (6-7 days each week)
- Always review before learning new music (to build the transfer of data from short-term to long-term memory).
- Set aside a regular time you will be left alone and you can put all of your mental energy into your practicing. Playing in your band class does not count toward practice time!
Suggestions for Practice
Beginner:
If you are a beginner, try to practice 20-30 minutes each day. If you cannot play that long, break it up and split your practice to twice each day.
Intermediate:
An intermediate flutist (7th-8th grade) should try to get in 30-45 minutes each day.
Medium-Advanced:
For a student at this level (9th-10th grade), they should be putting in up to 45-60 minutes each day.
Advanced:
Advanced students (11th-12th) should be practicing 1-2 hours each day.
Now, the practice times I outlined above are just guidelines. I have had dozens of flute students at the high school level practice several hours each day. Some of them are now professional flutists that play in full-time professional orchestras. I have several former students who have gone on to earn their DMA in flute performance also. There is a saying that “You literally get what you ask for.” What that means is that the more effort you put into an endeavor the more you will get out of it!
I will get into what to practice in another flute tip so stay tuned!