JOE DIXON
Trombonist, Lecturer on Brass Pedagogy and Performance, Wind Ensemble Clinician. Occasional photographer.
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—We strive for technic that exhibits both grace and agility; technic that demonstrates comfort with ourselves as well as a oneness with our instrument.
We work to discover an expressiveness in interpretation that goes beyond the ink on a page; an expressiveness that creates a lucid connection between composer, performer, and audience.
We try to instill an enthusiasm for our instrument in others.
But most importantly, we seek a sound, the voice in which we fall in love.
- Joe Dixon, Notes to a Young Teacher
© 2012
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10 Essentials for a Practice Environment
Practice is discovering and solving musical and technical issues, both physical and mental. If you are not doing this, you are not practicing.
Make practice sessions more productive by organizing in advance:
1. Have a quiet space that is free from interruptions.
2. You need a music stand for proper posture. Do not use an instrument case, your bed, the floor, etc.
3. Have a chair that is like you would use in performance. Do not use a bean bag chair, recliner, sofa, the floor, or a chair with arms.
4. Create and keep updated a chart of all skills and literature that you should be practicing.
5. Keep all of your practice material / literature organized and within easy reach.
6. Always have a pencil. Use it.
7. Keep a Practice Journal. Track your discoveries, new ideas, and reminders. Log your metronome markings.
8. You need a metronome. Use it LOTS.
9. You need a tuner. Use it LOTS.
10. Have a way to record yourself. EVERY DAY. Listen back with your audience’s ears.
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Excellence often requires attention to common sense, not just the profound.— Joe Dixon
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Still pleading for conceptual awareness of the difference between singing and yelling. And the difference isn’t volume. Try to hear lyricism.
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Metronome
The metronome has three primary uses: provide a specific tempo, teach the ability to perform with an even, steady pulse, and provide a systematic approach for incrementally adjusting tempo while working out fast technique. The metronome is not meant to count for you. Performers should focus on developing their own inner pulse or internal metronome. This internal clock is then compared to - and synchronized with - the external metronome. If the performer relies on synching their playing with the metronome without developing an internal pulse, performances (obviously without a metronome) can be unstable. The metronome is no more a substitute for your own rhythmic stability than the tuner is a substitute for your own ability to play in tune. These are great aids for developing our skills, but they don’t replace them.
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