Part recordings are a great tool – but not without their drawbacks.
I’m sometimes asked, “Do you use part practice recordings?” Of course. The longer I teach, the more my opinion about part recordings evolves. As someone who treasures his music literacy, I increasingly view it as only one pathway to musical excellence, and I want to empower my students regardless of which pathway they travel. (I do hope that they eventually come around to see the value of the literacy path…)
There are some pitfalls, though, to using part recordings.
- Interpretation lock-in. The more times they use a part recording, the more like that recording their phrasing and interpretation will be. For better or for worse.
- Tempo struggles. Especially on fast recordings, you really need part recordings at multiple tempos so that singers can do the slow practice that is so essential. Those don’t usually exist.
- Frustration. When I take the time to make a sung part recording, and then it doesn’t get used, I can feel really frustrated.
All in all, the many benefits of practicing with tracks outweighs these pitfalls. But it’s important to know they’re there.