Practice

None of my band student currently study privately so I struggle with teaching them how to practice.  I want to try to avoid being their private teacher and keeping up with countless lesson plans.  I want to teach them how to do it.

Today we did this:

Practicing Practice:

Winds (55 minutes)

Warm-up: 25 minutes

1. Set up in a place with as minimal distractions as possible.  Put your phone on my desk or in your backpack.
2. Start with scale exercises. (5 minutes)
1. F major scale in groups of 3
2. F major scale in groups of 5
3. Bb major scale long tones.  20 seconds each with crescendo.  10 seconds rest.  Up and down. (8 minutes)
4. 5 minutes of F quarter notes.  50 seconds on, 10 seconds off.
5. 5 minutes of F major scale (2 octave practice)

Practice: 20 minutes

1. Groove Blues.  Practice articulations. (8 minutes)
2. IND Line.  Learn first three lines. (10 minutes)
3. Review Groove Blues (2 minutes)

Reading: 5 minutes

1. Read the first thing you find in forScore.  No skipping of parts. (5 minutes)

Cool-down: 5 minutes

1. Review F major scale exercises.

Percussion

Warm-up: (6 minutes)

1. Set up in a place with as minimal distractions as possible.  Put your phone on my desk or in your backpack.
2. 8’s with metronome. (2 minutes).
3. Single paradiddles with metronome (2 minutes)
4. 5 stroke rolls with metronome (2 minutes)

Exercises: (15 minutes)

1. Roll crescendos with metronome (10 seconds up, 10 seconds down, 5 seconds rest).  20x. (10 minutes)
2. Double and single paradiddles with metronome.  One measure ending with quarter note.  Beginner do eighth, advanced do 16th notes.  (5 minutes)

Instruments: (15 minutes)

1. Tambourine
2. Cymbals
3. Bass Drum

Reading:

1. Open forscore and read snare parts. (5 minutes)
2. Read mallet parts. (5 minutes)

Cool-down:

1. Repeat warm-up paradiddles.