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Practice Tips
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 clap 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?
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 know how the music should sound.
- The fingering feels awkward.
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.
After working on problem sections, play the whole piece again.
Relax and keep breathing!
Polishing Your Piece: Questions to Ask Yourself
- Are my physical movements synchronized with the music and sound? Do I feel comfortable as I produce these sounds?
- Have I tried different gestures and articulations to change the sound?
- Have I experimented using more or less pedal to create a different character?
- Am I familiar with the dates, biography, and historical period of the composer and piece?
- Have I graphed the harmony, structure, and cadence points of the piece?
- Am I paying attention to dynamic balance between the hands/between the voices?
- What am I thinking about while I play this piece?
Preparing for a Performance
- Think of different ways to 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. Gain experience in working yourself out of a jam. You must practice extricating yourself from the problem.