Getting Ready for Practice
Before we even start committing to practice we need to have a few things ready to go at our finger tips.
Sheet Music
You need to have access to your score for your practice. There are two online stores I recommend to help you:
This website is ideal for different versions of songs like Wicked which has been arranged for voice and various instruments. It has quick downloads, arrangements - for all levels of ability.
If you are a singer - following a score with the lyrics is very helpful as well. The sheet music helps your greater understanding of pitch and accompaniment. Knowing when to breathe at the end of phrases and following how the lyrics interact with the score.
For singers, however, backing tracks are essential.
Backing Tracks
A good backing track is also important for practice and performance. This applies to singers and instrumentalists.
Here are some ways you can obtain backing tracks.
Karaoke Version - for quality backing track arrangements. You can change the key and the instruments used in your backing track. The cost is very small and worth the price.
Apps like Moises - an AI app where you can slow down and fasten up your tracks. You can seperate your tracks into stems, which means you can remove the main voice or instrument part that you will be playing.
Youtube - On YouTube there are many backing tracks and karaoke tracks that you can download and convert to an mp3 using an online converter. The quality is not as as good as Karaoke version but a great tool for starting out with your practice.
If you do not need a backing track - I’m thinking piano players - It is essential that you have a Metronome or some type of rhythmic accompaniment for you to play along with that you can slow down and play at speed for practice. Sometimes we use a rhythm track on GarageBand for this.
All instrumentalists need to have a Tuner You need to develop the habit of tuning your instrument before you play so that you can practice improving your intonation. You can download many types of tuner apps. Apps like Guitar Tuna & Clear Tune are pretty good.
Once you have all these tools, together with your organiser like TODIST - you are ready to start your practice!