After I got through my first semester of college I realized “Wow, I never knew how to really practice in High School.” When I would “practice” things in High School it usually meant playing them as fast as I could over and over, and then going back when I messed up. However, once I got to college I learned a lot of different ways to practice that helped me improve more quickly and efficiently.
One thing that I always brushed off in High School was metronome practice because I thought it was just something that was for when you couldn’t play a piece fast enough. However, since using it as a regular part of practicing pieces it has helped me improve so much. It allows for much more linear progress as you can start at a very slow tempo where you can capture every aspect of the piece, and then speed it up while keeping all of the elements intact.
Another part of practicing that helped me improve that I used to not do was listening to recordings of the piece you are playing. Listening to multiple players with different interpretations was hugely beneficial in working on solos. I used to only listen to one recording or none at all. However when you listen to many recordings, you can grab ideas from each of them and make the solo into your own musical interpretation.
Staying motivated to practice can be difficult at times, especially on the days where you don’t sound as good as you did the day before. I stay motivated to practice in a couple of different ways. The first way is by making it not about motivation. When you practice at specific times during the day it becomes more of a routine than something you have to be motivated for. In this way you can always find the energy to practice because it is a consistent part of your day, just like a warm up. The second way that I find the motivation to practice is thinking about the other great horn players around me that are practicing. I know that they aren’t taking days off and slacking, and I want to be just as good as them and excel so this motivates me to put in the work and improve something about my playing that day.
– Written by Michael Deutscher