1. The objective of daily practice is to work toward producing a clean characteristic sound on their instrument. In addition to the production of the characteristic sound the students are learning the fundamentals of reading music.

2. Students will practice 15 to 20 minutes a day.

3. Here is a step by step guide to practicing at home.

a. Start with 3 minutes of abdominal exercises. Breathe in for 4 counts and exhale for 4 counts with a sizzle sound. Students are required to tap the foot at a steady speed any time they play the instrument. Not tapping the foot will result in 10 points off the playing grade.

b. Two minutes of buzzing on the mouthpiece only. Students should not be puffing their cheeks. Students should appear to have a smile on their face will buzzing. Students should never have what appears to be a wrinklely chin.

c. Play page 6 out of the book. Students should not sound like a whisper. They should be playing a little loud (mezzo forte) but should not be playing at extremely loud volumes as this will not produce a good sound on the instrument.

d. Students need to focus on producing a steady sound without pumps in the sound.

e. Students should not be playing fast notes. We are learning whole, half and quarter notes.

f. Students proceed to homework. This next part is mandatory. Students are to first point at the notes with their finger and say the count values. Next students are to point at the notes with their finger and say the letter names of the notes. This is very important because this is how they will learn to read music and follow the music across the page. If they cannot read music they cannot play music.

g. Students are to play thru music one exercise at a time. Students are required to perform step "f" before they play the exercise on the instrument.

h. When finished practicing the students should write down the time they practice on the practice log and put the instrument back in the case. Clarinets and saxophones should always remove the reed from the mouthpiece and dry it off. Leaving the reed wet will result in mold growth on the reed. The reed should be placed back in its protective case.