Best (and WORST!) Ways of Practicing

I'm indebted to Louise Mann for the following contributions, which I agree with wholeheartedly! Which camp are you in?

The Top 10 Best Ways to Practice
1. Play at a speed (tempo) that allows for accuracy and no fumbles, frustration, or stops and starts.
2. Step 1.
3. Continue to repeat Step 1.
4. Gradually increase tempo.
5. Note where, when and why mistakes occur and analyze for solution.
6. Cut out hard spots and work ‘em to death, then back up a bit and paste them back in.
7. Remember: 3 times in a row without a mistake. This can be done on a small section, larger section, or the whole piece.
8. Patience - practice right no matter what. Take plenty of patience pills (breathe!).
9. Start today, don’t delay! And plan fingerings early!
10. Engage the ear and brain!

The Top 10 Worst Ways to Practice
1. Start from the beginning and fumble through to the end.
2. Repeat Step 1.
3. Continue to repeat Step 1 while growing tired of making the same mistakes in the same places over and over again.
4. Make mistakes and correct/continue without making mental post-its of where or why they occurred.
5. Repeat Step 4, probably while repeating Steps 1, 2 and 3.
6. Practice the parts you can already play, and neglect the ones you can’t.
7. Repeat Step 6, probably while repeating Steps 1-5.
8. Too fast—too soon—too often. Get pulled over for speeding.
9. Ignore all those numbers above and below the notes.
10. Last minute cram-sessions.

Is your student practicing enough? See this Table of Practice Times:

1 60-minute Practice per Week = 2 Months Progress in 12 Months
1 30-minute Practice per Day = 6 Months Progress in 12 Months
1 45-minute Practice per Day = 12 Months Progress in 12 Months
1 60-minute Practice per Day = 15 Months Progress in 12 Months
1 90-minute Practice per Day = 24 Months Progress in 12 Months
2 Hours Practice per Day = 36 Months Progress in 12 Months

7 Deadly Practice Sins

I was reading some other blogs and came across this great article. What are the 7 deadly practice sins? 

1. No routine

2. Too isolated

3. Inadequate instrument

4. No Availability

5. No Structure

6. No goals

7. No support 

Read the whole article here

By author Samantha Coates, of http://blitzbooks.com 

How do you plan to practice this year?

I've been lurking on the How To Practice website for a long time. Now Mike Saville has announced: It's here! The Complete Beginners Guide To Practice! 

 

 Go to the website link to find out how you can download a free copy. This guide is for anyone who plays (and practices!) the piano; students, parents, and teachers. I'm loving what I see here. More updates after I read the guide a little more.I've already talked to a few parents who are concerned that their students start practicing right this year. So I'm resurrecting a handout I did about 5 years ago and will post about this handout How To Begin A New Piece and How To Practice Every Day! in the near future. Stay tuned. Happy Practicing!

5000 Fingers Of Dr. T

You really must see this!

Bart has only one enemy in the world: his piano teacher Dr. Terwilliker. Dr. T has a mad plan to force 500 young boys to practice at his magnificent piano 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bart is the only hope to save these boys from being enslaved. Fantastic sets, screenplay, and even song lyrics were provided by Dr. Seuss. Features the only piano academy ever known to be equipped with cells and surrounded by an electric fence.

No electric fences in MY studio!

Music Ace Maestro

Teachers, click on this link for a chance to win a FREE copy of Music Ace Maestro http://musicmattersblog.com/2010/08/05/win-a-free-copy-of-music-ace-maestro-worth-127-95/  Leave a comment over at Natalie Wickham's blog http://musicmattersblog.com for a chance to win. Thank you for your generosity, Harmonic Vision!

Practice Chains are Here!

Students are well on their way to filling their practice chains. It took me a while to figure out how to hang them in the studio, but an over-the-door set of hooks did the trick. One bead on the practice chain equals one full day of practice. Either the repertoire or the fact they get to see their practice accumulate is really motivating students to practice during the summer. Yay, on both accounts.

. . . and more than a month later . . .

Here we are, and it's post Honors Concert and post MMTA convention. I'm busily teaching summer students and we have only 3 weeks left in the teaching year of 2009-2010. I'm amazed that time just slips through my fingers like water through a sieve. I'm constantly confronted with the limits that time puts upon me. I'd just love to sit at the piano and sight read through every book in my studio, but that will never happen without the rest of my household falling down around me.

I've spent a lot of summer days with Camille, Narissa, Susan, and Merrily, deciding the pieces for the 2012 State Contest List. We've found some gems that we hope will go over well. Each year on the list I find so many pieces that are new to me. This year (2011 contest List) I've been enamored with Amy Beach's 'Barcarolle' and Moszkowski's 'Pantomime.' Up until I damaged my right wrist and thumb, that is . . . one day it just appeared. My small hands have always been a frustration for me. Since fracturing my right wrist a couple of years ago, I've had trouble reaching even an octave. After spending one evening playing pieces with a lot of RH octaves, this little pain in my thumb showed up, so I've got to let it rest for a while so it can heal.

Nothing profound, here, just enjoying summer and life with my family.

Celebrating My Students!

Minnesota State Piano Contest Finalists 2010

Back Row: Katie, INB; Ellen, INA; Paige, JRB; Jackie, INB; Matthew, INB
From Row: Bryce, JRA; Megan, PRI; Nolan, JRA; Caroline, PRI; Jessie, JRB

MMTA Theory Certificates Earned

Matthew, Level 3
Emily, Level 1
Megan, Level 1
Jackie, Level 1

Piano Performance Trophy Winners 2010

These are students who proved they are developing into well rounded musicians by completing 10 items out of a list of 20. Front Row: Anna, Nolan, Bryce, Caroline, Megan, Ruchika Back Row: Justin, Ellen, Hannah, Matthew

Congratulations to all of you!

Rialto Ripples

It has been a good, long time since I last blogged. Good reasons, though. I was finishing my last 6 months of a 4 year term as VP of Piano Contests for MMTA, AND working on a new website for MMTA AND working on the marketing committee for MMTA. Didn't leave much time to even breathe . . . All those projects are coming to a conclusion, and our studio recital was last night. Students played really well and I was so pleased. I ended the concert with "Rialto Ripples" by Gershwin.

George Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz. His parents emigrated from Russia to the U.S.A in 1891. He first discovered music at age 10 at a friend's violin recital in a school auditorium in the lower East Side of Manhattan. George’s early interests were not in music, but street sports. When a piano was brought into the Gershowitz home for brother Ira, George (age 12) was the one whose interest was sparked. After playing from memory a song he had heard on a neighbor's player piano, George’s parents invested in lessons. By age 15 Gershwin had quit school and landed a job as pianist and "song plugger" for a Tin Pan Alley music-publishing firm, Jerome H. Remick & Company, at a salary of $15 a week. To increase his income, Gershwin recorded piano rolls under various pen names. For his efforts he received $35 for six rolls. He was interested in both ‘serious’ and popular music, and composed in both styles. He was one of the first composers to combine jazz and classical music styles. "Rialto Ripples" is George Gershwin's first published instrumental, at age 19, and his only piano rag. Ripples follows a typical rag style, alternating the main melody with contrasting melodies. It's fun, it's delightful, it's a toe-tapper, and a smile-maker.

I have never had so much fun playing at one of my recitals!