When I first started my student teaching semester (which I will say was absolutely fantastic, but that's a story for another time), I was worried that I would not have as much time to practice flute as I have in past semesters. I have heard so many stories of music education students who stop playing when they start teaching. Yes, teaching is an enormous time commitment, but playing the flute is the reason I want to be a music teacher in the first place. Was that just going to disappear?
Well, as it turns out, they were right about one thing. I DIDN'T have much to time play. I used to be able to find at least an hour, maybe two, in my crazy music student schedule to practice, and that was great. But when you teach, you teach the entire day. After school, chances are you need to do lesson plans, or have errands to run, or you're just too physically tired to spend an hour or more practicing.
But, what I found out as the semester went on is that even though I didn't have as much time, it was still entirely possible to practice. And the best part? I actually felt like I improved more this semester than I have when I did have two hours to spare.
Why?
I think it's because when you have less time, you figure out how to use it wisely. Some days I had maybe 20 or 30 minutes to play. That's okay, because you can actually accomplish a lot in that short amount of time if you use it effectively.
Say you have 30 minutes. Where is your time best spent? The answer is different from everyone, but this is what helps me:
5 minutes of a tone warm up. Whatever that means for your instrument: long tones, harmonics, octaves, slow scales, breathing exercises, whatever warm ups give you the best possible sound.
10 minutes of scales. It doesn't matter which ones. Major, minor, chromatic, etc. Pick a few each day and cycle through them so that you play each one at least once a week. Change the articulations and tempos. Use different scale patterns.
10 minutes of arpeggios. Major, minor, 7th chords, anything. Mix up the articulations and patterns here, too.
5 minutes playing a piece. Any piece. As long as it is musical and your best playing. And have fun with it, that's why we play music in the first place. :) I found that if I was stressed, just taking out a favorite piece and playing through it was a good way to relax.
(Oh, and try to play something every day. Playing 10 minutes almost every day is more effective than one hour one day a week.)
An even better way to practice while teaching is to play for the students! I planned a lot of lessons at the elementary where I played flute to teach dynamics or style. And when I taught at the secondary level, I would play for or with the students whenever possible to model how to practice. It's so important for them to see a model of how to be a good student and a good musician. I also got much better at playing from memory and transposing this way.
Even if we don't think we have time to practice, we can still find a way to keep playing. The most important thing is to never stop playing music. ♫
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