The Complete Music Practice Record Book: A Six-Month Log and Journal for Dedicated Students

by Larry Zafran

A music student's record book by independent author and dedicated piano student Larry Zafran. This comprehensive six-month practice log and journal is targeted at highly dedicated music students of all levels and instruments, with an emphasis on those who are older and/or non-beginners. Each day's entry provides space to document practice efforts devoted to sight reading, scales, technical exercises, ear training, theory, and related topics in each category.

Each entry also includes space to track practice of pieces in progress and old repertoire, as well as performance rehearsal, meditation/breathing, and physical exercise. In each entry, the student can also record his/her moods, assessment of goal achievement, total focused practice time, and notes to discuss with his/her teacher. There is also space in which the student can account for little, no, or poor quality practice, and a space in which a parent or teacher can initial if applicable.

The book includes a weekly self-assessment form after every seven log entries, intended to be completed before or during each lesson. After every 28 daily entries there is a monthly self-assessment form which tracks progress with greater scope. The book concludes with a semi-annual self-assessment, including goals for the following six months. Additional log entry pages can be printed at no cost via the author's website.

108 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2011

About the author

Larry Zafran was born and raised in Queens, NY where he tutored and taught math in public and private schools. He has a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from Queens College where he graduated with highest honors, and has earned most of the credits toward a Masters Degree in Secondary Math Education. He is a dedicated student of the piano, and the leader of a large and active group of board game players which focuses on abstract strategy games from Europe. He presently lives in Cary, NC where he works as an independent math tutor, writer, and webmaster.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very well designed and easy to use, and advanced/very dedicated musicians will love it. The reason I only gave it three stars is because while it is great for any student who is really looking to improve their playing, the book is really intended for very advanced students, which I am not. If you are a very dedicated student who has taken instrument lessons for at least 2-3 years, you will probably love this.

[JT · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is exactly what is promises - a daily journal to record each day's practice session. I play the piano and thus far, really like the setup of this book. I would recommend it to anyone who plays an instrument that is looking for a structured way to record what happened - there is even space to record what mood you're in while you are playing.