Re: [Harp-L] practice

[Ken Deifik <kenneth.d@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> What should a good practice session consist of. What's the optimum time 
> for a session.

This question is going to get alot of responses from alot of people who 
know how to make very good use of their practice time.  Try everything that 
is suggested, and put together a program that works for you.

I practice daily.  You won't believe how fast you will improve if you never 
miss a day.

I practice for between 1/2 hour and an hour.  An hour is way better.

I use a metronome.  Used to work in slower tempi and then faster ones.  Now 
I mainly practice in the faster ones for that part of my workout.  That's 
the warmup.

Then I cue up some practice tracks and practice swinging.  I'll force 
myself to play some extremely simple improvised melodies, often using only 
one or two or three notes to state a them and then perform very, very 
simple variations.  The main thing is to swing those notes, try to make 
these simple variations infections and enjoyable for myself.

I then add in some elaborate licks and then go right back to simple.  I try 
to improvise interesting places to break into elaborate, sometimes highly 
elaborate, melodies and then to break back into simple stuff.  I try to 
tell myself musical stories in this way.  Practicing simplicity and 
practicing swinging - it makes you deep.  I love playing fast and playing 
intricate improvised melodies that I have never heard before, but I love 
swinging a few notes much more.  I do alot of both in my practice sessions.

I then practice my dynamics by playing some fiddle tunes in first 
position.  I do not improvise at all on that stuff, not notes anyway.  But 
I DO improvise changes in dynamics.  Dynamics also tell a story.  When I 
improvise dynamic changes many are kind of meaningless, but I am always 
hitting on new meanings produced solely by changing dynamic changes at 
places I was not consciously intending to place them.

Dynamics and swing are very big deals, and they're great parts of your 
craft.  If you are just beginning to practice, those are elements that 
will, as you get better at them, make your music more and more human and 
expressive.

If you're very new, practice those single notes.  Get to where you can make 
pretty notes without thinking about it.

Importantly, as you try out the suggestions people are about to make, 
choose the ones that are fun.

Ken