Practicing in Sections

In 2 weeks, 20 of my students will be performing in our state piano contest. It's my hope they all pay attention to how they are practicing the last few weeks before contest. I've been recording them and trying to iron out those last few problems, writing post its and reviewing their challenges with them every week.

In this post I'm going to review the main points I seem to be going over and over, hoping they will sink in. When you approach a difficult piece the only way to do it is - Divide and Conquer!

Stopping mistakes before they start. When you practice in easily digestible sections from the very start, you are cutting your learning time in half by not making huge mistakes from the beginning.

Setting Daily Goals. Make a goal to focus on one problem section a day and get it down really well. Be reasonable with yourself and limit your focus to 1, 2, or 4 measures at a time. Play as many repetitions, slowly, with your best concentration, as the section needs to improve. Mindless repetition just for repetition's sake won't help you improve. Review what you've done the next day of practice and then move on to fix the next section that needs attention.

Three Times in a Row Perfectly. You will know each section well if you will make it a rule to play it 3 times in a row perfectly (including no pauses!). Remember, a pause is a mistake! Fix it right away, otherwise you will keep pausing at the same spot. Keep it smooth!

Sectional practice gives you safety spots, or good starting points. A safety spot will be your salvation in a performance if you somehow lose your way. Practice starting at the beginning of every main section. These are your "safety spots." The more difficult the piece, the more safety spots you need, even every 4 to 6 measures. If you can do this you know the piece very thoroughly.

Don't skip hands separately! If you can't play the piece or section hands separately, you don't know the piece well enough to perform it in a contest. Even up to the day of the performance, practice hands separately, LH first. It is common to think you know the piece, only to have the memory fade during a performance because you didn't know the LH well enough. Then practice hands together.

Start slowly, then build tempo. When learning, the perfect tempo for you is the tempo at which you can play with NO pauses or mistakes. Above all, get the fingering first, along with playing the notes and rhythms correctly. You are not playing correctly if you have a sloppy fingering that doesn't work well. You will pay for sloppy fingering in time you'll have to spend later to unlearn it and then relearn the correct way. Your teacher coaches you on fingering; her advice simply is the best way for your hands to move fluently around the keyboard.

Is Your Piece A Perfect 10?

I once had a student who was a very good figure skater got the idea for a "perfect 10" piece:

1 Correct Notes = 1 point
2 Correct Fingering = 1 point
3 Correct Rhythm = 1 point
4 Accurate & Steady tempo = 1 point
5 Dynamics = 1 point
6 Articulation & Phrasing = 1 point
7 Know the musical terms = 1 point
8 Know the key of the piece = 1 point
9 Know the form of the piece = 1 point
10 Memorized = 1 point

Repertoire Practice Log

This week I dragged out this repertoire practice chart that I often use for intermediate to advanced students. It's fabulous how one week of half speed practice can whip their rough spots into shape. At first, no one thinks they can play at a speed of 60 per quarter or below. (My teacher said to me once that in her doctoral studies her professor made everyone play their pieces at 40 to the q.) After we've done it together at that speed (60-65) 3 times I ask the student what they think now. They always say, "It's easier." Seems like a lightbulb comes on. I can't claim this idea, though. I got it in a handout on teaching intermediate students from Mary Beth Shaffer. Thanks to her, my students will be much better prepared for their recitals in two weeks. (BTW, it works with younger students, too.)

REPERTOIRE PRACTICE LOG

	M	T	W	TH	F	SA	SU	TOTAL
1/2 speed met.=
3/4 speed met.=
Practice Spots
A tempo met.=
Other

Super Parents!

I heard the nicest comment from a parent today! "Every penny I have spent has paid off. Emily used to not want to practice, and now I can't get her to stop!" (. . . and the student says all she wants to do when she gets home from school is practice . . . hmm, I think I can handle that! mv) Shelli R., Brooklyn Park

Ten Musical Commandments

by Fanny Waterman

1. Keep your back straight and your fingers rounded.
2. Practice regularly every day.
3. Before you start playing any unfamiliar music, clap the rhythm, counting the beats aloud.
4. Choose fingering most suited to your hand, write it on the music and keep to it.
5. Hands separate before hands together.
6. Practice slowly before playing up to speed.
7. When practicing, correct any mistake immediately and play the passage several times correctly before going on or back.
8. Play any piece with precise rhythm throughout before introducing any rubato or rhythmic freedom.
9. Follow all of the composer's markings.
10. Listen to every sound you make on the piano.

