practise with

purpose diary

Practise with purpose to make your

practice sessions more productive and
enjoyable, giving you the best chance
of success in your Rockschool exam!

Pieces
cises /
chnical exer
Warm up Te sts All Of Me
Example Supporting te section B of
• Went over tion of Ghost
Town
jor nin g sec
Ab major, E ma ords • Tried ope
• Worked on mi na nt 9th ch with rotor on
Monday gh do
• Went throu n C
6th January • Used Repla
y to get sectio
ng cle an
chnical Study
soundi way through
• Practised Te Of Me all the
s • Played All
Tuesday rk ed on mi nor 9th chord rotor on
• Wo d to create
7th January • Looked at dynamics and trie
•
new pieces • more variation opening of Shut Up &
reading some g
gettin
• Worked onslick rotor on
• Tried sight r improv Dance
Wednesday ed a sol o fo
8th January
• Transcrib ping in Ghost
Town
• Improved com feel in Goodbye Yellow
cs swi ng
l my pentatoni • Pra cti sed
• Practised al n + C mixolydian Brick Road
Thursday C do ria
• Worked on Town
9th January ping in Ghost
• Improved com feel in Goodbye Yellow
cti sed swi ng
LEARN MORE
• Pra
arpeggios Brick Road
• Went over my d
Friday es up to spee
www.rslawards.com 10th January
• Did mi
with
nor
cli
sc
ck
al
• Experimente
d with synth
sounds on Recov
after the oth
er
er

the book pie ces one

voicings without • Played
• Tried chord blu es
Saturday over a
• Improvised
11th January of Shut Up
y to go over end
with • Used Repla
harmonic minor & Dance
• Practised F
Sunday both ha nd s
th nuary
rockschool’s Practice Diary:
Practise with Purpose
Why do we practise?
Practising regularly is absolutely key to any musician’s development, regardless of where they are on their musical journey.
An absolute beginner and an experienced professional will practise in very different ways, but both will need a routine that
helps them to maximise their potential by attaining new skills, and then maintaining and building on them.

Practice can often be seen as a chore, especially when the deadline for a concert or exam is looming, therefore it is important
to make your routines efficient and varied to stay positive and motivated. Give yourself regular goals, and suddenly it’s not that
boring after all!

If this is something you think your practice sessions could profit from, try out Rockschool’s practice diary to help you practise with
purpose, set realistic and achievable goals, and stay motivated! Practice is not about reaching perfection – it is about being better
than you were yesterday.

How can Rockschool’s practice diary help you practise with purpose?
This practice diary helps you keep track of your daily practice and monitor your own progress as you master a technique, nail a
performance piece, and prepare for your next Rockschool exam.

On each page you’ll find space to make notes on your weekly practice routine to ensure that your sessions are as productive as
possible, and that you are well prepared for the different sections of the Rockschool exams. This diary contains individual boxes for
warm ups, supporting tests, and performance pieces that will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, ultimately leading
to more efficient and rewarding practice.

We have also included space for teachers’ comments, so that they can review your practice and offer guidance on how to improve.
Sometimes it can be hard to target areas of improvement on your own before a lesson, so it is always helpful to get some direction
from your teacher to guide your practice. This way, you’re quite literally on the same page!

Happy practising!

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Example Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday • Worked on Ab major, E major • Went over section B of All Of Me

6th January • Tried opening section of Ghost Town
• Went through dominant 9th chords
with rotor on

Tuesday • Practised Technical Study • Used Replay to get section C

7th January sounding clean
• Worked on minor 9th chords • Played All Of Me all the way through
rotor on
Wednesday •
• Tried sight reading some new pieces • Looked at dynamics and tried to create
8th January • more variation
• Transcribed a solo for improv • Worked on getting opening of Shut Up &
Dance slick rotor on

Thursday • Practised all my pentatonics • Improved comping in Ghost Town

9th January • Worked on C dorian + C mixolydian • Practised swing feel in Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road

Friday • Improved comping in Ghost Town

• Went over my arpeggios
10th January • Practised swing feel in Goodbye Yellow
• Did minor scales up to speed Brick Road
with click
Saturday • Tried chord voicings without the book • Experimented with synth sounds on Recover
11th January • Improvised over a blues
• Played pieces one after the other

Sunday • Practised F harmonic minor with both • Used Replay to go over end of Shut Up
12th January & Dance
hands
• Revised modes

Teacher’s comments:

Good progress this week! Clear improvement in technical fluency in pieces – now think about adding more light and shade.
Minor scales and arpeggios are sounding much smoother, but modal scales (lydian, mixolydian etc) could do with some
looking ahead of next week’s lesson.

