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The Art & Technique of Practice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface .................................................................................. 6
1.General Guidelines...........................................................7
Goals ................................................................................................8
Ultimate Goal.............................................................................................. 8
Weekly and Daily Session goals.................................................................. 9
Goals for The Task........................................................................................ 9
Productivity Techniques..................................................................9
Scheduling.......................................................................................10
Practice............................................................................................14

2.Preparation & Technique.............................................. 15

Preparation for Practice ................................................................15
Technique........................................................................................16

3.Memorization & Visualization................................... 19

Memorization .................................................................................19
Determining What Needs to be Memorized ........................................... 19
Facts About Memorization........................................................................ 20
Visualization...................................................................................21
Developing Visualization Techniques...................................................... 21
Contrapuntal Textures ..................................................................... 23
Harmonic Textures............................................................................. 25
Memorization Techniques............................................................27
Preparation (Steps 1-6).............................................................................. 27

4.Note-Reading & Interpretive Practice........................30

Preparation......................................................................................30
Familiarity......................................................................................30
Basic Note Learning Approach (Steps 1-5) ................................31
Interpretive Practice.......................................................................32
Structure Time and Set Daily Goals.......................................................... 33
Thoroughness............................................................................................ 33
 Content
s

5. Problem Solving & Repertoire Maintenance............35

Problem Solving.............................................................................35
Co-ordination Problems............................................................................... 35
Reflex Problems ........................................................................................... 35
Interpretive Problems.................................................................................... 37
Mental Practice............................................................................................. 37
Repertoire Maintenance................................................................38

6. Developing Reading 81 Listening Skills.....................39

Developing Reading Skills ...........................................................39
Approach 1 ................................................................................................... 39
Approach 2.................................................................................................... 40
Rhythm................................................................................................. 40
Position Playing.................................................................................... 40
Harmony............................................................................................... 42
Developing Listening Skills .........................................................43
Learning to Hear Melodic Direction...........................................44
Developing Awareness to Musical Style......................................45

Appendix 1: Practice Schedules........................................... 46

Appendix 2: Practice Outline............................................... 48
Bibliography.......................................................................... 51
The Author ........................................................................... 53
 The Art & Technique of Practice

Preface
These ideas on practicing were first presented at the 1987 Toronto Guitar Festival. Because of the
research needed to prepare this presentation, I soon realized that most of the information we
have on practicing deals with specific issues rather than the complete subject.

Two years later, after further research, I wrote a five-part series The Art and Technique of Practice,
published in the Soundboard and The Gendai Guitar of Japan. This series presented a
comprehensive look at practicing. At the suggestion of my colleagues, I expanded and revised
these articles into this book.

My initial intent in researching practice technique was to improve my own practice and that of
my students. As I wrote this book, I came to realize that most of the ideas and techniques on
practice can be used by all instrumentalists. This resulted in changing the focus of the book from
guitar to universal practice techniques.

I have, however, naturally chosen the musical examples from the classical guitar repertoire.
The concepts illustrated by the examples can easily be applied to the practice of any musical
instrument.

I would like to express my appreciation for the encouragement and suggestions that I have received
from colleagues and students. Particular thanks must go to Raymond Andrews for his
suggestions during the writing of the articles. Most of all, I would like to thank Renee Korwan,
Alan Goldspiel, Bert Lucarelli, and Robert Stallman for their suggestions and assistance in
editing this book.

RICHARD PROVOST

The quote used on the back cover of this edition is taken !Min "First Book of The Guitar"
by Fred Noad and is used with his kind permission.

6
 1. General Guidelines

General
guidelines
Practice, that all consuming activity, whether we be student, amateur, or professional is
defined in the Random House College Dictionary as: "repeated performance or systematic
exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency." While practicing does involve
a good deal of repetition, there is far more to it than what is implied by this narrow
definition. The following quotation by Wanda Landowska (Landowska on Music, Stein and
Day, New York) offers more insight on this subject.

"If everyone knew how to work, everyone would be a genius! I hate the word
PRACTICE. Practice breeds inurement. Instead of discovering, of distinguishing
traits that are deeply hidden or merely veiled, one ends seeing nothing anymore. One
ceases to be aware.

To be aware, to be conscious at all times is what appears to me the worthiest in my

thoughts and in my work. While interpreting, even at the most impetuous moments
when a musical phrase overflows with passion I want to remain conscious. I may
forget a liberty I took at one place or another, but this does not change in any way
my state of consciousness, which is always on the alert.

Awkwardness and mistakes in playing are always due to a lack of concentration."

