Beginner's Practice Regime - Help Appreciated

[Billy The Fish]

Wasn't sure whether to put this here, or in the practice section, but as I am a beginner (and as the practice section posts mainly seem to focus on more experienced players) here I am :D

I have now been playing for 5 months (3 months on alto, switched to tenor 2 months ago). I am looking to put together a comprehensive practice regime, and whilst I have some thoughts, your input would be appreciated to make sure I don't go off on the wrong track, or miss something I should be focusing on.

I can practice 2 hours each evening, so my proposed regime is based around that (unfortunately a long working day means I cannot break up the 2 hours into more manageable half hour or hour sessions).

Long Tones - 10 Minutes

I currently set my metronome to 60bpm and hold each note for an 8 count from low Bb to high F and back down to Bb.

Scales - 30 Minutes

I have been focusing on 5 scales at present (Major, Dorian, Mixolydian, Blues and Chromatic), and run these from the root to the 9th and back. I run the 4 mode/blues scales in all 12 keys from low Bb to middle Eb (which ends with the 9th at high F), alternating daily between moving up stepwise from low Bb and running the cycle of fourths from C. I run the chromatic scale just once up and down from low Bb to high F.

Scale/Chord Patterns - 30 Minutes

I use the 20 basic patterns in the Jamey Aebersold Volume 1 book at the moment (although I have just ordered Jerry Coker's Patterns For Jazz which should arrive shortly). I play the 20 patterns in 2 keys each day and adapted to cover 3 different scales (Major, Dorian, Mixolydian). The patterns use the Dorian mode, which I adapt by unflattening the 3rd and/or 7th to turn the patterns into Major and Mixolydian patterns. By using 2 keys each day I basically get to use the patterns in all 12 keys each week.

Jazz Conception - 20 Minutes

I currently spend 20 minutes working on my technique/conception using Jim Snidero's Jazz Conception (recently switched from Lennie Niehaus's Basic Jazz Conception). I load the etude I am working on into Acid Pro to timestretch the tempo down to half speed and gradually built up to full speed. Once I can manage an etude at full speed with no mistakes I move to the next etude (currently on etude 10). If I make mistakes, I cut back on the tempo to the point where I can play it perfectly - repeating mistakes over and over is no way to improve (I know from experience playing other instruments :x )

Learning Tunes/Standards - 30 Minutes

I plan to spend the last half hour learning the heads and chord progressions to standards to build up my song repetoire. Should I start by learning a number in the original key, or look to learn a smaller number but in all 12 keys ?


Any thoughts on the above ? Does it sound reasonable, or is there anything you would suggest/change ? One thing that does appear to be missing is any actual time improvising. However, perhaps I could fit that in with the Learning Tunes section ? If I learn the chord progression, I can perhaps look to play a head and then try to improvise on the progression using Band In A Box. At present I am not particularly comfortable improvising, especially on anything but the simplest modal progression, but I guess this will come in time :roll: .

Any suggestions, or input would be gratefully received.

Billy The Fish

[jac2384]

Sounds good to me. You doing that every day?.. I odnt usually have two free hours

[Razzy]

A few comments. Everything looks good written down. However, you may not be doing it to the best possible ability you can. Meaning, you may not be very critical with yourself. And that is one of the key points of practicing. To me, there are three tenets you have to keep in mind at all times while practicing:

- Only practice what you have not mastered; otherwise you're just playing
- Be highly critical with yourself. Ask yourself, "would I get paid to play like that? would other more experienced musicians appreciate something like that?" If the answer is no more often than yes, start being hard on yourself!
- Hit everything you want to work on every day. This isn't like weightlifting or anything where you do it hard one day, and rest the next. You've got to do it every day to see progress at the rate you want.

So, about the long tones. Let's analyze long tones with each of those points in mind. I practice long tones almost exactly as you do, but I am more specific. I do 3 sets. In one set I play them all pianissimo, as soft as I can. In another, I start as soft as possible, crescendo to as loud as possible, then as soft as possible, while keeping the pitch intact. Then I do a set of overtones. During all three sets, I gauge the pitch with an electronic keyboard on sustain. I check to make sure I breathe correctly, that my embouchure is correct, that I articulate correctly to start the note cleanly, and that I end the note cleanly with the tongue. I keep in mind that my throat should be open, the air support should feel a certain way and be at a certain strength, etc. If any one of these factors is unsatisfactory, I stop immediately and begin that tone again, usually trying to sustain it longer, perhaps 12 seconds.

