4 Simple Tips for Creating a Practice Binder

By Julianna Evans, BM, MM, PMP

In today’s blog, I’ll be talking about 4 simple tips to create a practice binder to help you organize your practice routines and help you stay focused so you can accomplish your musical goals and stay consistent throughout the school year or professional playing season.

Creating a practice binder is a great way to organize your practice routines, and work on any specific skills you want to improve. I’ve maintained a practice binder from Age 15 until now, and it has helped keep me grounded and consistent in my clarinet practice.

Here is a list of the 4 simple tips I’ll be focusing on for this blog that have helped me the most over the years:

1. Gathering Your Supplies

2. Organizing Sections/Categories

3. Setting up a Binder for Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Players

4. Implementation/ Consistency (using a Practice Tracker)

I’ll leave a link to all of the products and exercises I’ll discuss HERE and at the end of this blog.

Starting with:

1. Gather Supplies

Decide on Container: Physical Binder/Electronic System (iPad), etc.

Start by collecting the necessary supplies. You’ll need a three-ring binder (with dividers if preferred), loose-leaf paper or notebooks, sheet protectors (optional), pens, pencils, and any other materials related to your specific practice, such as sheet music, practice drills, or study guides.

Here are some of my favorite supplies:

Cambridge Binder:

https://tinyurl.com/nwd5haa8

Staples 1-inch Binder:

https://tinyurl.com/y5c6chxf

Clear sheet protectors:

https://tinyurl.com/mwhmxs6e

Avery Plastic Dividers with Pockets:

https://tinyurl.com/5dwa6hz3

2. Categories

Divide your practice binder into sections based on your clarinet fundamentals goals and the materials you need to accomplish them. Here are some common sections I like to focus on in my practice binder:

  – Scales/Arpeggios

   – Long Tones

   – Finger Work

   – Tonguing/Articulation

   – Repertoire/Etudes

   – Excerpts

   – Calendar/Schedule

   – Goals

Before you start organizing your practice binder, it’s essential to define your goals. What do you want to achieve through your practice sessions? Be specific about your objectives, whether it’s mastering a musical piece, improving your sports technique, or acing a subject in school. Write down these goals in your binder to keep them visible and remind yourself of what you’re working towards.

3. Setting up a Binder for Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Players

I thought it would be helpful for this section to list the categories and examples of exercises for each level to demonstrate what a practice binder could look like for a beginning, intermediate, and advanced player. 

Starting with a beginning binder it would be good to include:

– Scales: https://tinyurl.com/yshu75bv

– Fingering chart: https://tinyurl.com/mtwvskua

– Simple long tones, tonguing fingerwork: https://tinyurl.com/mrxkr92k

– Calendar of school assignments/concerts: https://tinyurl.com/4pmc623c

– Practice chart/sticker chart: https://tinyurl.com/bdz2anrc

– Standards of Excellence and or etude book/lesson materials

Intermediate Binder | Middle School/High School

– Intermediate scales and arpeggios, chromatic scale:

pages: 4-6 from: https://tinyurl.com/29ecrp29

– Long tones:

Page 1: https://tinyurl.com/29ecrp29

– Articulation:

https://tinyurl.com/4v78v4em

– Finger work

– etudes/solos

– Goals for the year: regional band, area band, solo and ensemble

Goal setting worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/4dv689wv

Calendar of school assignments/concerts: https://tinyurl.com/4pmc623c

Advanced Binder | High School/College

– Advanced scales and arpeggios (Klose, Baermann)

https://tinyurl.com/4u3tm3ux

– Long tones

https://tinyurl.com/ytkk9pe5

– Articulation

p. 28 https://tinyurl.com/4u3tm3ux

Pages 28-33: https://tinyurl.com/4fw2n98v

– Fingerwork

Vade Mecum: https://tinyurl.com/mrx3ycby

– etudes/solos

– Excerpts (keep the standard 15 excerpts and practice every day)

https://tinyurl.com/2h8zzbch

– Goals for the year: auditions, recitals (work backward from the date and create a practice plan for each performance).

Goal setting worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/4dv689wv

Calendar of school assignments/concerts: https://tinyurl.com/4pmc623c

4. Implementation (Habit/Practice Tracker) 

The key to making your practice binder effective is to use it consistently. Stick to your practice schedule, update your practice logs after each session, and review your goals and progress regularly. Adjust your goals as needed to reflect your evolving skills and aspirations.
Remember that your practice binder is a personal tool, so feel free to customize it to suit your preferences and needs. The more organized and tailored it is to your specific goals, the more useful it will be in helping you make progress and achieve success in your chosen endeavor.

Habit tracker: https://tinyurl.com/3vjnbhyp

Practice tracker: https://tinyurl.com/shvxfvsc

I hope these tips were helpful. I’ll leave a link to a resource on my website that you can use to create your own practice binder HERE. You can also check out an accompanying video from my YouTube page where I talk through the process of creating a practice binder.

Happy practicing!

💕Juianna