Tip #15

In TIP #7 we talked about considering ‘practice’ a skill to develop just like playing.

Once you create a practice routine (TIP #9), a practice structure (TIP #10), determine the right daily practice length (TIP #13) and arrange a welcoming and comfortable practice environment (TIP #14), our musicians are ready to do the work!

While students are in the process of developing their practice skills, they tend to use the practice time to play their pieces over and over until the practice time is finished. However ‘practice’ is not about playing/singing pieces over and over; it is about identifying problems, weak sections and applying the right tool to improve it.

Here are a couple of basic tools we can put into our practice tool box:

Focusing 1, 2 or 4 measures at a time

When we start a new piece, we try to learn as much of it as we can right away. However instead of working on big chunks of music, it is important to start with a short section (as short as one measure). We repeat until this short section is at the tempo that we decide as our daily practice goal (we will discuss about creating practice goals as our next tip) and move on to the next 1, 2 or 4 measures. Once the second short section is accomplished, it is time to combine the first and the second short sections before moving on. Sometimes we might not even be able to cover the whole piece in one practice, however it is not about covering lots, it is about accomplishing goals we set for ourselves.

It is all about repetition

The rule of thumb for the repetition tool is about repeating not until something is correct but it is about repeating until it cannot be wrong. Once that confidence in the section is established, our muscle memory is activated and it is time to move on to the next section. Another rule of thumb is focusing on consistency of the repeats from one another. We see students repeating sections with wrong notes, wrong rhythms and wrong fingerings each time. If we do not bring consistency to the repeats, we are unable to establish a muscle memory.

Locate and identify

Instead of starting from the beginning of a piece every time, it should be our goal to locate problem spots, identify the specific problems, implement the right tool(s), repeat with corrections and establish confidence. If counting is the problem, counting aloud and/or writing the beats in the score are good solutions. If the pitches sound wrong to our ears, a good solution is to stop playing and focusing on the score to look over your notes once more. Another important aspect is to remember the tools our teachers use at the lessons for specific sections and try to duplicate the same at home.

Playing hands separately

This is one of the best tools for piano players. While for most instruments hands share tasks to create one musical line, for piano, we create many different musical lines with two hands. Whether we are learning a new piece or polishing an old one, it is crucial to treat each hand a separate instrument and play hands separately (at different tempos).

Playing under tempo

Students tend to play their pieces as fast as they can right at the start, especially if they have heard the piece beforehand. This prevents our mind and our hands to have time to process what is happening on the core and create an environment for failure which ends up making students feel frustrated and incapable. However if they apply the principle of playing their pieces under tempo most of the time, our mind and our hands get a chance to work together and have space to process all the aspects of the section/piece we are working on. Once confidence is established, we gradually get to speed up if necessary. We find implementing a metronome very helpful with keeping the tempo steady (we will discuss the use of metronome in the upcoming weeks).

Keep a note on/around the piano with the practice tool box list you create!

This is a simple way to keep ourselves accountable for remembering and using the right tools.

While it is important to keep our tool box simple, feel free to come up with new ones and add them to your tool box!

In the past weeks, we shared tips on setting the right expectations (TIP#1), asking the right questions (TIP#2), how to be involved in the first practice (TIP #3), avoiding the words ‘hard and easy’ (TIP#4), accepting negative feelings as part of your musical growth (TIP#5), rethinking the meaning of ‘talent’ (TIP#6), considering practice a skill (TIP #7), recognizing the effects of our expectations on our children (TIP #8), creating a goal to have a practice routine (TIP# 9) and a practice structure (TIP #10), finding the right daily practice length (TIP $11), recital preparation (TIP #12), being a good role-model for our children (TIP #13) and creating welcoming practice environment (TIP #14).

May you know you are making a difference, even if your child never tells you themselves.

We would be more than happy to answer any questions and provide more specific consultancy if needed.

Thank you for being a part of the PianoAlpharetta community!