Music, Education, and Technology

We musicians spend so much time doing it, but how can we be sure we’re optimizing our practice time to further our skills, nail the audition, or land that gig? The following is a collection of thoughts on practicing from two renowned musicians at Berklee: Matt Marvuglio, Dean of the Professional Performance Division; and Larry Baione, Chair of the Guitar Department.

In the following Artists House Music video clip, after an incredible jam session with Matt Marvuglio, Larry Baione shares his own personal practice tips, which are designed to increase versatility, ‘hand intelligence,’ and dedication to improving technique.

In his article entitled, “On Practicing”, Matt Marvuglio says we practice for two reasons, 1. Performance: a specific engagement, audition, or a recording session; 2. Mastery: to keep improving on your instrument because you love playing it and you want to learn the literature and master it. He goes on to explain that sometimes the two meet and practicing satisfies both reasons.

“On Practicing” also defines and describes three levels of thinking that are going on when we play music or practice: automatic, veiled, and controlled. The purpose of practicing is to process musical information into these three categories of thinking. This article, complete with sample practice routine charts, will help you to approach your practicing in a more thoughtful and practical way.

How do you approach your practice time? Do you make the most of the time and plan out a structured routine? I hope these resources from Berklee’s performance division will help you to improve your practice routine and make the most of your practice time.