April 26th

I practiced for 20mins today. I started off by practicing the Db Concert scale again.This time the scale went better. The scale is 90% fluent for me and the flats are coming along very well. With another practice, I should master these notes. I then practiced the Study No.5 from the red book again. This study went way better than last time I played 90% of this study without mistakes. With another couple practiced this scale should be 100%, and then I will move to help increase my rythm patters.I then practiced chromtic scales no.2 & 3, for 5 mins as I have not played these scales in a while. They went well, but I need to constantly play them to keep my note fluency up. I practiced Pirates for 5 mins and still focused on bars 96-108, and the notes are almost all fluent for me, and once they are I will start to increase the tempo as I am going very slow right now.

April 23rd

I practiced for 25mins today. I chose a new study today, the Db concert scale. I chose this scale because I have trouble reading flats because I am frequently only play sharps. This scale went well for me becasue the falts are relatively easy and not that hard to hit. I am 70% fluent with this scale.With a few 3 or 4 more practices these notes should become 100% for me. I also started a new study from the red book today, study No.5. This was a semi-challenging study to start off to play because I have not heard it before and I am not very good at playing eigth notes after dotted quarters. With 4 more practices I should be able to master this because the study is very repetitive. This will help improve my rythm patterns. I the practiced pirates a bit for fun since we have finished all of our band music. I especially practiced bars 96-108 as those are the hardest bars for alto's in the piece.

April 21st

I practiced for 30mins today. I started off by playing C Concert scale for 5mins. This scale is almost 100% for me, and with one more week of practice I should have mastered it. These sharps are all very familiar for me but playing them all together, at a fast tempo can be very hard so I am really working on the scale in thirds and picking up the tempo every time I play it. The scale went well. I then played study no.4 again like last week. I still have not mastered this sutdy, but I think with 1 or 2 more practices it should be GOLDEN for me. I practiced this for 15mins. This study is challenging for me because it uses a lot of rythm patterns I am not used to , but if I keep playing this study they will become second nature for me. This study is going preety good for me. I then played Rumble on the High Plains for 10mins. I quickly ran through the important parts in the piece as I have not played it in a while. I especially practiced bars 51 to 62 to make sure I can still play all the right notes. I then practiced bars 175 to 194, and this went well. I played these sections because they are the hardest in the piece and if we play it in kiwanis. I need to be 150% fluent with them.

April 14

I only practiced for 20mins today. I practiced the C Concert Major Scale for 5mins. I played the scale in half notes, eighth notes and in thirds. I played the scale well as the sharps in it are very familiar with me as they are in a lot of the music I play. I still need to work on the notes though especially when Im playing the thirds.This will help increase my note fluency, and my ability to play different notes together. By next week the scale should be 100% for me. I then practiced study no.4 in the red book, for 5mins. We played this recently in class, and it is 85% for me right now. I am going to keep practicing it for the rest of the semester because it really works on different ryhthm patterns, which is one of my biggest weaknesses. I then practiced the Holst piece for 10 mins. I ran through parts E to G in the 4th movement quickly, and I then I practiced the sections I am going to be playing for the test.

April 9th

I practiced for 40 mins today. I started off by practicing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd chromatic scales for 5mins because i have not playing them for a while. They are 100% fluent for me, but I go over them to keep that fluency up to date. I then practiced the F concert scale for 10 mins. I started of with the scale which I am 95% fluent with. With one more practice it will become natural. I the moved on to the scale in thirds and that went ok, and i should keep practicing that so I will be able to play this scales notes better. I then played the chorale by Bach and that was fairly easy, I need to work on the breathing marks though. I then practiced Study No.3 in the red book for 5 mins. I am preety good at this study considering I have played it last year and a couple times this year. I know all the notes because they are all naturals for me. I practiced this a couplee times through to really work on my staccato notes. I then ran through all the Holst movements that we are playing and they are all going well, but I still need to practice them regularaly to make sure I get down all the rythems and notes right but it is going very!!! well.

April 5th

I practiced for 30mins today. I started off practicing the F concert for 10mins. I can play majority of the notes all ready because I have played the notes numerous times with the bad pieces. With a few more practices those notes should become 100% fluent for me! I then practiced the 4th and 5th chromatic scales to further increase my fluency with notes. I have majority of the notes down but will continue to practice the scales until the are second nature for me. I then practiced Holst for 15mins. First I practiced H to the end in the First movement. I slowed down the tempo for 5mins, really working on my noted and slurs, then I played it up to speed for 5mins to help me master the section. I then went over part E to G in the 4th movement. I really slowed down the tempo and worked on the notes and rythmes to master this very difficult section. With a few more practices at home and at school I will have mastered this section.

April 5th

April 2nd

I practiced for 25mins today. I practiced the chromatic scales for 5mins. I have mastered all the notes and slurs but am still practicing the scales to keep improving my note fluency. I am going to start to try to play #5 and 6 of the chromatic scales next time I practice. I practiced the ebconcert scale for 5 mins and have mastered all the notes. I then practiced the chorale for 5mins and have mastered all the notes and breathing marks. Next I practiced the 4th movement of Holst for the last 10mins, and especially worked on section D to the end. It is going well but I need to focus on the clarity of my notes still so next time I practice I will be slowing down the tempo again and trying to run the whole movement. The other things I am practicing in the Holst movement is the lower register and the doublets but will also be focusing more on them next time I practice as I mainly focused on notes this time.

April 1

I practiced for 20 mins today. I practiced the eb concert scale for 5 mins today. I have perfected all the notes and have mastered the scale. I then practiced the chorale on page 17, for 10mins, which is due friday. I mastered all of the notes and am working on my pauses and breathing in the piece. With one more practice I shoud be able to master the entire chorale. For the last 10 mins, I practiced mainly Holst, working on movement two as that is the movement I have played the least. I am playing it well but need to slow down my tempo becaause I am still going a little to fast. Once I play it with the band I should master the tempo. The other piece I worked on was Rumble and I just went over a couple of notes that Ive had trouble with to master them, especially the notes in the lower register.