What is slow practice? And how can it benefit me? Today in this article, I want to answer both these questions and go a little more in depth on the benefits of slow practice.
Many of you know that throughout the Membership modules here at Learn Flute Online there is a wide variety of pieces to be studied and learned. I have created tunes that are simple, dramatic, quick, slow, loud, quiet, and fast. It always seems that I receive the most questions from those speedy quick pieces. Why is that?
You’ll speed your way to great flute playing!
In my experience, the main culprit for students’ difficulty with those quick pieces is that they don’t take the time to slow WAY down and learn every little detail. This is what slow practice is all about.
So, if you are one of those students who likes to fly through the modules and sometimes forgets to take the time to use slow practice, pay close attention today as I highlight some important benefits.
1.Everything is right on beat
One of the main reasons I encourage students to use slow practice is so they can really place all the fast notes where they are supposed to be in the measure. “Use your metronome” is something I say so often that it probably sounds like a broken record to most of you. Slowing the tempo down for those quick pieces allows you to solidify the rhythm of tunes so when you speed it backup every note is in its proper place and the piece sounds clear and beautiful.
2. Your fingers learn those tricky fingerings
Have you ever heard me talk about 100 times spots before? Well this is where they come into play. Some fingering combinations can be very tricky for our fingers and slow practice is necessary to get those down. Once we have practiced those tricky fingerings over and over and over again, our fingers memorize what it feels like and we are able to focus more on the tone color and dynamics of our music.
3. You will be able to go even faster in the end
This benefit if very closely related to the last two. Once you have all the fingerings down and everything is in its proper place in the measure, your fingers have the ability to fly even faster than you thought. But, this is only possible through slow practice at the beginning.
4. Perfect practice makes perfect
If you haven’t heard this quote before, memorize it right now. Perfect practice makes perfect. It doesn’t matter how much you are practicing if you are practicing wrong. So take the time to use slow practice and make sure you are playing everything perfectly so you can play polished, professional pieces each time finish studying a tune.
By using these essential tips and noticing the benefits of slow practice, you’ll speed your way to great flute playing. Promise.