In order for you to develop a successful practice routine, you must be aware of the
following elements of practice:

1. ,Physical - All elements related to technique and the role of the body,
2.'Musical - The study of the score and all its implications.
3.Mental - The necessary thought process involved in goal setting and
problem solving.
4.Aural - Listening, not only to each note being played but, to the
relationship of these notes to the whole.

When we consider practicing in this manner, we use repetition as a tool to reinforce the
various technical and musical areas that we discovered and need to perfect to insure a
successful performance. This discovery process is often complicated because much of the
information concerning practicing has been presented by our teacher's on a "need to
know" basis. (ie. solving a particular problem in a piece or learning a specific technique
etc.) Often, we are at a loss when a particular approach doesn't work. In this book, I will
present an overview of the practicing process and discuss many effective practice
techniques.

Examining practicing further, we find that there are really two types of practice. The first
deals with the development of long term goals concerning technique, repertoire, and 7
The Art & Technique of Practice

musical development. The second involves rapid learning. This occurs when a busy
schedule limits the amount of work that can be given to a piece. The piece is quickly and
accurately learned to meet performance demands, but not with the exploration and depth
that maximum time would allow. Professional musicians master both approaches. They
recognize that their musical longevity depends on their growth as both performers and
musicians. They also need, because of their busy schedules, the ability to learn a piece
quickly when necessary. Students often gravitate toward the second approach when they
have underdeveloped practice habits. Often they are looking for the fast cure rather than
the most beneficial approach. Many students measure their progress by how much
repertoire they play, rather than by the quality of their playing. They also tend to
consider technical and musical growth less important. To be fair, it is often difficult to look
down the road and see where a particular approach will lead, particularly if you are
learning pieces and performing well.

In my discussion of practicing, I will be focusing on the first approach since acquiring

these skills will automatically give you the skills needed for rapid learning.

Practicing is, to a large degree, a very personal activity and changes as playing proficiency
improves. Successful practicing will meet the needs and aspirations of each individual. I
am reminded of a student who approached a famous guitarist and asked him how much
time he spent practicing scales. His answer was that he never practiced scales. In reporting
this conversation, the student interpreted this statement to mean that it was not necessary
to practice scales. The fact that the performer had a virtuoso scale technique while the
student could barely move his fingers was never considered. Neither was the question of
how this performer developed his technique, nor whether the student was meeting his
needs by not practicing scales. By organizing your practice, you gain an honest and
realistic view of your current strengths and weaknesses. In addition, to be most beneficial,
practicing should be both an enjoyable and productive experience. The use of goal
setting, productivity techniques, and scheduling are perhaps the most important tools
to use in creating productive practice.

Goals
One way of increasing your practice productivity is to have clearly established goals. There
are three types of goals that can be used in practicing. They are:

1.Ultimate goal (long range)

2.Weekly and daily session goals
3. Goals for the immediate task

Ultimate Goal
What is your ultimate goal? Is it to be a professional teacher or performer? Is it to be a good
amateur? If you are not sure, set your goals high. Trying to reach a professional level will
provide a clearer picture of what is required and enable you to decide whether you are
willing to adopt this life-style.

8
 1. General Guidelines

Weekly & Daily Session Goals

What are your practice goals for the week and each session? Weekly and session goals will
positively effect what you will work on, the length of time that will be spent, and your
expectations for each daily practice session. These goals could involve learning a page of
a new piece of music, smoothing out left hand shifts, refining a passage from a piece, etc.
It is best to have only two or three goals for the week. This helps to focus attention and
minimize boredom (too few goals) or confusion (too many goals). Remember, if you reach
your goals before the end of the week you can always choose several new goals.

Goals For The Task

Once you have chosen the goals for a session, establish goals for each tasks. You are ready
to decide the amount of time needed to complete these tasks. While this might appear to
be somewhat easy, experience has shown that you will likely be either overly or minimally
ambitious. If you are too ambitious, you will try to do too much and when you fail to reach
the desired goal become frustrated. If you are minimally ambitious, you will take three to
four times as long to reach your goal thereby slowing your progress but, more importantly,
limiting your musical development.

It is important, however, to recognize that the amount of time required is dependent on

six items. They are:

: I.. Your ability to define the problem.

2.Your willingness to work on details and small problems. (ie. how
committed are you to having clear phrases, phrase endings, well defined
dynamics, solid fingering, etc.?)
3.Your ability to come up with effective solutions to the problems.
4.The level of difficulty of the problem area.
5.Your general level of proficiency. It is important to have sufficient
musical skills to allow you to rethink your approach to the music. If the
piece is too difficult, you will be unable to make much progress. Many
teachers feel that a student's progress is seriously affected by work ing
on music that is too difficult. This may result in negative tension, poor
embouchure, incorrect breathing, etc.
6. Your ability to focus on the tasks.

