by Philip Johnston
Diary Building 101: Practice Tools Templates
There’s an overview of how practice tools fit into your diary here, but below is the list of what’s available, and the thinking behind each. Remember, these are options—you’ll be able to include whatever you need, and omit what you don’t.
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Manuscript Paper
Like any resource on this list, you could omit manuscript paper entirely from your diary, but for most studios it’s too useful to ignore. The staves are ungrouped and clefless, ready to be used for whatever theory/composition purpose you need.
Recommended page count
Depends entirely on how extensively you would be using it.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half]
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Practice Planner
It’s up to you as to whether students use this to map out their practice in advance, or record what they actually worked on. The 7 days are labelled Monday-Sunday, but could be relabelled as Day 1- Day 7 to reflect the fact that the student’s lesson is probably not on a Monday 🙂
Recommended page count
Should match the number of weeks your Lesson Notes covers. So if you have set up 20 weeks of lesson notes, then you should also have 20 pages for the student to be able to plan/record the corresponding practice.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_one_half first] [av_textblock ]
Long Term Planner
6 months at-a-glance, allowing students to record dates for upcoming recitals/workshops/whatever. There isn’t space for details beyond the headline entry, but this is where parents and students will look first when they’re wondering about what’s coming up.
There are three versions of this:
- July-December 2013
- January-June 2014
- July December 2014
I’ll make the 2015 calendars available once 2014 hits. (Holy heck…is anyone really planning that far ahead though?)
Recommended page count
One instance of each is plenty.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_one_half] [av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’15’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_textblock ]
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Practice Time Tracker
Given my rants against mandating practice times in The Practice Revolution and elsewhere, I’m not wild about including this at all…but it can come in handy for studio practice competitions/practiceathons etc, where time is the quantifiable metric. Don’t start me though; practicing to a clock is a horrible idea.
Recommended page count
Because there are two weeks per page, you’d need one page of Practice Tracker for every two weeks that the Lesson Notes section of your diary covers. So 20 weeks of lesson notes would require 10 pages of the Practice Time Trackers for the corresponding practice.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_one_half first] [av_textblock ]
Practice Challenges
Practice challenges is an alternative/supplement to the traditional “here’s your job for the week” practice instructions. Rather than setting tasks with a due date, you issue challenges without deadlines. As students complete each challenge, it’s ticked off.
The workflow is based very much on quests in computer games. Students are free to work in a non-linear, non-time-critical way; they can choose between a menu of tasks, rather than being strapped to a treadmill.
Typically these challenges are optional extensions to the work you’re offering anyway—ideal for competitions, awards systems, and students who thrive on autonomy.
Recommended page count
Depends entirely on how extensively you’d be using it, and how bite-sized/enormous the challenges are.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_one_half] [av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’15’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_textblock ]
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Sticker collection
These are placeholders for any stickers you might award, with space both for the stickers themselves, and details of what the stickers were for. Comes in two variations: one to accommodate 0.75 inch stickers, another to accommodate 1 inch stickers.
Recommended page count
Unless you’re very sparing in handing out stickers, you probably need to factor in several pages of these. Obviously irrelevant if you don’t reward students with stickers in the first place.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_one_half first] [av_textblock ]
Practice Randomizers
For students who thrive on their practice being unpredictable…or those who tend to avoid working on things they don’t like. Here the dice will determine what the student works on next each time—or how they work—so the choice is made for them. Of course, you will have predetermined what the possibilities are by defining what each shape means.
So you might assign a different practice task to each shape. Circle means your scales, please. Square is your recital piece.
Alternatively, you might assign areas of focus to each shape. Land on a circle, and your focus for the next 10 minutes is all about posture. Land on the square, and it’s all about tempo control.
Or the shapes might determine passages within a piece. Or different tempos. Or different ways of playing (Circle means “exaggerate your dynamics”, Square means “strictly in time; no rubato)
It’s up to you each week; the board game is a great way to direct your students’ practice, while keeping it feeling fresh and unpredictable. Comes in two versions, one with shapes, another with animals.
Recommended page count
One of these is sufficient.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_one_half] [av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’15’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_textblock]
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Practice Boardgame
Again, like the Practice Randomizer (above), the rules are entirely up to you, or the student, making this resource endlessly repurposable. There are seven different symbols, together with “reversed” versions of each (white instead of black) to create variations on the options. For example, for a pianist, a black circle might mean “Page 2, right hand alone”, while the white circle might mean the same page, but left hand. Next week, that same black circle might mean “All your major scales, each 3 times in a row with no errors”, while the white circle might invoke minor scales…or 10 times in a row…or major arpeggios…or just the major scale you find most difficult…
How will you choose to use the boardgame? I have no idea. That’s the point: it’s your boardgame, it’s your rules—you could have completely different rules for every student in the studio.
Recommended page count
If you’re choosing this resource, one instance would be sufficient.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_one_half first] [av_textblock ]
Rep Counter
Provides an easy way for students to track “X Times In A Row” practice challenges. (Or simply “X Times altogether”).
They can set their difficulty based on which of the vertical strips they attempt; alternatively they can start by defeating the “3” column, then move on to the “4”, then “5”, and so on.
(You may very well come up with uses and rules for these counters that I haven’t thought of…it’s your diary, so be it!)
Recommended page count
Again, if you’re including this resource, one instance would be sufficient.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_one_half] [av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’15’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_textblock ]
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Key Randomizer
Every major and minor key, scattered on a grid—again, what this is actually for is both up to you, and readily repurposable. Does it determine which scales a student would attempt? Drill them on key signatures? A challenge for them to transpose a short melody into the chosen key? Improvise in that key instead?
Add it if it’s useful, ignore it if it’s not.
Recommended page count
One instance, if you’re including it.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_one_half first] [av_textblock ]
Tempo Tracker
For gradually speeding up technical and passagework…or ensuring they don’t speed up. Ranging from 60 to 220 bpm in 10bpm increments, the Tempo Tracker provides a clear visual way for students to chart their progress, or tether their horses.
Recommended page count
One instance, if you’re including it.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_one_half] [av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’15’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’] [av_textblock ]
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Terms & Signs
Rather than being a set dictionary, this is a personal glossary where students can record new terms and signs as they encounter them in their repertoire—a growing list of relevant musical definitions.
Recommended page count
If you’re including this, it’s worth having several pages—these can fill up fast.[/av_textblock] [/av_one_half] [av_heading heading=’Building your Diary 101′ tag=’h1′ color=” style=” padding=’10’] [av_one_third first] [av_textblock ]
Video Tours
Inside your diary: Part 1 (8 min)
Inside your diary: Part 2 (6 min)
Getting Started
How they’re structured[/av_textblock] [/av_one_third] [av_one_third] [av_textblock ]
Your Front Cover
Your Introduction
Introduction Ideas[/av_textblock] [/av_one_third] [av_one_third] [av_textblock ]
Your Lesson Notes
Practice Tools
Practice Tools Templates[/av_textblock] [/av_one_third]