Practice Room

Practice Room

Besides offering high quality individual and group instruction. In an effort to help you get the most out of your practice time at home All 12 Notes has created The Practice Room. Here you will find supplemental materials in the form of hand-outs, play alongs, audio examples, and resources that will aid in your growth as a musician.

Swing Jam Materials

Click here for play-alongs and materials for the instructor-led Swing Jam which takes place the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.

Blues Guitar Materials

Click here for play-alongs and materials for the Blue Guitar 101 class. Private lessons students use the above link as well.

Music Foundations

Click here information relating to music theory, note recognition, and helpful handouts to gain a solid foundation.

Freebies

Need blank staff paper? Click here.
 
 

Keys to Effective Practice

Why

Why is practice so important? When you practice at home, you give your muscles a chance to get stronger just like any other athlete. It is also very important to practice concepts learned in lessons so you and your instructor can move on to another concept at your next lesson rather than reviewing what you learned last time.

Tools

Before sitting down to practice, make sure you have all the tools you need.
 
Below are the recommended tools.
  • Your instrument
  • Pieces, exercises, or other materials assigned to practice
  • Metronome
  • Pencil
 
Other suggested tools:
  • Music dictionary
  • Microphone and recording equipment
  • Computer for music software

When & How Much

Try to practice at the same time each day to make it a habit. Some suggested times to try are: right after school, after snack, while Mom/Dad are making dinner, after dinner, after homework, after bath/shower, or right before school.

Aim to practice every day

Suggested amounts of time:
  • Grades K-2: 15 minutes a day
  • Grades 3-5: 20 minutes a day
  • Grade 6 and above: 30 minutes a day

How

First of all, remember to be patient. Learning an instrument does not happen over night. Set a small goal for each practice session. Focus on one problem and really listen to your playing.

Start with the big picture by looking through the entire piece and think about these elements:

  • Melody
  • Rhythm
  • Harmony
  • Dynamics (p, mp, mf, f, crescendo, diminuendo)
  • Articulation (staccato, legato, accents)
  • Try spots in the piece first that look difficult
  • Play slowly through the piece
  • Find a tricky spot and practice it until it feels comfortable.
  • Play the entire piece again.
Other ideas:
  • Go back in your book and play old songs you like.
  • Compose/Improvise your own songs or try to figure out a song you like