Practicing In Lessons

Some teachers are very much opposed to students practicing in the lessons. In some extreme cases, they will even dismiss you if you are unprepared. They feel as if you are wasting your time, their time and your money if you don’t practice before the lesson. This is an ALMOST justifiable attitude. However, it doesn’t take into account that some students simply don’t know how to practice.

In our lessons it will always be okay to practice in the lessons. While it is true that you SHOULD practice before the lesson and that you will never be the best player you can be until you do, practicing in the lessons is a valuable learning experience.

If you come to your lesson unprepared, instead of dismissing you, we will spend time teaching you how to practice. We will do this EVERY time you come unprepared…..even if it goes on for years (some people take longer to “get it” than others).

It’s VERY important for all of you to understand that we don’t repeat things often enough in our lessons to constitute real practice..

Here’s a rule all of you should follow:

Take the instrument off your lips for all rests longer than  one beat.

It’s as simple as that. If you follow this simple rule, you will gain an increase in your endurance and you will hardly ever feel like the rehearsal was “hard” or that you couldn’t get through it. You can rehearse practically all day this way without getting tired.