How To Practice - Reviews

Go Play! by Catherine Shefski

Mike Saville — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:10:51 +0000

We want to help you practice better. Our newsfeed will keep you up to date with regular advice. Free personal help is available in our practice clinic and new news and offers can be found in our newsletter.

Another week. Another piano blog. Another eBook.

This one's different though.

In her eBook Go Play! Catherine Shefski issues a call for teachers to better understand the current generation of students. The 'digital natives' are a group of learners who have never known a world without computers, the internet or social networks.

Shefski clearly illustrates why traditional teaching methods (otherwise known as 'teach the way you were taught') are no longer relevant, useful or interesting for today's generation of students. This generation is used to instant sharing of information, a fast pace of learning and being a part of the process that creates new works. Read more . . .

Practiceopedia by Philip Johnston

Mike Saville — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:43:01 +0000

'The complete illustrated guide to mastering music's greatest challenge . . . '

'An A-Z of everything students and parents need to know about practicing'

Let's find out shall we.

When this volume fell on my desk I have to admit that I was itching to get inside and read it. I've previously read Promoting your teaching studio, Practice Revolution Practice Planner and Not Until You've Done You're Practice all by Philip Johnston and all, it has to be said, excellent books on practice.

This is a much larger volume than those previously released by Practice Spot - both in terms of it's size (it's not going to fit in any instrument cases!) and also number of pages, running to over 300. Read more . . .

Goal-oriented Practice

How To Practice — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:00:02 +0000

Have you seen those adverts on the internet which proclaim 'Learn Scales Fast!' or 'Master Guitar in a Week' or 'Speedy Piano'? Perhaps like me you also feel that these kind of adverts miss the point and are about sales and marketing rather than education.

Most of these 'publications' come in an e-Book/PDF format for download. It's an easy format to produce and therefore anyone can (and frequently do) write books with wide variations in the quality of the content.

I'm pleased to report that Goal-Oriented Practice is an e-Book that is written and produced in the right way. There is no spin or hype. Just straightforward advice from an experienced music teacher.

The book is primarily aimed at pianists. The first section on practice environment for example, discusses how to be comfortable at the piano and various other examples in the book discuss hand placement, keyboard and piano music. This does not mean however that players of other instruments will not benefit from reading it. Read more . . .

Not Pulling Strings

Mike Saville — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:55:49 +0000

They say "don't judge a book by it's cover". That's a hard thing to do. As soon as we see a cover we form in our minds a picture of what the book is likely to be like.

From the outside Joseph O'Connor's Not Pulling Strings looks to be quite a dry, academic description of his subject. The subtitle: 'Application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming to Teaching and Learning Music' merely confirms that this is what the book will be like.

If you thought this you would, like me, be very, very wrong.

Contained inside is a collection of some of the most pertinent and useful thoughts around practice that I have come across. There is admittedly some discussion of wider NLP issues but these are always done with care and made clear, straightforward and relevant for musicians.

As an example, there is a lot of content about left brain/right brain. That might be interesting in and of itself. What takes this book above others on the subject is the relevance for musicians. O'Connor explains how we can identify our own predilection and adapt our language and teaching styles to suit. Read more . . .

Metronome Comparison

Mike Saville — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:40:01 +0000

In answer to the hundreds of questions we receive about which type of metronome to buy, here is a review of a traditional versus modern.

Featured in this film are:
Traditional Wittner Metronome
Planet Waves Full Function Tuner & Metronome
Musical Lite for Android Read more . . .

How Popular Musicians Learn

Mike Saville — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:28:37 +0000

This is not the style of book I would normally choose to read. It's academic background is clear from the start. Most obviously through the writing which is much more verbose than most other books on practice reviewed here. It is not an easy read. However it is definitely worth the perseverance to complete.

The book is based on research conducted in 1998, comprising a series of interviews with 'popular' musicians. Each of these musicians is at varying stages of development - some in their early teens and others who have had notable performing careers.

One of the main thrusts throughout the book is the difference between formal and informal learning approaches. Formal practices include structured instrumental lessons, regular practice and use of sheet music, what we would traditionally call classical lessons. The informal approach is made up from self-teaching, copying, choosing music that is liked and irregular practice. Read more . . .

How To Practice Jazz - The free book

Mike Saville — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:25:18 +0000

We want to help you practice better. Click here to receive regular advice or here for help on your current problems.

Anyone interested in improving their jazz playing should be aware of the Jamey Aebersold series of play-along books. These books cover all styles of jazz and give you the chance to practice your improvisation along with some great musicians.

A particular favourite of mine is the very first one How to play jazz and improvise.

Perhaps less well known is the website Jazzbooks.com that is the online home for this series of books. Read more . . .

The Music Teacher's Handbook

Mike Saville — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:24:30 +0000

Do you want to practice music better? Click here to receive regular advice or here for help on your current problems.

'the complete resource for all instrumental and singing teachers', said the subtitle. Rubbing my hands together with glee I pressed the order button.

What arrived was a book, A4 in size, that wasn't really a book. It's more a collection of musings by different teachers and educators, all of whom have some sort of affiliation with the Trinity Guildhall examination board. Nonetheless the topics on offer are very pertinent:

the best way to get a beginner started
a complete guide to planning lessons
top tips for practising
exam preparation
integrated learning
tips for memorable teaching
etc, etc

A really good variety of topics for us practising musicians. Read more . . .

A Soprano On Her Head

Mike Saville — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:51:49 +0000

We want to help you practice better. Click here to receive regular advice or here for help on your current problems.

Let's get this straight. This isn't a book about practice. It won't tell you how to get be better or how to play your instrument. It doesn't contain tips and techniques for learning. It's not specific and it doesn't grab you with it's design and layout. It's just brilliant!

That's right. One of the best books a practising musician could possibly read.

Whilst not specifically about practice Ristad's effortless style contains many examples that we can use to change the way we think about music and practice. Read more . . .

101 More Music Games For Children

Mike Saville — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:03:21 +0000

What better way to motivate yourself to practice than by playing a game? There can't be many and this book has 101 of them!

"That's the book for me" I thought as I pressed the order button.

On arrival through my letterbox I eagerly opened it and started to read - anticipating all the new tips and tricks that I would pick up. Sadly however I was left a little dissapointed.

Hoping to see lots of tips for us musicians I was instead greeted by a collection of ideas for a rather different audience.

The book is squarely aimed at those leading groups of small children. Conveying musical ideas is just one of the goals of these exercises. Social and creative development are treated with equal importance.

The games themselves are divided into a number of categories: listening, concentration, expression, rhythm, sound, movement, Read more . . .