What's your practice routine?

athenae · Post by **athenae** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:01 pm

I just read the thread about "What pieces are you playing?" and I noticed that most people play multiple pieces at once like Faure, Poulenc, and Liebermann. So I was wondering how long do you guys practice, and what do you practice (like technique, long tones, etc) during that time?

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:47 am

It depends on how much repertoire that I am covering, and how much time I have. If I am only working on a piece or two and I have plenty of time, my practice schedule looks something like this:

Warm Up:
Harmonics: 10 minutes
Long Tones/ long tone triads: 10-15 minutes.

Scales: (cover major, relative minor, thirds *major and minor*, inverted thirds, whole tone, chromatic, major minor diminished and augmented triads, MM 7ths, Mm 7ths, mm 7ths, all within one key).

About 45 minutes on scales.

I then go into my etudes (if I have any) and will spend about 30 minutes on it.

Then my Orchestral excerpts. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes on these.

Lastly, my repertoire. I will try to spend 1-2 hours on this.

Normally I get anywhere from 3-4+ hours a day of practice (not including rehearsals). But keep in mind that I am a music major in college, and my whole day revolved around music. When I was in high school, I got anywhere from 1-2 hours of practice a day.

JennyColville · Post by **JennyColville** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:14 am

I'm not the best person to reply to this as I am a very naughty player and my practice is very poor!!

None the less, this is what I tend to do:

1) 10mins on scales and I always play 3 octave C major chromatic as this covers all the notes (which seems like a good way to get all your fingers and keys warmed up!).

2) Hold some long low and high notes to warm up my tone.

3) Play play play lots and lots of music. I tend to have several pieces I am working on but also play some of my favourites, regardless of what level these pieces are. I play for as long or as short amount of time as I like, dependent on other factors such as if I am very busy! I try to not play for TOO long so that I don't become bored of my music or of hearing myself (if that makes sense!)!

I usually play for about an hour.

I hope that has been useful, I am not setting a very good example!

cflutist · Post by **cflutist** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:39 pm

fluteguy18 wrote: Warm Up:
Harmonics: 10 minutes
Long Tones/ long tone triads: 10-15 minutes.

Scales: (cover major, relative minor, thirds *major and minor*, inverted thirds, whole tone, chromatic, major minor diminished and augmented triads, MM 7ths, Mm 7ths, mm 7ths, all within one key).

About 45 minutes on scales.

I then go into my etudes (if I have any) and will spend about 30 minutes on it.

Then my Orchestral excerpts. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes on these.

Lastly, my repertoire. I will try to spend 1-2 hours on this.

Normally I get anywhere from 3-4+ hours a day of practice (not including rehearsals). But keep in mind that I am a music major in college, and my whole day revolved around music. When I was in high school, I got anywhere from 1-2 hours of practice a day.

WOW !!!! Quite Impressive.

Now I know why I wasn't a music major.

Mummy the Flautist · Post by **Mummy the Flautist** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:41 am

I only started learning the flute yesterday. At the moment I've set out two fifteen-minute sessions per day, in which I practice getting some good clear notes and play some simple tunes.

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:34 pm

cflutist wrote:
fluteguy18 wrote: Warm Up:
Harmonics: 10 minutes
Long Tones/ long tone triads: 10-15 minutes.

Scales: (cover major, relative minor, thirds *major and minor*, inverted thirds, whole tone, chromatic, major minor diminished and augmented triads, MM 7ths, Mm 7ths, mm 7ths, all within one key).

About 45 minutes on scales.

I then go into my etudes (if I have any) and will spend about 30 minutes on it.

Then my Orchestral excerpts. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes on these.

Lastly, my repertoire. I will try to spend 1-2 hours on this.

Normally I get anywhere from 3-4+ hours a day of practice (not including rehearsals). But keep in mind that I am a music major in college, and my whole day revolved around music. When I was in high school, I got anywhere from 1-2 hours of practice a day.
WOW !!!! Quite Impressive.

Now I know why I wasn't a music major.

Now I know why I am a music major- (hehe) I love to do this kind of work.

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:40 pm

that said though, i do like to screw around, take a few days off now and then, and have a lot of fun- but, I haven't started my music major life as of yet- so I guess those lazy habits will have to die in the fall.

There's just too much competition in this flute world to not work your butt off and at the same time find as much creativity, expressive depth, and artistry as you can discover in your musical life

MathWizard · Post by **MathWizard** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:00 am

I don't have a real structured practice routine, but I always try to get in at least 5 minutes of warm-up.

Normally, once I am done warming up, I like to go onto SmartMusic and play a couple of marches to warm up my articulation (personal favorite is The Billboard March), and then play a couple of slow songs to warm up my tone.

Then I just find songs randomly, or start practices solos if I am playing one soon. Currently I am working on the Carnival of Venice.

Bo · Post by Bo » Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:52 pm

I don't have a fixed routine either (although I SHOULD), but I do practice 1 hour a day. I also play other instruments, otherwise I would play longer.
At the moment I am practicing The Flight of the Bumblebee...

nikkiekck · Post by **nikkiekck** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:07 am

Hello, though i am a returning begginer.(returning after 20 years i played in 5th grade for a year) I do have 10+ years music knowledge. I practice mid morning for a hour and a hour in afternoon and a hour at night when all are asleep. when i practice i start with just warmups practicing notes and such then i work on music pieces and not the same one all the time then it doesn't get boring. im not up to a mozart level but hope to be someday im looking into some private lessons since im doing this for my own enjoyment and not for a school.then i may take out the morning session. hope this helps.

Arianna · Post by **Arianna** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:24 pm

I have been experimenting with the Debost routine outlined in the 'Simple Flute'...so:
1st: I run through the pieces I am playing and make a list of things to do that day during practice time.
2nd: Go through my technique:
Taffanel and Gaubert:
-#1 or 2 (lately double tongued)
-#4 (1/4 of this-alternating daily, using the Debost scale game)
-#6, 8 or 9 (alternating daily to get through all of them)
Reichart: #2 and 4 daily
Anderson etudes: doing 1 per week
3rd: Tone
Moyse: De la Sonorite #1 or 2 and then #3
Harmonics and Octaves
Sometimes Moyse Tone Development through Interpretation
After that I work on my repertoire. Usually I spend between 2-4 hours a day practicing. I am a full time flute teacher though, so having a good routine helps me be a better teacher.

caitlin i · Post by **caitlin i** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:40 am

JennyColville wrote:
1) 10mins on scales and I always play 3 octave C major chromatic as this covers all the notes (which seems like a good way to get all your fingers and keys warmed up!).
---------------------------------------------------------
3 Octave C Chromatic Scale covers almost all the notes. If you have a low b you should start with a 3 octave chrom. scale on b then c, c#, d, e flat, e can be tricky and f also a little tricky.

That will cover the entire range of the flute.