So you can see how critical one has to be to make any sort of progress! You can also see that I do them in several ways to hit all the aspects of sustained notes, and I haven't even gotten into relative intensity or octave key exercises yet. I know that sometimes the tone sounds like crap because I do this so often and will practice when my chops are blown sometimes. But this is the key, to work on what I have not mastered. Long tones are pretty much impossible to master, as long as you always have a goal. And that brings me to my next point.

Have a goal in mind. The easiest one to have in mind is to say, "I want to become a professional musician and make a career out of music." But this is also the hardest to attain. It's a necessity that you practice that way in every aspect of your practice, and acknowledge that you will change as you advance, thus your routine will need to be updated, old, unnecessary things stricken, etc. At the start of every practice session, make it your priority to get closer to that goal. At the end of every session, ask yourself if you think you've done enough work to get closer to your goal.

You also seem pretty rigid with your timeframes. I've learned that this doesn't work for me; I sometimes need extra time on certain particular days when one aspect or another of my playing is becoming very frustrating and it takes longer to trudge through it. You say that repeating mistakes is no way to improve, and you are correct. But I bet there are mistakes that you are not even aware of in your playing. This is what great teachers are for. Find one, no matter the cost! If you really want to do this, a great teacher is an incredible asset. He can check your progress but more importantly he can let you know when you've been practicing with your head up your ****...

About learning tunes, I'm not sure exactly how far along you are but a good place to start is with happy birthday, take me out to the ballgame, I got rhythm etc. easy stuff. The easier and cheesier the better, it gets you working! Then worry about the harder stuff and the jazz standards heads. And yes you should at some point make an effort to learn those in all 12 keys. But not until you're ready.

I learned my scales practicing them the way you do, one octave or add the 9th or whatever. This showed up in my improvisations: I would stick around a 1-octave range and not go too high up or too far down. Better to practice them full range, starting on the tonic, going to the highest note you can possibly play in the scale, down to the lowest note you can possibly play in the scale, then back up to the tonic. This utilizes the full range, is a great chops workout, and doesn't waste your chops playing say, two separate scales for Bb1 and Bb2. Same goes for arpeggios, patterns, chromatics, etc.

Hope this helps you out, I realize it's a lot but just try to work with a little bit at a time! You'll have a lot of frustrating practice sessions until you hit another plateau, cruise there for a while, hit another, etc. If your practice isn't frustrating or at least challenging to you, you've wasted your time.

[Billy The Fish]

Great advice Razzy, thanks :)

[MS]

Billy - your routine looks good.
Regarding learning tunes. I would do some in all twelve keys, but I'd pick easy ones to start (St Thomas, Now's the Time, Sonny Moon for two, etc). Head and one or two choruses. It will help if you have a system, perhaps numbers for analysis: ii/v7/I etc. Learn the songs by this numbering system -going from key to key I think would be easier. Harder songs usually modulate for short segmenets and will be a little trickier.

[Konrad]

I wish I was a kid and had the time and energy to practice like that...

Oh well.

[Billy The Fish]

I wish I was a kid and had the time and energy to practice like that...

Oh well.

I wish I was a kid too ! At 35, it isn't youthful energy that keeps me going, it is the desire to make up for lost time :D . Actually, I am fairly used to lengthy and structured practice regimes having a background as a guitarist and pianist. Personally, I would like to break it down into smaller daily chunks, but work seems to get in the way :cry:

Billy The Practicing Fish

[ajcurtis]

Billy, how do you arrange your time to practice 2 hours a day? I work shifts and I find it really hard to devote a regular slot in my life to playing the sax. When I have the time I'm tired so please divulge your secret.
ajc

[MattC]

Billy - you and I are kindered spirits my friend, I'm also thrity five and trying to make up for lost time on this blasted instrument. One suggestion I'll make regarding learning tunes. I would (and did on bass, and will again on sax) first start by learning blues and rythm changes with as many corresponding head as you can. I think this does a few things, first it REALLY gets the changes to these oft used chord progressions in your head because of shear repitition, second, because of that it will be eaiser to take them through 12 keys (think number not letters) and third, you will wind up with a fairly sizable stable of tunes that you can play well. Think about it, write down all the tunes you'd have under your belt if you could only play blues and rythm.

