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Lack of consistency seems to be one of the biggest problems that causes good players to not achieve their goals. I was recently thinking about the importance of developing consistency and I would love to hear the thoughts of others on the subject, but I have some ideas I'll share here:

1. Always practice each part of a piece of music or etude at a speed that you can play it accurately, (even if you have to play 16th notes as half notes).

2. Decide early how you want to interpret it, and make gradual changes as needed.

3. Listen often to good performances/recordings of the music you are preparing for ideas of how you want it to sound, (again decide early what you are going to do with the music).

4. Practice a whole lot and often with Smart Music Accompaniment from the very beginning (whether the piece has an accompaniment or not) for pitch and rhythm/tempo reference. Customize your Smart Music file so that it has the approximate tempo, dynamic and style settings you plan to use, and alter those customizations as you refine your interpretive plan.

5. If you are to perform your music with other players, get with them early, and do so several times before you perform it so you can agree on how you are going to interpret the music.

6. Record it often and listen to your recordings often. You will hear it from a very different perspective. Arnold Jacobs once told me in a lesson that when you are playing your instrument you are making a statement. He said the human brain cannot make a statement and ask a question at the same time. Listening to yourself via a recording gives you the opportunity to ask the questions you need answered as to how it sounds. The better the recording equipment, the more accurately your questions can be answered.

7. Perform the same music several times before your big event. Young children and family often make a good audience when trying to build confidence.

8. Develop a good warm-up and set of daily exercises that you do every day. It is often more important to practice the warm-up than it is to practice the performance music, when it comes to consistency.

9. Take care of your health. Charlie Vernon told my son, Austin that he didn't think he would be able to play if he didn't get good physical exercise, and I think swimming was his exercise of choice. Eat healthy food. Get plenty of sunshine and supplement with lots of vitamin D3. Get at least eight hours of sleep each night.

10. Learn about the Law of Attraction and use it. The Law of Attraction is a universal law has been known and used for eons. It states that whatever you think repetitively, you will get. If you are constantly thinking about how inconsistent your playing is, then you will get more of it. However, if you focus your thoughts on how accurate and consistent you expect your playing to be, then that will begin to happen. I had a real problem with consistency where I'd make a little mistake and the fear of that actually caused me to make several more in a performance. Mr. Jacobs told me to allow myself a quota and focus on what I was already doing right, and on making what I was doing right even better. He said that other problems with consistency would then take care of themselves. I think that is an excellent example of using the Law of Attraction to improve consistency.

11. Set your standards for excellence as high as you possibly can when it comes to accuracy and the quality of musical expression. Usually only one performer gets the position you are preparing for.

12. Sometimes your chops might not be a responsive as other times, if they are not on then you might not be able to stretch out a phrase quiet as much as you can on a good day. Know your limits.

Mark Howle

markaustinhowle wrote:
10. Learn about the Law of Attraction and use it. The Law of Attraction is a universal law has been known and used for eons. It states that whatever you think repetitively, you will get. If you are constantly thinking about how inconsistent your playing is, then you will get more of it. However, if you focus your thoughts on how accurate and consistent you expect your playing to be, then that will begin to happen.... I think that is an excellent example of using the Law of Attraction to improve consistency.

Everything sounds great except this bit. I know what you mean, but it isn't the law of attraction it's the power of suggestion and even that is a tenuous definition.

I have met very fine players who think that they stink. They are wonderful, sweet, modest players who just use negative reinforcement to constantly better themselves. Some of them believe that the moment that they accept one standard as "good enough" they cease to grow or improve. I think there is some truth to this for some players.

I have also met players who think that they are the best and they are just awful. Even after continual failure and wanting to be better, they didn't practice or do anything to become a better player, but they are convinced they are excellent. No Law of Attraction made them better players.

I do understand what you mean though, and it is a good point. I think what you mean is that you need to maintain a positive attitude about your playing and work to generate musically positive results. This is the power of suggestion, a sort-of variation of placebo effect.

This link could help clarify it a bit:http://www.skepdic.com/lawofattraction.html

Otherwise, you offer very excellent advice.

one of my mentors told me once, " an amateur practices until he gets it right, a pro practices until he cannot get it wrong !...

A slight tangent... as individuals, we know things that can improve our consistency. But for ensemble playing, it gets really frustrating when the entire *group* struggles with consistency.

I had a director once who made a very clear distinction -- "Practice is your business on your time, Rehearsal is MY business on MY time." And though rehearsals weren't always a lot of fun, having a little extra discipline from the top sure made for a more disciplined and consistent group. We rehearsed 4 days a week, so I sure didn't want to show up and make the same mistake 2 days in a row!

And also, for a LOT of pieces, there are LOTS of recordings available. It's not exactly a secret what the piece is supposed to sound like... so listen, learn, and go do it!

I have to agree even as a high school player. In a ensemble setting don't make the same mistake 2 days in a row cause that makes everyone think you don't care about what we are doing and it also shows that you aren't mature enough to practice on your own time. But this is also coming from the tuba player who never practices anything except his solos and his audition music.

knuxie wrote:You can't think outside the box if you don't know what's in the box.


Just sayin'...

"... there's gotta be a pony in there somewhere!"

I've found that I have been able to drastically improve my consistancy and accuracy by working to use only one embouchure position as much as possible when I play. I often see players use two or three different positions shifting their face as needed to be able to reach from the extream petals up into the stratosphere. This works kinda sorta until a fast interval jump between positions is required by the music and then the first note or two in the new embouchure position is often a clam, splat or wobble until the new positon centers.

I like to do lots of intervals using tuning Bb or C as my center point and moving up and down keeping my embouchure in position as much as possible. Sure I move my embouchure as I go up and down but my upper lip is always in the same position where it places my buzz right at the widest part of the mouthpiece. From there I can drop my jaw, open my throat and roll out my lower lip as I go down and/or roll my lips in and raise my jaw as I go up so my buzz is always centered in the widest part of the mouthpiece where I'll get the most vibration and color. By utilizing less movement to set for the notes you'll increase your accuracy greatly.