Measure Practice Charts

I have been asked a few times about a MeasurePracticeChart Excel file or MeasurePracticeChart PDF that has been mentioned in some Facebook groups. It is something I came up with after speaking with Dr. Alan Huckleberry, who was one of my professors while I was working on my D.M.A. in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Iowa. He spoke about how he would take a piece and check off all the measures that he could sight-read, or measures that were repeats of other measures. This would account for approximately 25% of the piece. Then he would focus on the other measures, and set a deadline to have the rest finished. This is how he survived working as an accompanist in the trombone studio while earning his D.M.A. at the University of Michigan. 

I am a visual person, and love to be able to see progress charted. I used these measure charts exactly like Dr. Huckleberry mentioned when I was working as an accompanist, but I also used them for my learning of solo repertoire. They are motivating for me as I make goals and reach them, and color in each box. Recently I have been using them with my students in my private studio. I hope they are of help to you or your students!

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COMMENTS1

  1. I think this is a really great idea to use to remind us to be smart about breaking down a new piece into a manageable plan. I will also try this with some of my students who look at a piece with dread when it is long. I try to show them how the piece actually has a few sections/themes that repeat but I think a graphic chart may help better drive the point home. Thanks for the great idea.


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