Here's my biggest dilema and question. When I was studying bass, I practiced for a minimum 4 hours a day. Usually I was practicing 6 to 8 hours a day when giging or going to school and more when I could. How the hell do you structure a practice routine in two hours and actually accomplish anything. I'm looking at your routine Billy and it is very similiar to what I've been doing - but it seems so inadequate!!!! Half an hour for scales? To do this "right" (for me) I would need at least an hour - AT LEAST, just for scales and warming up. Arpeggios and other chord studies - at least another hour. There's two hours and I haven't even gotten to working on rythm studies or tunes yet! Uhg, how do you guys who only practice an hour a day do it?

[GizmoSax]

Uhg, how do you guys who only practice an hour a day do it?

Now you "kids" listen here... having only played the radio or stereo for the last 48 years, I have more catching up of lost time to do than most of you. I am very new to playing the sax, and try to practice for an hour a day. However things like Job, wife, family, bathing, sleeping, tend to limit my practice time to 1 hour if I'm lucky.

I figure I have at least 12 years ahead of me, to get good enuff to be able to play on a street corner and supplement my old age pension check. At an hour a day I should just about make it in time before retirement.

Time for this old guy to go practice now.

[Sigmund451]

Hi gizmo, Im new to all this too but not quite the old codger you are yet :lol: ....But getting close.

With the family and all it is hard to squeeze it all in thats for sure. I started late too. Drop me some mail if you want

Sigmund451@hotmail.com


anyone else can too if they feel like it....unless of course Ive pissed them off by some irritating post :roll:

[MattC]

Fair enough...

Of course if you gave up bathing that would get you an extra hour. Actually, depending on how tolerant a wife you have it might net you quite a few more! :lol:

I'm seriously struggling with this. I did three and a half hours last night. Two as normal and then another hour and a half because I couldn't sleep thinking about what I didn't "accomplish", so I went to the parking garage and shed some more around 1:00AM. It's sick - I know.

Which brings up an interesting point. I have always loved music and practicing it - but it deffinately became a little stressfull earlier in my life (I attended a performing arts high school and college) - always having to be at a certain level and continually improving, especially around NYC the pressure can be a bit much as there is so much great talent around. Now, after not having played an instrument for 10+ years I should just be able to accept it as a hobby and not worry about things that obviously don't matter at this stage of the game - but I'm having a hard time with that. I don't know how to "do" music for fun. :shock:

Hmmm.... I have issues....

[Billy The Fish]

Crikey, Matt - you were right. We ARE kindred spirits !

I know that this music lark is just a hobby. I gave up any pretentions to being a pop star 20 years ago. But I am obsessive. And like you, I worry about what I havent achieved more than what I have achieved. I always feel I have to be the best I can be. If I pick up a saxophone, playing Three Blind Mice is just not going to cut it for me. I have to be playing Giant Steps in all 12 keys by the end of my first day :dazed: . (Okay, I may exaggerate a little, but I am sure my point is not lost on you).

What I failed to admit in my initial post is that I also have a guitar and piano practice regime to keep up, as well as a day job with relatively long hours in a high stress environment ! At least as an insomniac I get to practice the guitar and electric piano in the wee small hours with my headphones on :wink: .

However, when it comes down to it, I have to say that I would not change a thing. I love my music, even when it doesn't love me back :D .

Billy The Fish

[DecaturBill]

Count me in as a beginner working on a practice schedule! 8)

I just logged the end of my fourth week on the morning after my first tenor lesson after too many years off to count.

I am a flutist of thirty years' standing and put in three to four hours on that instrument daily. I started back on tenor setting an hour to an hour and a half aside to practice with an eye to increasing that as needed.

Balancing two instruments is going to be difficult, especially once I get deeper into sax.

Any suggestions? :wink: