Philosophy of Practice

Before we talk about what to start practicing, lets talk about practice in general.

Fun!

Practicing should be fun! When you practice it should be something you look forward to. Sure some days you will be busy and not have time for it, but that should be the exception, not the rule. There is no need for marathon practice sessions and endless repetition. Sure these tools have their place but again, they should be the exception not a rule.

Consistency

Consistency is king when learning an instrument. Practice is better when you do it more often. The once a week two hour practice mess doesn't help to get much done. I've found that you're better off practicing twenty minutes five days per week than practicing for an hour once a week. Time moves faster this way and daily progress can be seen.

Consistency and planning in the sessions is crucial too.

Break up you're practice sessions once you start becoming more motivated to practice and play more. Instead of a one hour block once a day, try for two half hour sessions, each with a different focus. What trumps all else is getting the horn on your face as often as possible.

Sample Practice Routines

Perhaps you're a beginner ( or the parent of a beginner). Here a sample layout of how they could practice for twenty minutes a day five days a week

Monday

5 Minutes warm-up

10 Minutes in studies book.

5 Minutes on a solo

Tuesday

5 Minute warm-up

5 Minutes Flexibility studies

10 Minutes Solo work

Wednesday

off

Thursday

5 Minute warm-up

10 Minutes School music

5 Minutes scales

Friday

5 minute warm-up

15 minutes solo work

Saturday

5 Minute warm-up

10 Minutes playing by ear

5 Minutes of your choice

Sunday

off

Now this isn't the end all be all of practicing. The whole point of practicing is to find out what works for you and this includes what type of schedule you can handle!

Have a plan and stick to it!

Any ideas or questions on these philosophy's post them in the comments!