As a rule, if you'Ve spent ten to fifteen minutes daily on a task, and haven't reached your
goal or made substantial improvement by the end of a week, consult your teacher.

Productivity Techniques
While practicing, observe what you are doing. Don't criticize! Comments such as: "This
is terrible.", "I'm making too many mistakes.", etc., are irrelevant, distracting, and
counterproductive. They also take much of the enjoyment out of practicing. On the other
hand, non-judgemental observations based on body awareness such as: "My left hand is
tense in this passage.", or "My right hand seems confused in this measure.", are statements
about what needs to be done and what to focus on during the practice session.

9
The Art Sr Technique of Practice

It is also important to recognize the relationship between motivation and progress. One
way to maintain progress is to compare the "good" (what you can execute comfortably)
with the "bad" (those passages that are not well learned or controlled). Take a passage that
is not going well and compare it with one that is satisfying. Ask questions: What am I
doing in this passage that I'm not doing in the other? Do my hands feel the same in each
passage? Do I know what I want to accomplish?

You will have noticed by now that this approach demands awareness, concentration and,
more importantly, FOCUSING your mind on the problem. The mind is easily bored.
When it becomes bored it wanders, looking for more interesting topics. Focusing your
attention to specifics makes practicing more enjoyable and minimizes mind-wandering.

As a final thought, besides employing the previous points, it is sometimes helpful to keep
a daily log of accomplishments and areas to be covered during the next day's practice
session. This is especially useful for quantifiable topics such as speed, measures learned.
etc.

Scheduling
The techniques employed in making practicing enjoyable also, to a large degree,
contribute to making it productive. Setting goals, developing awareness, focusing atten -
tion on specifics, avoiding criticism, and asking questions all contribute to productivity
as well as enjoyment. Using a practice schedule will allow you to focus on the following
four points.

1.Does your practice time reflect your ultimate goal? If your goal is to be a
performer, then your practice schedule will reflect this and show
between three to five hours of daily practice. If your goal is to be a good
amateur, then one to two hours of daily practice will usually be sufficient
to guarantee both progress and enjoyment.

2.Are your mind, muscles, and musical instincts being used daily? It has been
established that the mind, muscles, and musical instincts develop best
with constant use and reinforcement. If you work on a piece one hour a
day for five days you will accomplish more, all things being equal, than if
you practice the same piece for five hours one day and don't return to
the piece until the next week. You may feel that it is desirable to practice
only when the mood strikes. This approach to practice has severe
limitations. From a reality standpoint, any performer knows that you are
not always inspired for each concert. It is important to create this inspiration
and to perform well in all kinds of situations. The training for this begins
in the practice room.

3.Do you have a set time to practice? One way that practicing can be
productive is to schedule a regular daily practice time. It is not at all
uncommon for professional musicians to refuse to answer the telephone

10
1. General Guidelines

or
doo
r
whe
n
prac
tici
ng.
The
y
refu
se
to
let
anyt
hin
g
inte
rrup
t
thei
r
con
cent
rati
on
and
wor
k.
Whi
le
this
degr
ee
of
disc
ipli
ne
may
be
unre
al-
istic
to
exp
ect
fro
m a
stud
ent,
11
it is
not
unre
alist
ic to
set
up
spec
ific
prac
tice
time
s
for
eac
h
day
of
the
wee
k.

The
re
are
som
e
mus
icia
ns
who
feel
that
prac
tice
spre
ad
out
over
the
enti
re
day,
(ie.
one
hou
r in
the
mor
ning
,
afte
rno
on,
and
eve
ning
)
will
prov
ide
mor
e
flex
ibili
ty to
the
han
ds.
This
resu
lts
in
nev
er
havi
ng
mor
e
than
an
eigh
t
hou
r
peri
od
whe
n
you
are
not
prac
tici
ng.
Whi
le
the
reali
ties
of
scho
ol,
wor
k,
or
prof
essi
onal
sche
dule
s
may
limi
t the
choi
ce
of
prac
tice
peri
ods,
man
y
peo
ple
find
such
a
sche
dule
not
only
poss
ible
but
ben
efici
al.

