THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PRACTICING!!!!
The ONLY way for you to become a better player to spend time on your instrument.
Get into a routine practice schedule. Here is a model you can use BEFORE you work on music:
Mondays: Work on perfecting your chromatic scale. Speed is not important. Accuracy is a must. Pick a rhythm chart and play through a couple of lines. Memorize two measures in one line.
Tuesdays: Work on perfecting a scale you have the most difficult time with. Play it SLOWLY but correctly. Pick a rhythm chart and play through at least three lines. Write the counts underneath one of them.
Wednesdays: Play through at least 6 scales and see if you can play them in one minute. Pick a rhythm chart and play a couple lines by columns.
Thursdays: Play through an easy scale with different articulations. Choose notes to slur and tongue. Pick a rhythm chart and play the entire page in rows. Find the measure you miss and work on it and then begin again. See how far you can go!
Fridays: Play through all the scales SLOWLY. Don't work on speed but on accuracy. Choose notes to slur and tongue. Pick a rhythm chart and play the entire page in columns. Stop on the measure you miss and work on it and then begin again. See how far you can go!
Saturdays: Mix and match what you did during the week. Write a short 4 measure melody on staff paper!
Download the Power grids from the RESOURCE PAGE under 'RHYTHM CHARTS." ALL rhythm charts are now available in one PDF file!