The
Ultimate Music Lesson Plan
5
Tips to Incredible Chops in No Time!
by Elmo
One of the things that young musicians have a real problem
with is the concept of being patient and striving for perfection,
while practicing their instruments. So often students would like to
get to the meat of playing without practicing the solid concepts that
will get them there in the first place.
It is almost like a little lady in the hamburger commercials
that used to yell" where's the beef?" Patience is a real problem with
young performers. Enter the ultimate music lesson plan!
As a teacher, I find that one of my biggest struggles
in teaching students is trying to get them to slow down and practice
the fundamentals slowly. The paradox of the whole thing is that if
they took their time to practice their music slowly building up speed,
they would get to their desired goals much quicker and they will become
much better musicians at a much faster pace. This is the whole point
of the ultimate music lesson plan!
Learning slowly produces the best results! Here are
a couple of techniques that will enable you to be a much better musician
and a much shorter period of time:
Take a look at the music
first
1. When looking at a new passage of music, take a look
at the three basic ingredients: key signature,
Time signature, volume and speed.
Look at key elements next
2. Next, take a look at the rhythm. Do you understand
the rhythm? If you do not understand the rhythm, you need to slow
down and slowly count the rhythm to yourself. If you're having a hard
time with rhythms, perhaps you should take a pencil out and write
the rhythms over the passage. (You know - one and two and - for eighth
notes etc.)
Check your pitch material
3. If you're having problems playing the notes, take
each note, very slowly. If you have a tuner with you, you can check
your pitch material to make sure it is in tune from one note to the
next. If you have an eighth note or 16th note pattern, slow down the
notes and treat each note like it is a whole note listening to the
pitch and slowly getting your technique or fingering down. As you
feel more comfortable, and are hitting the pitch is more accurately
in tune; you can then gradually speed up your playing.
Now you can speed it up
4. Once you have slowly taken each note and gradually
speed it that it up now think about phrasing and how you are going
to interpret the music. At this point, after you have slowly practiced
the music in a repetitive manner, you can now speed it up and practice
it at the correct tempo making sure that you are observing all dynamics
and adding aesthetic and creative feeling, which can only come from
your own personal emotions and ideas.
Become one with the music
5. Once you have practiced like this, you can now begin
putting the icing on the cake. This is the point at which we have
the feeling and phrasing because you are fused with the music now
your own personality, will begin to shine through. Using this technique,
you'll find that your music will sound cleaner, more emotional, and
more enjoyable, not just to you, but also your listeners.
There is one other key ingredient to the ultimate
music lesson plan and that is practice, practice and of course,
practice! If you follow these steps carefully and make them a part
of your regimented practice, you will have incredible chops in no
time!
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