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:
Patient when working on scales Improve fluency in chromatic scales
Used Replay well to nail tricky sections in performance pieces Work on time in All Of Me
Found some cool sounds when using different patches Practice syncopated sections of modal study

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 1 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
2nd December

Tuesday
3rd December

Wednesday
4th December

Thursday
5th December

Friday
6th December

Saturday
7th December

Sunday
8th December

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 2 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
9th December

Tuesday
10th December

Wednesday
11th December

Thursday
12th December

Friday
13th December

Saturday
14th December

Sunday
15th December

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
 *
One month to go before entry deadline!

Week 3 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces

Supporting tests

Monday
16th December

Tuesday
17th December*

Wednesday
18th December

Thursday
19th December

Friday
20th December

Saturday
21st December

Sunday
22st December

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 4 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
23rd December

Tuesday
24th December

Wednesday
25th December

Thursday
26th December

Friday
27th December

Saturday
28th December

Sunday
29th December

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
 *
two weeks to go before entry deadline!

Week 5 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces

Supporting tests

Monday
30th December

Tuesday
31st December

Wednesday
1st January

Thursday
2nd January

Friday
3rd January*

Saturday
4th January

Sunday
5th January

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
 one week to go before entry deadline!
*

Week 6 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces

Supporting tests

Monday
6th January

Tuesday
7th January

Wednesday
8th January

Thursday
9th January

Friday
10th January*

Saturday
11th January

Sunday
12th January

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 7 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
13th January

Tuesday
14th January

Wednesday
15th January

Thursday
16th January

Friday
17th January
Enter for my exam today!
Saturday
18th January

Sunday
19th January

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 8 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
20th January

Tuesday
21st January

Wednesday
22nd January

Thursday
23rd January

Friday
24th January

Saturday
25th January

Sunday
26th January

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 9 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
27th January

Tuesday
28th January

Wednesday
29th January

Thursday
30th January

Friday
31st January

Saturday
1st February

Sunday
2nd February

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 10 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
3rd February

Tuesday
4th February

Wednesday
5th february

Thursday
6th february

Friday
7th february

Saturday
8th February

Sunday
9th February

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 11 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
10th February

Tuesday
11th February

Wednesday
12th february

Thursday
13th february

Friday
14th february

Saturday
15th February

Sunday
16th February

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 12 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
17th February

Tuesday
18th February

Wednesday
19th february

Thursday
20th february

Friday
21st february

Saturday
22nd February

Sunday
23rd February

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 13 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
24th February

Tuesday
25th February

Wednesday
26th february

Thursday
27th february

Friday
28th february

Saturday
29th February

Sunday
1st March

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 14 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
2nd march

Tuesday
3rd February

Wednesday
4th february

Thursday
5th february

Friday
6th february

Saturday
7th February

Sunday
8th March

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 15 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
9th march

Tuesday
10th march

Wednesday
11th march

Thursday
12th march

Friday
13th march

Saturday
14th march

Sunday
15th March

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 16 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
16th march

Tuesday
17th march

Wednesday
18th march

Thursday
19th march

Friday
20th march

Saturday
21st march

Sunday
22nd March

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 17 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
23rd march

Tuesday
24th march

Wednesday
25th march

Thursday
26th march

Friday
27th march

Saturday
28th march

Sunday
29th March

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com
Week 18 Warm up Technical exercises / Pieces
Supporting tests

Monday
30th march

Tuesday
31st march

Teacher’s comments:

Self-assessment:
What I did well: My targets for next week:

LEARN MORE
www.rslawards.com