Sample Practice Plans

The basic outline of a Left Coast practice plan

• Breathing exercises and routines
• Buzzing exercises
• A simple exercise done the same way every day
• Arpeggio exercises
• Tonguing exercises
• Exercises for special problems or to develop other techniques
• Long tones
• Scales
• Music

Each of our exercises can be extended or leveraged. For example Exercise 1b might be played as plain as possible or with decrescendos on the last note, or continued on as low as possible, etc.

For a young student or beginner the entire routine before the music might only take ten minutes, for an advanced player it can be an hour or more.

Note that on the sheet we have an area where there are staves. You can write notes or variations on the exercises or write new exercises.

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Sample Beginner Practice Plan

• Reverse Ho Ho Ho
• Six Places
• Exercise 1 (done allegro with brick shaped notes)
• Exercise 4
• Exercise 5
• Exercise 8
• Long Tones
• Scales
• Etudes, solos, ensemble music, etc.

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Sample Intermediate Practice Plan

• Reverse Ho Ho Ho 
• Six Places
• Exercise 1 (done andante with a decrescendo on the last note)
• Exercise 3
• Exercise 4
• Exercise 5 with these fingerings: 0, 1, 23, 13
• Exercise 6 Horn in G
• Exercise 8 Horn in E and double tongued
• Exercise 15
• Long Tones, high and low
• Scales
• Etudes, solos, ensemble music, etc.

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Sample Professional Practice Plan

• Reverse Ho Ho Ho 
• Six Places
• Exercise 1 Largo with various dynamics
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 7
• Exercise 4
  
• Exercise 5 with these fingerings: 0, 1, 23, 13
  
• Exercise 6 Horn in A
  
• Exercise 8 Horn in E and double tongued
• Exercise 15 up as high as possible
  
• Long Tones, high and low
  
• Scales
• Etudes, solos, ensemble music, etc.
• Exercise 16 up as high as possible, every other day at the end of the playing day