- d a i l y p r a c ti c e j o u r n a l -

THEORY 261H | LEARNING MODULE 0

Before starting watch the videos:
 Making Musical Space Your Home II
 The Daily Regimen

Make sure to:

 Accept the academic honesty policy (welcome page)
 Read through the Course Overview and Introduction folder and the syllabus (learning modules)
 Sign up for a first meeting with me (link in Module 0)
 Download or print this journal

THE DAILY REGIMEN

As musicians, all of us want to be able to do spectacular things with our ears. As discussed, what this
really means is being able to use your brain to manipulate and interpret the information sent to it by your
ears...in spectacular ways. The best way to make rapid progress towards this goal is through consistent,
short practice sessions. Not only is this easier to work into your busy life; it’s also far more beneficial and
less frustrating than practicing aural musicianship in lengthy, infrequent sessions. You should try to
practice about 20-25 minutes 5-6 days a week. Each session could be broken into smaller bits during the
day – a 5 minute exercise here and there...that’s a great way to fit it in – or, less desirably, you could
occasionally double up one day if you need to skip the next.

Feedback Loops
Every time you sit down to practice aural musicianship, you are performing small, targeted experiments
on your brain that can help you discover how it works when you’re making music. If, for example, an
exercise you’ve been performing with no trouble becomes untenably hard with a small change or addition
of an element, that is a victory because it’s a window into your musical mind. By drilling down,
understanding what’s happening (which is what I can help with), and feeding your discoveries back into
what you practice and how, these moments can ultimately produce the biggest gains. That’s why you’ll
keep track of your daily experience in this journal: what’s easy, what’s hard, and what are you noticing?
This information will allow me to best support your growth, and it will also help me calibrate the difficulty
of future exercises for the class.

The Journal
Here’s how to use the journal:
 At the beginning of each learning module, print or download (.doc or .pdf) this journal. If you’re
using the PDF, open in a reader that allows you to use markup.
 Each time you practice, write down the day/time(s) and length of session(s). Check off items as you
do them.
 Then make notes on what’s feeling easy, what is more challenging, and use the notes section to
keep track of specifics. Be ready to report on these findings when you meet with your me, and I
can help you functionalize them back into new exercises or modifications of existing ones.
 At the end of each learning module, upload the completed journal (.doc, .pdf, or image). Keeping a
practice journal with good notes will help you make strong, consistent progress throughout the
semester, and I think you’ll be impressed with yourself when you get to the end and look back!
PRACTICUM 1
Our practicum assignments will happen in individual appointments during week 1 of each module, starting
with module 1. Materials for Practicum 1 will be posted by Monday for preparation alongside the daily
practice directed in the journal below.

- the journal –

DAY 1
Date_____9/2______ | Time__4:25pm_______ | Length of Session____40min_____

☑ Practice Triadic Proximal Space 1

☑ Practice D-T Resolutions 1 (V7 and V6/5)
☑ Practice Alternative Line Improvisation 1 (introduction included)
☑ Practice Folia Improvisation (diatonic)
☑ Practice Bass Echoes 1

What was easy today? _________Improvisation parts______________________________

What was difficult today? ____All other things______________________________________

Notes to self: Haven’t sung this for five months, things go really rusty and I have to pick it up.

DAY 2
Date___9/2________ | Time____5:30pm________ | Length of Session____30min________

☑ Practice Extended Diatonic Space 1

☑ Practice D-T Resolutions 1 (V4/3 and V4/2)
☑ Practice Transposing Patterns by Common Tone 1
☑ Practice Folia Improvisation (chromatic alt)
☑ Duplex Error Detection 1

What was easy today? ____Extended Diatonic Space, D-T Resolutions, Folia Improv______

What was difficult today? ____Transposing_________________________________________

Notes to self: Transposing is real hard! Not only it is a brand new exercise, but also my
transposition skills are not as good. I should shed more cuz that’s so important to jazz.
DAY 3
Date____9/4_____ | Time_____11:00pm_______ | Length of Session____25min________

☑ Practice Triadic Proximal Space 2

☑ Practice Directed Intervals 1
☑ Practice Chromatic 4th Species – Single Moves 1
☑ Improvise a modulating 4th species as directed at the end of above exercise
☑ Duplex Error Detection 2

What was easy today? ____ Triadic Proximal Space, Directed Intervals _________________

What was difficult today? _______________________________________________________

Notes to self: It gets better and better over the practice on the first one!

DAY 4
Date____9/5____ | Time_____12:20am_______ | Length of Session_____30min_______

☑ Practice Extended DIatonic Space 2

☑ Practice Transposing Patterns by Common Tone 2 (EDS-inflected)
☑ Practice Alternative Line Improvisation 2
☑ Practice Step-Descent Improvisation (diatonic)
☑ Practice Bass Echoes 2
☑ Begin Practicum 1 items (if you haven’t already)

What was easy today? ______Improvisation, Extended DIatonic Space 2 ______________

What was difficult today? ______Bass Echoes 2_____________________________________

Notes to self: Sometimes it’s really hard to remember where the notes are rhythmically on Bass
Echoes

DAY 5
Date_____9/6_____ | Time____12:00am________ | Length of Session____30min________

☑ Practice Triadic Proximal Space 3

☑ Practice Directed Intervals 2
☑ Practice Step-Descent Improvisation (chromatic)
☑ Duplex Error Detection 3
 Continue Practicum 1 items

What was easy today? ___ Triadic Proximal Space, Directed Intervals ________ _______

What was difficult today? _______________________________________________________

Notes to self: The step-descent improvisation is so interesting! But I love the progression at
triadic proximal space!!! The Ebm7 is so cool and unexpected, is that just a borrowing minor four from Bb
minor? But other than that, the progression going in the middle shifting in and out D major sounds so
good I love it!!

DAY 6
Date_____9/6_____ | Time____12:30am________ | Length of Session_____30min_______

☑ Practice Extended Diatonic Space 3

☑ Practice D-T Resolutions 3 (all positions)
☑ Practice Directed Intervals 3 (2 part)
☑ Duplex Error Detection 4
 Continue Practicum 1 items

What was easy today?_ Extended Diatonic Space 3, D-T Resolutions 3, Directed Intervals 3_ ___

What was difficult today? __Error Detection_________________________________________

Notes to self: I actually listened to the error detection a couple times to get it right… it’s pretty
hard!

General observations this module, and goals for the next: I need to shed more transposition cuz that’s so
so useful!! There are so many complicated shapes and lines that it should be done in different keys. Also I
like the improvisation stuff it is really interesting to have the flexibility to create our own lines.

EXTRA CHALLENGE
List any additional practice you did here. Includes “extra challenge” exercises provided with module,
anything that I suggested that you try, or best of all, any exercises that you constructed based on your
self-observation during this or previous modules.

 Extra 4th Species Improvisations

 Sing and play voice pairs from some chorales
 Derive a new exercise from an existing one (describe your version):

__________________________________________________________

Other:

 __________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________