Shawn Truong

Mr. Liu
AMI101-11
October 26, 2018
Slow Practice Questions
Out of a scale from 1 to 10, I’ve used slow practicing to an extent of 5. Most of the time
when I used slow practicing, it was mostly ineffective and not worthwhile because the ratio of
effort and time to performance level was inefficient. However, I do use it when I first start
learning a piece, facing sections where careful analysis of rhythm and articulation is required.
This is one of the only occasions where slow practicing is effective for me.
Applying the concept of slow practice to my instrument, it is effective when I have
passages where I move the slide at a fast rate, have tricky position changes and rhythms, or when
articulation is required in conjunction to playing high notes. This helps me to hit the right note,
have proper articulations and rhythm when I play at moderate speed.
There are many examples in The Best of James Bond where slow practicing helps me. An
example would be from bar 16 to 31. Between bars 16-24, there are phrases where I have to play
sixteenth notes (see bar 19 and 23) and have fast slide position changes, Slow practicing helps
me to learn when to buzz a note and articulate based on the time it takes for me to get to the next
note. Between bar 24 to 31, there is the melody which consists of high E flats, Cs and high Ds in
consecutive eighth notes with swing. Slow practicing helps me to appropriately articulate in
order to play these high notes without running out of breath, forgetting to breath when I run out
of breath, and not blare. If you also look at bars 97 to 99, there is a reoccurring theme. Slow
practicing helps me to properly play sfforzato on the B flat, followed by normal B flat and A flat.
Here are ways that slow practicing has helped me learn The Best of James Bond and how to
properly play my instrument.