| One of the things he said that really made sense to me was this:
" Most players will benefit from daily ‘chop time’ alone. "
When I was in High School, band was the first period of the day so I used to go in about a half hour prior to band practice and "warm up" which usually consisted of a little bit of actual warming up, and then just screwing around playing whatever I wanted to play.
Then, the first period after lunch was Show Choir/Jazz band (every other day, alternating MWF/T Th between the two classes.) I'd bolt down lunch and head back up to the band room to play for a bit before Jazz band or Show Choir, both of which I was in. Then Jazz band every other day.
Then, when school got out, I was back in the band room again, playing my horn.
Then there were pep bands and such, and sometimes, I even took my horn home during the week.
The point I'm trying to make with this, is that through that time, I continued to improve - my skills continued to climb at a steady rate, yet I really never practiced anything in a structured way. I just had the horn on my face all of the time, and during that phase of my life, it was more than enough. I benefitted beautifully from daily "chop time".
That's one of the things that amazes me with kids these days. They want to get better, but they are frustrated when they don't improve quickly, yet they only put in 30 - 60 minutes on the horn per WEEK! I was putting in hours every day. I can only imagine what it would have been like had I actually done some structured practicing.
Great article!
__________________ Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius |