Hi everyone,
In this post I'm going to explain how to practice to using the 'Building Blocks' approach, and this is a method that my current flute teacher swears by using.
The 'Building Blocks' method can be used for scales, arpeggios, studies and pieces; as well as helping you to develop your techniques.
The whole approach is designed to not overwhelm your brain by focusing on one aspect at a time, and to make it more manageable for you to handle without doing everything all in one go.
Example 1
You have been learning your new instrument for a few months, and your teacher asks you to learn a One Octave G Major scale; and you're not familiar with scales and there patterns and where to go on your instrument. Your teacher should then play you the scale in full, so then you can hear what the scale sounds like and what you should be aiming for within your practice sessions.
A One Octave G Major Scale :-
G A B C D E F# G
First Step
Break the ascending scale down into smaller chunks to make it more manageable. What I would do is split the ascending scale into two groups on four notes or if you find that a little too much then split the scale into four groups of two notes.
Second Step
If you are splitting the scale into two groups of four I would just focus on the first group of four notes, which are G A B C, and then slowly focus on getting your fingers used to where all of the notes are within that group, and then when you feel confident with just playing those four notes you can then progress onto the second group of four which are D E F# G, and use the same method that you used for the first four notes.
Third Step
Once you feel confident that you can play all of the notes, and they feel stable enough under the fingers you will then attempt to put the ascending scale together as one complete ascending scale. It might take you a few attempts to get your fingers to do as they are supposed to do, but it should be a lot easier than if you didn't use this method.
Fourth Step
Once you have got the ascending scale under your fingers you will use the second step to work on the descending scale. So you will you focus on the notes G F# E F, and then once you feel confident with those you will then move onto the notes C B A G.
Fifth Step
Once you have broken the scale down both ascending and descending its now time to put the complete scale together. This might take you a few attempts, but you will get there and it should hopefully be a lot easier for you to handle.
This method can also be used for arpeggios and technical development such as slurs and staccato.
Example 2
If you were a relatively new student to your chosen instrument, and your teacher decides to give you a simple piece that contains 8 bars in total, and it contains the key signature of C Major.
To practice this piece you would break it down into smaller and manageable chunks.
To start you would just focusing on maybe the first two bars, and then when you feel confident in playing those two bars you will then move onto the next two bars. Once you feel confident with the first four bars you will then slowly attempt to put all of those bars together. It may take a few attempts to get it to sound as it should, but it should be easier for you handle as you have been breaking it down into smaller chunks.
Once you have got the first four bars secure you then move onto the next two bars using the above method, and the same with the final two bars; and once you feel confident about playing the last four bars it will then be time for you to put the piece together as a whole.
Another thing you can do using the 'building blocks' is use it to improve on your scales and pieces, once you have all the notes down.
For example: If you mastered your One Octave G Major scale, and you want to do something different with it. What you can do is turn that scale into a technical exercise by focusing on area that you want to improve upon.
- You may want to focus on your slurs by slurring each group of four notes
- Practice on working on your staccato
- Have a go at experimenting with different dynamics
Another thing you can do is once you have notes down for the piece/s you have been learning, you might want to improve on your pieces by exploring different styles, techniques, and tone or any tricky spots that you may have come across and you may be struggling to fix it.
For tricky spots - Isolate the bars the bars or passages that you may be struggling with, and break it down into more manageable chunks. Start off slowly to get your fingers used to what they are supposed to be doing, and then once it feels stable then slowly build up to the recommend tempo. If a couple of bars still doesn't feel quite right, then isolate those bars and do some more slow practice until it feels more comfortable under the fingers, and then start to build up the tempo. Then once you feel comfortable with that you have tackled the tricky, just have a go at putting it all together and see how you get it on with it.
Once you have tackled the tricky spots you then might want to refine the rhythm of the piece, or work on some of the technical aspects.
The aim of using the 'building blocks' method is to make everything more manageable, by breaking everything down into smaller chunks. It's always easier to start off with just by working on getting the notes down under the fingers, and then once you are comfortable you can then start to slowly progress through other aspects of a piece or a scale
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