Routine - Etude - DoctorFlute

Just like there are those people in the world who enjoy practicing tone, there are people in the world who don't enjoy practicing etudes.

Now who can imagine that?

I love my etude practice time, and there are many-a-day where I have skipped my solo practice time for the challenge of another etude. However, for some who can't figure out how practicing an etude can take up any more then a short romp through the notes, I'm here to give you some pointers so that you can get the most our of your etude practice time.

Etudes, or studies if you prefer, offer an incredible wealth of learning. By taking the time to treat etudes as a solo, you can learn so much that will travel over to your solo practice.

Here are some pointers to get the most out of your etude practice.

Divide etude into sections. Practice each with a metronome to remain very consistent.
Begin at a tempo that allows you to play perfectly the first time through that section.
Move the tempo up slowly from that point.
Find the phrases. Play musically through the phrase.
Don't make mistakes. Learn to concentrate.
What are the melody notes in each phrase? All notes in etudes are not the melody. Learn to let the melody notes lead and the other notes move you to the next melody note.
Once all sections have been learned through at a certain tempo, play all sections with metronome on and don't make mistakes.
Learn the etude to the tempo marking or metronome marking with no mistakes. I really find that this helps to improve my concentration and my technique like nobodies business.
Use different articulations to help learn technical passages.

These are just some of the ways to practice your etude. Believe me, this can take a whole lot of time. If you really work on perfecting an etude you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can improve in many areas of technique and tone.

I could go on and on about etudes, but I won't....maybe I will....later......

Enjoy!

Dr. Flute

How to Practice Etudes