Hey everyone, so here’s the post nobody asked for: My New Practice Routine
So when I got back to my apartment and was able to go to school to practice, I ended up creating a routine/schedule to follow everyday. It kind of felt like it just came to me, but after some thought I’ve realized it’s just all stuff I’ve been told I should do by professors or things I need to do for the school year. I’ve never shared any sort of practice routine simply because I’ve never had one, even when I did practice challenges in the past I had no goals or routine to work on the things I truly needed to. Pictured is all the books and sheets I’m currently using, almost in the correct order from left to right but I do use one twice at different points so my explanations will go into that
5 minutes breathing exercises:
Once I get my oboe and all of my supplies out and organize my books, I get up and do breathing exercises for 5 minutes. Mostly breathing in deeply and holding it to help expand my lung capacity since my breathing is terrible. I texted one of my old teachers to ask for more ideas so next week I’ll be adding some of those to my routine as well. After the timer goes off I sit down and work on the reed alone for a minute to get my embouchure and posture in place before I play.
30 minutes of Barret scale/articulation exercises:
There’s 30 scale exercises in the Barret book and I do one from every page, so probably 10 of them altogether. I really try to focus on having a full sound and being supported especially on the slower exercises. I usually finish with around 10 minutes on the clock once I’m done, then I use the rest of the time to focus on one of the 12 articulation exercises in the book.
30 minutes scales reverse 3rds/6ths:
For my next scale jury I have a few sheets with scales in reverse 3rds, 6ths and reverse 6ths I need to work on. Right now I’m taking them as slow as needed, mapping out the fingers and working on the leaps so a lot of the time I don’t get through all of it which I’ve realized is okay. I just get as much as I can in the time I’ve blocked out and pick up the rest the next day.
30 minutes of the Vade Mecum scale exercises:
My current prof has been pushing using the Vade Mecum scale exercises since he got here last year, so I’m trying to implement it into my schedule since I’ve had the book forever. It’s the same sort of thing, I’ve been going as slow as needed and mapping out fingerings so I don’t usually finish this either and I just leave it once time is up as well.
30 Minutes of Ferling etudes:
I was really frustrated with the Barret Grand Studies, so I decided to revisit Ferling etudes which I haven’t done since high school to do something different. I work a bit on the faster etude I’m doing then give my hands a rest to work on the slower etude. I’m taking the faster more technical etudes as slow as needed and using techniques I’ve been taught to get it all smooth and kind of effortless.
30 Minutes of Orchestral Excerpts:
This is what I consider the fun part of my practice because orchestral playing is my favorite part of music in general. I choose like 2 to spend 15 minutes on each, it really depends on how long or technical the excerpt is. For example, one of the audition excerpts is super short and there’s not a lot I can do with it so I maybe only allot 5 minutes of super focused practice on it. I use the Vade Mecum for my excerpts, as well as taking the sheet of audition excerpts as well. Right now I’m not going too hard on audition music but I really want to focus more on it the next few weeks.
Scale Chop Busting Exercise (Maybe 20 minutes??):
This last one was a suggestion from my former prof who I had a lesson with to get back in shape, and it’s been kicking my butt. Basically I’m doing every 2 octave major and minor (harmonic+melodic) scale from Bb to G on 16th notes then doing the arpeggios to go with them. I just start my stopwatch at the beginning and log the time I spend which has been getting faster because I’m speeding up the metronome a bit every time. Then I die and stagger my way home
Things I do in between or extra helpful things for me:
- I take out my reed a lot to blow on it alone to remind me to reset my embouchure correctly
- I’ve started logging everything so I remember what I needed to work on the next day
- I set a timer for each block and if I don’t finish I don’t sweat it and pick it up the next day. Mainly because I get frustrated and I think working on things while you’re upset or emotionally charged can be counterproductive and you make new mistakes and possibly set yourself back. I would obviously change this if I was working on things that had a deadline and adjust accordingly, but since it’s summer and I’m working on things without a deadline besides auditions I can do that.
- I take frequent breaks and either get up and walk around or do something on my phone to get my mind off practice for a little
- This is for Monday-Friday, I’m purposely taking it slow on the weekends to help my hands recover so I only do like an hour Saturday-Sunday
-This will definitely change during the school year with ensembles and juries so I’ll have to rework it, but I’d like to keep all of this in my routine
I think that’s it, I’m actually really enjoying practicing for the first time in awhile and I think this routine is helping. I’ll be at school for like 4-5 hours and it feels so short with the breaks, all of the blocks go by super quick and I’m feeling some improvement