Perfect Practice Poem

Sitting on the piano bench,
Staring at the keyboard.
Gingerly placing fingers on the keys
Right hand playing softly at first, then louder as the notes sound
Left hand hopelessly lost among the bass notes.
Try again---slowly.
H a n d s a p a r t , then hands together.
Repeat again. This time a little faster. Yet again, and faster.

After all, "practice makes perfect"

NO!!!

Perfect practice makes perfect.

---Lorna Nolin

ABAC First Place, Poetry

Dumb Fingers . . .

OUR FINGERS ARE DUMB!!! The muscles of the hand need a minimum of 3 repetitions of a passage in order to remember it the next you play the passage. If you play it fewer than 3 times, the fingers will not remember it. After 6 - 7 repetitions of a passage, the brain is fatigued, so move on to another passage. Your best window of repetition is 3 - 6 times.

Getting your child to practice

Getting Your Child To Practice . . .
• Get an assigned number of repetitions for each practice spot in a piece from your teacher; students are typically more willing to do things for their teacher. In my studio the Magic Number is 5 correct, thoughtful repetitions in a row.
• Know when to suspend a practice session and walk away. Never argue with your child; walk away and try again later.
• Give your child choices?not about whether to practice, the time, or place?but anything else that might help them feel like they have some control of their practice.
• Offer specific, genuine praise.
• Create a story that goes along with each song.
Practice at the same time every day.
• Mornings are typically when everybody feels fresh and focused.
• If your child doesn't do well in the morning, give them a snack and a few minutes to relax and practice right after school.
• Give your child a 5 minute warning before the practice session.
• Practice left until just before bed is a battle waiting to happen.
Create a successful practice environment.
• Practice in the same place every day.
• Remove visual and noise distractions, such as pets, siblings, television. If you choose not to answer the phone during a practice session, you are sending the message to your child that the session is important to you.
• Make sure the room is well lit.
• Keep the temperature around 70 degrees. A place that is too warm or stuffy will make you both sleepy and slow. A place that is too cold will cause fingers to hurt.
• Make sure the room smells nice. Studies have shown that an aromatic stimulus will enhance attentions levels, memory and cognitive learning. Pleasant smells such as cinnamon, cloves, or lemon help make practice a positive experience.
Set goals and break into bite-size pieces.
• Have a practice chart, so they can check off assignments and feel the accomplishment of getting things done.
• Tie the length of practice to a goal rather than a clock. Check your student?s notebook for specific goals I have assigned for the week?s practice.
• Hold several small concerts each week?for a parent, neighbor, friends, or some favorite stuffed animals.
• Make practice more fun and reward hard work. When possible, the music should be the reward, but this will likely not be enough to keep a young child motivated. You know your child best. Think of what delights him/her and introduce in it some way into a practice session.
• Video record a practice session and let them watch it.
• Hold an impromptu performance. Make up some programs and have each person take notes of a few things they liked.
• Have a puzzle where the child can place on piece of the puzzle after the completion of each assignment.
• Throw a basketball in a hoop after the completion of each assignment. Have a goal for how many baskets can be made by the end of the session.
• Play Simon Says.
• Roll a die for the number of repetitions. A 1 means roll again, and a 6 means the parent can choose any number from 2-5.
• Divide a piece into 5 sections. Roll a die to see which section to practice. (Do this several times.) A 6 means the whole piece should be performed.
• Create a grab bag with the names of pieces, or parts of pieces, and other assignments. Include a few fun surprises.
• Have your child guess the next song to practice by clapping the rhythm or playing/singing the first note.
• Use an abacus to count repetitions.
• Light several votive candles. (This creates a fun environment.) Allow your child to blow one out after each completed assignment.