“Discipline is practically tantamount to learning.”  

Words and phrases such as “good practice habits,” “regular practice,”  “practice strategies,” and  “discipline” leave a cold chill to most of us, until we realize learning is fun and as long as play includes a constructive or creative result, learning takes place. If do not experience fun, you need to change your actions.  Students who find fascination with the variety of challenges of music making  do better, not only as musicians, but in all subjects and as an individual.

Those times when its hard to keep it fun, boundaries and limitations help return one to joy in learning.  Experimentation and creative solutions taken in safe risks create challenges that make a playful and entertaining student.   Learning approaches to practice, such as choosing one thing for focus, or organizing practice to make sure of including all things from a lesson, insures understanding and security.   Finding similar challenges in music fun to play, as in music which feels like a chore, focuses the student on the subject matter and NOT the time involved! When that proves too much of a task, then parental support becomes critical to a child’s success. Getting a taping of the lesson for reference in practice might support discussions.

Learn how to make your music making work for you essentially. In other words, if you do not understand what you are doing, you need to discipline yourself so you do. Do the pitches you play match the notes on the page? Do the rhythms flow with a steady beat? Are you counting? Do you include articulations and expression? Do you hear what descriptive words and symbols mean?

What to practice? Relax! You are tyring to encourage your own natural abilities. Rotate your practice, interspersing relaxing exercises (warm-up routine) with music challenges (pieces.)  

First, I encourage students to learn how to make the most beautiful sound imaginable and possible.  Without proper technique creating a sound, the student will become hampered by incorrect playing and find growth slows down after a while, even after apparent success. The instruments we use, including the voice, have physical limitations and are designed for a specific use. Therefore a sound properly made facilitates all other challenges.

Secondly, for instruments, proper tonguing or the starting and articulation of each note, and for the voice the use of consonants and vowels, guarantees the language of music will follow. We think of the language of music as expression which transcends the word. The correct articulation starts and defines this expression.  Learning how to use articulators at our disposal clarifies the sounds we use for the listener’s entertainment. So, the beautiful sounds we create with our tone color now have sound shapes, that clarify and define the music we make.

Thirdly, after making the most beautiful sound we can possibly make, after giving the sounds definition, we need to complete our expression.  The meaning of music derives from a continuous effort, combining sound and sense with thought and emotion.  Physically, we keep the sound going.  Mentally, we keep the thought going. Emotionally, we keep the feeling moving. Creativity allows the timely amalgamation of these. Emotions without boundaries or form are unsuccessful means of communication. We give meaning when we understand what we express. The more defined and logical the expression, the more successful the motivation and communication, thus the experience becomes enjoyable and entertaining by virtue of the understanding expressed. This third concept for practice involves finishing the music by understanding its theoretical construction and form, and moving that to give it life.