Front Cover
I was walking through the library the other day when I saw the book Practicing Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To! by Phyllis Sdoia-Satz and Barry Satz on the shelf. I thought it might have some interesting information or suggestions that I could use in my classroom.
If you are professional musician or educator, there is really nothing in here that is going to blow your mind. There are mostly common sense suggestions that we have all used millions of times. However, this book could be extremely useful for parents and students who are beginning music lessons.
Each chapter has four main sections: “For Everyone”, “For Parents”, “For Students”, and “For Instructors”. The authors present practice advice and then direct each of these groups how and why to implement these techniques. I think that why is an important word that we don’t use with our students enough. There are also chapters that deal specifically with piano lessons, voice lessons, and music therapy.
Parents who read this book will know how to encourage their students and understand why instructors tell their students to try different practice strategies. They will also be able to assist their children with their practice. Having involved parents can make a huge difference in the success of a child!
Students who read it will also understand why we instruct them to play two notes over and over again until they get it right. It’s not because we’re bored, but rather the moves need to be engrained into muscle memory.
One of the lessons that I tried to teach to my students throughout the course of the year was how to practice. I know that I had a hard time practicing when I was a student, because no one really explained what to do. I can certainly identify with a frustrated beginning instrumentalist. If I had read this book as a student (or even a condensed version of it) I would have gotten much more out of my practice sessions.
I am planning on making a list of practice techniques to had out to my students at the beginning of the year. We will take some time discussing how to execute them, what they will improve, and why they are important. I plan on having them keep them in their music binder and refer to them throughout the course of the year. Hopefully, it will help them practice more effectively.
I also plan on revamping my “Practice Snakes”, which I hand out every week (more to come on these later). I want to make sure the students have goals targets that they should meet each class.
For those of us who are looking for a more advanced and technical book about practicing I would suggest checking out Practicing for Artistic Success by Burton Kaplan. I haven’t read it, but I know several people that swear by it.
Practicing Sucks wasn’t terribly interesting for me, and it was full of truly awful puns and “jokes”. However, it would be extremely beneficial for parents and students who are thinking of pursuing music. I would recommend it to those people. For more advanced players, I would suggest Kapplan’s book.
Let Music Be Music 