Sch
edul
ing
also
help
s to
prio
ritiz
e
you
r
prac
tice
time
. If
you
r
goal
is to
be a
prof
essi
onal
mus
icia
n,
then
prac
tice
time
is a
prio
rity
item
. If
you
are
not
will
ing
to
mak
e
suc
h a
com
mit
men
t,
then
a
reev
alua
tion
of
care
er
goal
s is
nec
essa
ry.
Whi
le
an
occ
asio
nal
"ba
d
wee
k"
may
occ
ur
whe
re
you
hav
en't
bee
n
able
to
mai
ntai
n
you
r
pra
ctic
e
sch
edu
le,
con
siste
nt
"ba
d
wee
ks"
are
indi
cati
ve
of
mor
e
seri
ous
pro
ble
ms.
This
may
be
caus
ed
by a
lack
of
disc
ipli
ne,
mot
ivati
on,
or
com
mit
 men
t,
also
by
pers
onal
or
emo
tion
al
prob
lem
s.
Wh
atev
er
the
caus
e,
thes
e
are
issu
es
that
mus
t be
deal
t
with
if
you
wis
h to
exc
el
on a
mus
ical
inst
rum
ent.

4. How
long
sho
uld
you
prac
tice
?
Stu
dent
s
ente
ring
mus
ic
sch
ools
brin
g
with
the
m a
wid
e
rang
e of
bac
kgr
oun
ds
and
wor
k
habi
ts.
So
me
ente
r
with
well
dev
elop
ed
prac
tice
skill
s
and
a
high
degr
ee
of
disc
iplin
e,
whil
e
othe
rs
ente
r
wit
h
just
tre
men
dou
s
tale
nt
and
pote
ntia
l.
The
refo
re, I
usua
lly
reco
mm
end
begi
nnin
g
with
a
prac
tice
rout
ine
of a
mini
mu
m
of
thre
e
hou
rs of
dail
y
prac
tice.
This
sho
uld
be
bro
ken
dow
n
into
sess
ions
not
exce
edin
g
fort
y-
five
min
utes
to
one
hou
r. It
is
imp
orta
nt to
hav
e at
least
a
fifte
en
min
ute
brea
k
bet
wee
n
each
sess
ion.
It is
also
imp
orta
nt to
hav
e a
dail
y
sche
dule
that
can
be
met.
Mor
e
time
can
alw
ays
be
add
 ed
on
days
with
mor
e
free
time
, but
it is
imp
orta
nt to
mai
ntai
n a
mini
mu
m
amo
unt
of
dail
y
prac
tice
to
assu
re
goo
d
pro
gres
s.

Let us look at a
sample practice
schedule and see how
it can be used. Table 1
is the weekly practice
schedule. Begin each
week by deciding
when you will
practice each day.
Write in the times
and total hours to be
practiced under the
appropriate
headings. After each
practice day, jot
down the amount
you practiced with
any comments you
might have about
your session. While it
is important not to
make the practice
schedule an
inflexible tool, it is
important to
recognize that too
much deviation from
your written
schedule suggests
that you need to
reexamine your
goals, priorities, and
scheduling.
The Art Sr Technique of Practice

Table 1 — Weekly Practice

Schedule
Thar Fri Sat/Sun
Mon T We
Days ue d 9.10 10 — 11 10 —11
10 —
Mornin 11 5— 9
10 1___2 1 ___ 2 1—2
1— —
g 11
2 8, — 9 5____9 0—7
5—
Afterno 1—
4 2 1—
3 3
on 2
6—
7 3 3
3
Evenin
6—
3 3 Got a Pieces
g lot done sounded
2 7
Got great
Attemp a
lot i5r 3
ted clon ok
e e 3
Compl str
in
eted g. feel
No like
Comme spare practi
! cing
nts

Note: Blank copies of

Tables 1-3 will be found
in the appendix at the end
of the book. These may
be used to plan your
practice schedule.

At the beginning of each

week play through the
selected piece and
observe how it sounds
and feels. It is important
not to be self-critical,
when commenting on
your feelings about the
run-through. Use
statements that describe
what you were trying to
create. Comments such
as: "I will now play this
phrase with more
expression.", or "I feel
very comfortable playing
this section.", are
appropriate remarks
about your feelings.

Using Table 2, write in

the name of the selected
work and decide what
your goal/s for the week
will be. Initially you may
find that:

1.You can't
select your goals
for the session.
2.You choose a
larger goal than
you can
accomplish.
3.You choose
goals that can be
reached in one
or two days.

Don't give up! This is

normal. After several
weeks of practice you
will find that you will be
comfortable choosing
goals. At the beginning,
you might find it helpful
to choose areas that are
the most disturbing or the
areas that you feel can be
fixed quickly. The
important thing is to
make a decision and then
evaluate it through the
week. Decision making is
part of learning