What is the Mini-Sessions Technique?

In a nutshell, the Mini-Sessions (MS) technique is an innovative practice technique where the student practices a single core concept over a relatively short period, but at a very focused concentration level. I believe the ideal practice length for each session is about 20-30 minutes, but one of the advantages of MS is that the student can vary this time to his or her needs or daily schedule. Many of us are part-time musicians working one or more other jobs, so it can be very tough to decide what to practice in the limited amount of time available. Yet we all want to get better as fast as we can, but still have fun. That’s the purpose of this method!

There are so many options when considering what to practice. It’s hard to decide where to start. What should I practice to get better as quickly as possible, in the limited time we all have? I like to divide the “what we practice” into four bins: sound production, technique, ear training, and tunes. The concept of MS, then, is to focus each 20-30 minute session on only one of these four core concepts. The idea, then, is to do our practicing throughout the week in such a way that I repeatedly cover these four core concepts.

So how would MS work over a typical week? Let’s assume I have somewhere between 30 minutes and two hours per day that I want to spend on improving as a musician. If I decide I like 30 minute mini-sessions, then I just divide up my available time into 30 minute blocks. I can even do then at different times in the day, which actually is often a reasonable approach.

Let’s look at an example. Perhaps we allocated 60 minutes to practice on Monday, or two 30 minute sessions. I would probably choose to do a 30 minute session when I get up, before I go off to work, and then my second 30-minute that evening. But of course you could do two back-to-back 30 minute sessions in the evening instead. One thing to keep in mind is that, at least for saxophone players, there is a little bit of overhead time (horn and reed setup) associated with each session, so you might decide that doing two back-to-back sessions is more effective for you. Another important thing to do is to keep your practice area neat and organized, as you will find this helps reduce this overhead time. Also, turn off your phone, and any other distractions, so that you can totally focus during your practice.

It’s a good idea to keep a workbook for logging your practice sessions. Use blank music manuscript (staff paper) to write down transcriptions, patterns, licks, or other ideas. You might also want to keep a daily log of what you practiced, for how long, and how you felt things went that day.

Remember that the reason we are doing music at all is that we enjoy music and it’s fun. So for myself, if I’m especially tired or just not particularly motivated for some reason, I’ll back off of what I do that day and not push myself too hard. I’m confident that if you follow the Mini-Sessions practice technique, you’ll soon notice significant improvements in your abilities as a musician!

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