1. Practicing
Why do we practice?
- To reinforce concepts learned in the lesson
- To review old concepts
- To make progress between lessons
Why should I practice every day?
- Daily reinforcement helps you remember what you have learned.
- Build (and keep) muscle memory.
- It is better to practice at least a little bit each day than to squeeze all of your weekly practice into one session.
How much should I practice?
It depends on how much progress you want to make. Take and age playing level into consideration when planning your practice period:
| Age playing level | Practice period |
|---|---|
| Ages 5 and under | 15-30 minutes. You can break up practice into 2 mini-sessions during the day. |
| First grade through middle school | 30-90 minutes per day. |
| High school | 1-2 hours per day. A serious high school student intending on pursuing a music career should practice 2+ hours daily. |
The more repertoire you are working on, the more time you will need to practice.
If you play in orchestra or chamber music ensembles, you will need to factor in extra time to practice ensemble music. Practicing your ensemble music isn’t a substitute for practicing your solo pieces.
Structuring daily practice
Each day’s practice should incorporate the following building blocks:
- Warm-ups: big muscle groups first, then smaller muscles
- Technical work:
- Scales and arpeggios
- Études and other exercises: shifting, vibrato, dexterity exercises, etc.
- Solo repertoire:
- Focus on the spots that need the most work.
- Resist the temptation to always run through your piece. Unless you have a performance coming up soon, you don’t need to play through the whole thing every day.
- Ask your teacher how to break up the piece into smaller chunks to practice.
- Ensemble music:
- Orchestra
- Chamber music
- Sight-reading/fun:
- Find something new to sight-read.
- Play your favorite songs/movie music themes by ear.
Practice strategically:
Write down your goals for the practice session. This helps you focus and remain on target. Incorporate assignments from your lessons.
Be your own teacher!
Identify what makes a passage difficult.
- This requires thoughtful analysis and self-reflection.
- Is your left hand balanced and in the correct shape? Are you planning your bow distribution well? If not, what happened beforehand that didn’t set you up for success?
After you get it right, keep repeating the tricky spot to make sure you really know it. A good cellist practices until they get it right; a great cellist practices until they can’t get it wrong.
Choose a passage for “woodshedding:”
- Practice very slowly with the metronome.
- Don’t let a passage intimidate you! Imagine how easy it would be if every note were a whole note.
- Increase the tempo slightly each day, making sure you are playing well at each faster tempo. If it starts to sound worse, go back to a slower tempo.
- Over the course of many days, the passage will start to feel easier. It takes time!
Dr. Carpenter’s All-Time Favorite Practice Tools
Wipe-out rule:
-
Choose a small problem spot to practice (e.g., 1 shift or 1 measure).
-
Play the practice spot at least 5 times in a row without a mistake. To challenge yourself, pick a higher number.
-
If you make a mistake, the count goes back to zero and you start the repetitions again.
If you get frustrated, don’t beat yourself up! Take a break. The wipe-out rule is meant to build your confidence, not tear it down.
When you feel good about the problem spot, then you can add a couple of measures or even an entire line of music.
Subdivide:
Divide longer notes or complicated rhythms into a smaller note value (such as 16th notes), then play these subdivisions out loud.
Separate the hands:
- Practice fingerings only (silently or plucking).
- Practice open strings only, without left hand.
Rhythmic practice for left-hand dexterity:
Groups of four notes:
– • – •
• – • –
– • • •
• • • –
Groups of three notes:
– • •
• • –
• – •
Be sure to play each pattern to maximize usefulness.
– = long note
• = short note
Practice without the cello:
- Sing it.
- Clap the rhythm and count the beats.
- Study the score!
- Mental practice: sing through the piece in your mind while visualizing the physical actions you would do if actually playing.
Assorted tools:
- Build up a fast passage slowly, adding 1 note at a time.
- Practice a passage (or shift) forwards and backwards.
- Use scales to practice tricky rhythms and new techniques.
For parents and guardians:
As a parent/guardian, how involved should I be?
- This depends on age and the independence of the student.
- For very young students, it is helpful for parents/guardians to take detailed notes during lessons, or even record with the teacher’s permission.
For those who practice with the student at home, note-taking is of paramount importance during the lesson, to make sure you understand the material and can later help the student during practice.
Even if you’re not able to attend the student’s lesson, you can still assist with their practicing:
- Help them review notes from their teacher and check that they are practicing all of their assignments.
- Help the student stick to a daily practice time.
- Help the student find a comfortable practice space free of distractions.
- Help the student structure their daily practice. See #Structuring daily practice (1. PRACTICING)
