How can I structure my practice so I get the most out of it? I am doing my Grade 7 flute next March, and I want to make my teacher and I proud and do the best I can possibly can. Do you do more technical work (e.g scales) in your practice than your pieces or is it about half and half? How long do you practice for? When you practice should you time it or just see how it goes? Any thought would be welcome.

Normally, I will practise scales & those techniques exercise first. Someimes 30 mins to 1 hr. Then, I'll practise my exam pieces & other pieces as well. It will take at least 1 hr or more. I prefer to practise scales first, as a form of warm-up my fingers. I feel that, correct your mistakes & don't repeat the same mistakes when playing scales or pieces etc...

I do about half-and-half technical work and pieces in my practice. I begin with some of the technical things, and then tend to intersperse the two, so that the pieces are a sort of 'reward' in between the difficult stuff. Some of the clarinet exercises I've got at the moment are really horrendous and finger-twisting - I'd drive myself mad if I had to do them all one after another!

Thanks! I did set up a routine but it didn't last that long *guilty*.

Perhaps, you can take a short break in between.

when i practice for an exam i normally do my pieces and some sight reading and then have a break. then i get my sister to test me on my scales and then i do aurals.
i do 45 mins-1 hour on pieces, 30-45 mins on scales, 30 mins on sight reading and 20-30 mins on aural.