Practice Methods

1. Specific goal:     "Play measures 12-16 at 120 BPM without errors"
                      NOT "practice the piece"

2. Focused attention: no distractions, full concentration
                      Quality > quantity (30 min focused > 2 hr unfocused)

3. Immediate feedback: metronome, recording, tuner
                       Listen back critically

4. Outside comfort zone: if it's easy, you're not improving
                        Slightly harder than current ability

5. Repetition with correction: repeat the HARD parts, not the easy ones
                              Identify the specific failure point

1. Identify the problem:   Where exactly do I fail?
2. Isolate it:             Extract the 2-4 bar section
3. Slow down:              50% tempo or less
4. Get it right 3× in a row
5. Increase tempo by 5-10 BPM
6. Repeat until at target tempo
7. Reintegrate:            Play surrounding context at tempo

Short session (30 min):
  5 min:  warm-up (long tones, scales)
  15 min: focused work on one problem area
  10 min: repertoire/fun playing

Medium session (60 min):
  10 min: warm-up + technique
  20 min: etude or technical study
  20 min: repertoire (problem sections)
  10 min: sight-reading or review

Long session (90+ min):
  Take 5-10 min break every 25-30 min
  Rotate between different types of work
  End with something enjoyable (performance run)

Cycle through these across the week:

Day   Focus
─────────────────────────────────
Mon   Scales + technique
Tue   Etude/study
Wed   Repertoire — slow practice
Thu   Scales + sight-reading
Fri   Repertoire — performance tempo
Sat   New material / exploration
Sun   Review + record

Track practice in a log:
  What you worked on
  Tempo achieved
  What still needs work

Use song references to remember intervals:

m2:  "Jaws" theme (ascending)
M2:  "Happy Birthday" (ascending)
m3:  "Greensleeves" (ascending)
M3:  "Oh When the Saints" (ascending)
P4:  "Here Comes the Bride" (ascending)
TT:  "The Simpsons" theme (ascending)
P5:  "Star Wars" theme (ascending)
m6:  "The Entertainer" (ascending)
M6:  "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" (ascending)
m7:  "Star Trek" theme (ascending)
M7:  "(somewhere) Over the Rainbow" to "some" (ascending)
P8:  "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (ascending)

Sing before you play:
  Hear the note in your head first
  Then play to verify
  Develops internal pitch reference

Transcription:
  Listen to a melody, write it down or play it back
  Start with simple melodies, increase complexity
  Best ear training exercise there is

Chord quality recognition:
  Major: happy, bright
  Minor: sad, dark
  Diminished: tense, scary
  Augmented: dreamy, floating
  Practice identifying by ear before analyzing