Tag: practice technique

Soaking the Pan – A Practice Technique

Soaking the Pan is a clever name that one of my students and I came up with together. It’s a pretty common technique that most people do already without thinking about it, but I’ll describe it, step by step, just in case it’s a process that doesn’t come natural to you.

How Did We Come Up with the Name “Soaking the Pan”?

You know how when you’re doing the dishes and there’s the crusty pan that had the entrée in it? You will probably need to soak the pan, possibly overnight, but you want to get a good crack at it and see if you can get it cleaned up tonight so you have less work later.

So, before you even start cleaning up the dishes, you fill up that crusty, filthy pan with water. Usually by the time you’re done with all of the dishes, that pan cleans up easy as pie. Minimal scrubbing needed.

This is an analogy of what we can do when practicing music. Here’s a step-by-step description.

The Steps

  1. Identify the tough parts. You may have already been doing this by marking parts that you want to work through later, but you can usually identify them with the amount of black or jumps in that area.
  2. Play through the tough parts. You can run some small section practice techniques during this time, but just playing through helps, too.
  3. Play the whole piece. The tough parts aren’t so tough anymore.

Conclusion

I’ve been using the soaking the pan practice technique ever since I can remember. It’s always been very natural to me. I decided to write about it, anyway, because not everyone thinks the way that I do. I hope it helps!

Technique: Your Secret Weapon

Ever have that friend who improves faster than you and you can’t figure out why? You know you’re both practicing the same amount of time every day. You’re working on a similar level of music in your ensemble. How is this possible?

Your friend has a secret – she is using a technique book during practice. Sometimes they’re called studies, sometimes they’re called journalliers. Whatever you want to call them, they work like magic.

The Purpose of Technique

Technique takes the hard parts from most music and pulls them apart into easy exercises. The goal of technique is usually speed. How fast can you play this simple, little, nonsensical exercise?

Because you have pulled that tough portion apart and worked on it piece-by-piece, when you find it in music, you just breeze through it like it’s nothing.

When to Start on Technique

I usually don’t start my students on technique until I think they’re ready. For piano, that means they need to be reading the notes on the staff because I prefer the technique books that don’t go with the lesson books.

For flute, there are technique studies in the lesson books, so I start kids on separate technique books when they’re out of the lesson books. If you want to see my picks, check out my favorite repertoire page here for flute and here for piano. The piano page will be coming next week.

How Do I Start on Technique?

First contact your teacher. See if your teacher has a master plan for you, or has a preference on technique books. I will be posting my lists of favorites soon.

How Does Technique Fit into Practice?

In the order of your practice, technique should be played after scales and before etudes. It should be part of your warm-up, because scales don’t always completely warm up your muscles. It also helps you play your etudes and repertoire better.

When I started using technique, it was a difference of night and day. My musicianship exploded. I hope this helps you out.

How about you? Has technique affected your playing?