Musician's Practice Log (Paperback)

~ Burton Kaplan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Musician's Practice Log" is part of a well-thought-out system, and anyone can benefit from using it. -- Tom Heimberg, Strings Magazine, Feb/March, 2001

Product Description

A completely new way to increase music practice effectiveness. The Musician's Practice Log helps a player put in more time on a regular basis, and improves the way that time is used. Best of all, it only takes five minutes a day to log in the information that gives each player a clear picture of his strengths and weaknesses. As a result, valuable insight is gained and improvement is inevitable. Music practicing is turned into a joyful skill instead of a sometimes happy accident.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: Perception Development Techniques (December 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918316049
• ISBN-13: 978-0918316042
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Organize your Practice!, October 4, 2005

By	H. DEHAVEN "Roadhouse Blue" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This "Practice Log" is the best thing to happen to my guitar practice time in years! By sitting down and planning your daily practice a week in advance, you set yourself up for a much more orderly practice time.

Yes, you could create a log for yourself. However, I bet that you would not think of all the little extras that are included in this one. One of those little extras is a laminated sheet to plan your week (on one side) and your next day (on the flip side) of practice. I suggest that you use permanent markers for things that do not change often (erase with rubbing alcohol) and use non-permanent markers for the things that change often (erase with water). That has worked best for me with less mess.

The graphs that you generate in the back of the log tell it all. If you are not putting in the time for practice, there it is in black and white. YOU see it and YOU know why you are not advancing as you might want. There is just something about graphing it out that makes it more obvious where the problems are. Speaking of which, there are sections to make note of what you feel your weak areas are and what your strong areas are. If you are working with an instructor, this information could be of use to them. If you are "self-teaching," it certainly tells you where you need to focus your future practice!

The instructions explain how to use the log in simple terms. This is a "tool" that would be useful to the beginner all the way to an advanced player. There are sections for you to "reflect" upon your practice over the past week/month/etc. There are also sections to make notes on ways that you think of to improve your practice or find more time for practice.

It will take you a week or two to get used to the system, but it is worth it. I saw significant improvement in my time management when I began using the log.

It would have gotten five stars instead of four if there were better goal-setting sections. Goals are implied by the material that you are scheduling into your practice, but I think that a section with weekly/monthly/yearly goals would be helpful. On the other hand, it is nice to have that separate since you may have a two-year or three-year goal for your musicianship as well, and each log book holds only 16 weeks of data. Having these goals written out separately may work out better. Besides you can print your goals out in big red letters and put them on the wall in your practice area to always keep them in sight! It is my humble opinion that you need daily/weekly/yearly/and long-term goals in order to stay motivated.

By the way, I use these logs for guitar practice, but I don't see any reason that they could not be applied to piano, voice, or any instrument.

You owe it to yourself to at least try one. It may work for you too! Besides, it is an inexpensive experiment and you may just find that you also enjoy using them.

Roadhouse Blue

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars huge practice help, June 24, 2006

By	D. Fish (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had no idea just how much being able to keep a log of my violin practice times would help me! This book had everything to do with transforming my practices from erratic sessions into consistent (and constant) organized work.
I'm proud to say I've been very succesful in all my musical endeavors as of late. I can't live without this book now!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet!, May 4, 2008

By	T. Bollhagen "Paganini Freak" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Every musician needs this book- especially if they are more experienced players. It gives you a realistic and interesting view of how you spend your practice time, and helps to streamline it.