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Practicing is different from performing.
Practicing is finding and solving problems in your playing.
1. Play the whole piece. Listen to the sounds & feel the movements you make.
- How did the music sound and feel?
- Is my body position (back, head, legs, arms) healthy and appropriate?
- Did the music flow? Could someone tap their feet to my rhythm, or is it too inconsistent?
- Did the musical flow include appropriate breaths, rests, and ritardandos?
- Did I communicate the climax of each musical phrase?
- Am I paying attention to dynamics?
How should the music sound and feel?
Mark the "problem sections" with a pencil: places where the music doesn't sound or feel good, where there is a symbol you don't understand, or where you feel frustrated or confused.
2. Play a problem section. What is causing the problems in this section?
- I don't understand the printed notation (notes, rhythm, symbols, etc.).
- I don't understand how the music should sound.
- The fingering feels awkward.
- I have to make an awkward stretch or leap.
3. Tackle the problem section
- Play hands separately until you achieve correct notes and counting.
- Play hands together slowly with metronome. Increase speed after correct play.
- Play one or both hands staccato, to strengthen fingers and enhance note clarity
- Play with stops, to bring playing under control and smooth note transitions.
- Play softly (piano), to practice evenness and control.
- Sing/hum to find the climax of each phrase and to understand the breaks (breaths) between phrases.
- Write down questions in your notebook to ask the teacher at your lesson, or email her.
Repeat 2 & 3 for other problem sections. Then play the whole piece again. Keep your muscles relaxed and keep breathing!
Additional questions for advanced students (Level 5-6 and above):
- What was I thinking about while I played that piece?
- Are my physical gestures in sync with the music and the sound I need to produce? Do I feel comfortable as I produce these sounds?
- Have I experimented with a variety of fingering options to see which fits my hand best?
- Have I tried different gestures and articulations to change the sound and/or to make a challenging passage easier?
- Have I experimented using more or less pedal to create a different character?
- Am I familiar with the dates, biography, and historical musical period of the composer and piece?
- Have I graphed the harmonic structure of the piece and do I understand the structure?
- Have I marked cadence points and other sectional transitions, and considered appropriate interpretation options?
- Am I paying attention to dynamic balance between the hands/between the voices?
Special tips when preparing for a performance
- Think of different ways to play your piece so you circumvent "muscle memory" and force yourself to think about each and every note, each and every change in hand/wrist/arm position.
- Practice with distractions: play with your tongue sticking out; recite the alphabet, have two people carry on a conversation in the room, etc.
- When you practice performing, DO NOT STOP if you make an error. These are opportunities to gain experience in working yourself out of a jam. You must practice how to extricate yourself from the problem.