How to Not Practice*

Now that I've got your attention -- notice the asterisk. Practicing your instrument is of course one of the most important activities for developing as a musician. If you want to have a career in music, and especially if you want to perform for a living, you need to wake up every day knowing at least a couple of hours will be devoted to cultivating your craft in private, focused practice.  I have been playing trumpet nearly three decades -- and I still really enjoy practicing, and still strive to be better today than I was yesterday. As much as I don't like to hear a student say "I haven't practiced because...," sometimes it truly is not advisable to practice, and it may be helpful to consider how to use our time when we are not practicing. 

*Situations that may preclude us from practicing include:

1.      When our lips are in pain and/or have that "pins and needles" feeling.

2.      When we’ve already played a lot and additional practicing could be unproductive or injurious.

3.      When there is a big performance that night for which we want to “save our chops.”

4.      After we've had wisdom teeth extraction or other surgery that makes playing difficult.

5.      When we have experienced an injury to our hand, arm, or other part of our body that makes it painful or difficult to practice.

6.      When we have an illness that makes it difficult to practice.

7.      When we are traveling and finding a physical space to practice is problematic.

Often I find students in these situations just throw in the towel, play video games, watch Netflix, or find other ways to squander their time. However, when we find ourselves in these and other situations, there are many other ways where we can still be productive and develop as musicians. Below is a list of 25 examples of activities we can do to keep growing even if we're not practicing:

1.      Listen! Find ways to actively listen to great performers of your instrument. Here's one way: Identify five performers you admire. (Ask your teacher for a list if you don't know where to start.) Go on YouTube, Spotify, ITunes, etc., and compare and contrast their sound, artistry, and interpretation. Learn as much as you can about each of the players. Why do they play the way they do? How is their vibrato different? How is their dynamic range different? How is their tone quality different? Come up with five distinct and descriptive adjectives for each of the five players, and try to avoid using the same adjective twice. Discover what makes each of these players unique, and compare these adjectives to words you would use to describe your own playing. When you do practice again, keep this list of adjectives nearby and use them for inspiration in your own practice and performance.

2.      Listen to recordings of yourself. Charlie Geyer once told me, “When you listen to a recording of yourself, there’s only one question you need to ask yourself: ‘Why is this not the best player I’ve ever heard?’” Listen for weaknesses in your playing and make a list of ways to improve those deficiencies in your future practice sessions.

3.      Transcribe.  For jazz musicians, this is an obvious and crucial step of development, but classical player can and should do this as well. You don’t need to rely on finding the pitches on your instrument – use your ears! (Although having a piano nearby is helpful.) You can use notation software, but I like the old-fashioned way -- Get a pencil and staff paper.  Transcribe anything – improvised jazz solos, yes, but you can also transcribe standard classical repertoire, early music, new music, anything! (One thing I have been doing a lot lately is transcribing pop songs off Youtube to be played by the UK Trumpet Ensemble and UK Faculty Brass Quintet to play at school concerts and/or as encores.)

4.      Find a musician who has the ideal career that you would like to have. Perhaps they are an orchestral player, a college professor, a composer, jazz musician, a band director, etc. Look them up online. Find out everything you can about them: where they went to school, who their teachers were, what they did before the earned their current position, what competitions they won, what summer festivals they attended and/or teach at, etc. Learn from their career path and seek new inspiration and ideas from their story.

5.      Research five specific job postings for positions you might be interested in one day. Look at the job description, audition and application requirements and think about any weaknesses you may have. If the audition description requires two choruses of improvisation on Up Jumped Spring, that might be a clue that those kinds of jobs require improvisation so you had better get to work in that department. If an orchestral position requires part of the audition on rotary trumpet and you’ve never played rotary trumpet, you might want to look to get access to, and experience on, that instrument. If the application requires a video of you teaching, and you’ve never recorded yourself teaching, you might want to do that!

6.      Listen to recordings of lessons you have taken. (In order to do this you need to record your lessons, of course.)

7.      Listen to the music of other instruments. (Recently, I have been listening to a lot of vocal music.)

8.      Study the piano score for the solo repertoire you are currently working on or may play in the future.

9.      Study the score to large ensemble and chamber music repertoire that you’re currently working on or may play in the future.

10.  Research solo repertoire you might want to play on future juries, recitals, etc.

11.  Research chamber music repertoire you might want to play on future recitals, concerts, etc.

12.  Practice your piano/keyboard skills.

13.  Practice your ear-training and sight-singing. (There are some cool resources, apps, programs, and podcasts for this.)

14.  Study music theory.

15.  Study music history.

16.  Visit the websites of professional organizations, such as the International Trumpet Guild and Historic Brass Society. If you're not a member, join. Catch yourself up to speed with conferences, competitions, news, and other events pertinent to your instrument. Find ways to get involved.

17.  Read period treatises written for your instrument. (For trumpeters, this could include Fantini, Bendinelli, Altenburg, etc.)

18.  Read journal articles for your instrument. (For trumpet players, this could include the International Trumpet Guild Journal, Historic Brass Society Journal, and many others.)

19.  Read well-respected books on your instrument. (For trumpeters, my two favorites are Keith Johnson’s The Art of Trumpet Playing and Kristian Steenstrup’s Teaching Brass.)

20.  Research summer festivals and programs you might want to participate in this summer.  Carefully check out deadlines, cost, and other requirements. (Shameless plug: University of Kentucky Summer Trumpet Institute, June 8-11, 2020)

21.  Research graduate programs in music. Contact potential teachers, inquire if you can get a lesson with them and if openings in their program fit your timeline for graduation.

22.  Compose new music.

23.  Arrange existing music.

24.  Listening to music and pedagogy Podcasts.

25.  Reading music blogs.

When I was a student, I was generally pretty good about practicing.  But the other stuff -- this list of 25 "other" things to do when you're not practicing -- I was pretty bad at those things. Looking in the rearview mirror, I should have spent more time in these areas.

Yes, of course, practicing is essential to your development and we must make a priority for it every day. That being said, I hope this list inspires you to be more productive with your “time away from the horn.” As soon as you can, get back at it. Coming up in the next blog entry – How to Practice!

Jason Dovel is associate professor of trumpet at the University of Kentucky and a Yamaha Performing Artist. He is host of the annual UK Summer Trumpet Institute held every June in Lexington, KY (USA).