Products: The Practice Revolution

From the creator of PracticeSpot comes the book, with new thinking for music lessons' oldest problem... For teachers of all musical instruments, The Practice Revolution is the most ambitious, comprehensive and approachable guide to practicing ever undertaken. PracticeSpot founder Philip Johnston pulls out all stops in this tour-de-force of practice ideas and analysis, aiming to turn professional music teachers into nothing short of practicing experts... ... so they can then help their students become practicing experts too.

"This book is perhaps in the top 1% of all of the things I have ever recommended. Every sentence is new and important and this goes on for 321 pages...if teachers were to absorb the content there would, indeed, be a revolution in teaching and learning. Buy the book!" Canadian Music Educator Association journal

Table of contents (Read complete contents) A detailed contents listing of all 324 pages of The Practice Revolution. Includes all 17 chapters, topics and subheadings.	Back Cover Click on the picture for a full size version of the back cover (book is 6 inches by 9 inches)
Introduction (Read complete introduction) Why a book on practicing? The real question is why there has never been one before - this introduction features a startling statistic that no music teacher can afford to ignore.	Chapter 1 The Quantity Myth (Read complete chapter) The surprising idea at the heart of The Practice Revolution, and why you should be teaching students to do less practice, not more.
"...idea studded book on the whole practice process...when the student leaves, it should be with the practice skills to work alone. Johnston has generously outlined hundreds of ways to do that." California Music Teacher journal
Chapter 2 Giving Better Instructions Ensuring that your practice instructions are powerful springboards for the week ahead—directions that are precise, easy to absorb, fun to work with, and impossible to ignore.	Chapter 3 Common Practice Flaws (Read excerpt) What they are, how to spot them, what causes them and how to get rid of them. Included in this sample are 2 of the 14 classic flaws outlined in the chapter.
Chapter 4 Why Students Don't Practice (Read excerpt) A huge expansion of one of PracticeSpot’s most popular articles. This excerpt focuses on students with no Time Management Skills.	Chapter 5 Using the right tools for the right job (Read excerpt) It’s not how much you do. It’s which practice techniques you choose in the first place. It’s no good trying to speed up a piece with a technique designed to memorize.
"...a great success...a valuable resource for studio teachers in its wealth of strategy and stimulus to creativity" American Music Teacher journal
Chapter 6 Learning the New Piece Simple, easy-to-follow systems for becoming familiar with new pieces. Designed to get pieces "lesson ready" with a minimum of fuss.	Chapter 7 Making pieces reliable (Read excerpt) This chapter looks at how to make sure that pieces will behave themselves when the pressure is on. The excerpt makes the case for games as a powerful practice tool for dealing with this problem.
Chapter 8 Memorizing Pieces (Read excerpt) This excerpt takes a look at a relentless memorization technique known as the "Steamroller" —for people who think they can’t memorize	Chapter 9 Speeding Pieces Up Sneaky tricks for getting pieces up to tempo, together with practice techniques to transform sections that refuse to budge.
"...first rate. After reading only half the book, I believe it had a positive impact on my teaching...Consider buying both the book and stock in the company!" Horn Call - Journal of the International French Horn Society
Chapter 10 Taming Tricky Bits What to do when a section resists all attempts at repair. It's time for some specialist practice techniques to rescue things.	Chapter 11 Making the piece their own There’s plenty students can do in the practice room to start putting their own personal stamp on their performance. Techniques for bringing out the interpretations within.
Chapter 12 Preparing for Performance (Read excerpt) The few days leading up to a recital have to be handled carefully in the practice room—this excerpt looks at helping students get comfortable with starting their performance.	Chapter 13 Project Management The art of preparing for deadlines, whether it’s the next lesson, or a recital that’s twelve months away. Project Management strategies for students who have to juggle a variety of work.
“This is simply the best book ever written on the techniques of effective practice for musicians… Every performer who is interested in improving his/her art and craft can learn from this book. The chapters are detailed. Every page gives important, indispensable tips… Get this book you will be glad you did.” Review at Amazon.com
Chapter 14 21st Century Options 24 hour, 7 day a week support for your students as they practice at home...through your own studio website(!) The people who taught you won’t believe what’s possible now.	Chapter 15 The Role of Parents Parents can make or break the practice process. This chapter outlines the 7 essential supports that parents need to provide (nagging their kids to practice is NOT on the list)
Chapter 16 Towards Independence (Read excerpt) The ultimate aim of The Practice Revolution is for students to be able to work completely independently. This excerpt looks at how to start that process.	Chapter 17 Where to get more help The Practice Revolution is just the beginning. An overview of the extraordinary range of free support and resources available through the official Practice Revolution website.