Chock-full of ideas and advice, you will find yourself turning often to this engagingly written and extensive encyclopedia on practicing for the music student!

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Product Description

The ultimate guide to practicing - a massive 376 color illustrated pages of practice ideas, tips, tricks and traps. Written especially for today's busy students (and their parents), in a bright and breezy format that invites browsing - plenty of subheadings, pullquotes, and fully cross referenced. Just look up the issue that's bugging you (say "speeding pieces up" or "preparing for performance") and the troubleshooting index will recommend all the Practiceopedia entries that will help...and will even tell you how they'll help...so you're now equipped with a smorgasbord of possible solutions to try. A mammoth compendium of practice wisdom from the author of The Practice Revolution.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71211 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-26
• Binding: Paperback
• 376 pages

Review
"The ultimate reference for students...this is a 'must have' book. Practicing will be a brand new game every time. " --Music Teacher International

Review
...there are so many good ideas here, I can't begin to list them." --European Piano Teacher's Association Magazine

Review
"Brimming with tips to help develop effective habits in the practice room...belongs on the music stand and piano rack of every practicing musician." --American Music Teacher Magazine

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Customer Reviews

If you play an instrument, GET THIS BOOK!
I have been playing piano for 8 years, and teaching for 3, and I STILL found so many ideas, tips and hints in this book. The motto is "practice smart, not hard", and this book shows you how to do just that. It is organized as an encyclopedia, and is not meant to be read straight through (although I must admit that I found it so interesting that I did just that!) It is organized into sections of common practice problems, and each section includes page numbers of related topics. So wether you're struggling with counting, sight reading, motivation, getting ready for a performance, or anything else, you'll find all the help you need. This book has so many good ideas, and teaches you how to create a practice plan, and how to break down an impossible song into tiny achievable steps. One of my favorite tips is the "blinders". You place a piece of paper over your score and cut out holes right where you have trouble spots, so when you practice you only see the places that you're struggling with. And there are SOOOO many more great ideas in this book! It is useful for ANY music student, no matter what instrument you play. At first I doubted that something so general would be useful for me as a piano student, but it is truly one of the most valuable resources I own!

A must read for anyone trying to further their technique in anything
This is my first review but I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I've been playing piano for about 38 years. After this much time practicing one would think that I would have figured out how best to accomplish my musical goals. After reading this book I've come away with a system that allows me to accomplish more in less time. The adage that more time practicing yields better results isn't true and Johnson justifies this. Practicing smarter, not harder, is the mantra of this book. Chocked full of many innovative suggestions this book provides many solutions to most all of the the common practicing problems; be it concert preparation, learning a new piece, working through difficult passages, or memorization. Yet, this book is also useful for anything that requires technique development; be it martial arts, sports, etc. I can't recommend this to everyone and have decided to give it as gifts to all the musical people in my life.

A MUST for serious musicians or those who want to become serious musicians!
My daughter's harp teacher recommended this book to my daughter. If her teacher recommends a book -- it's well worth the investment and this is definitely one of the best "tools" she has. My daughter has been in the book every day since it arrived and has also recommended it to friends at school who are interested in music but not nearly as advanced. She's also recommended it to top musicians in the youth orchestra and college orchestra she plays with. I just have two words for parents -- BUY IT! You won't be sorry but rather glad to see your child has a practical tool to help prepare for competition, performance and just raise the bar on their playing abilities. This of course also carries over to other areas of life.