Advanced Tips    ::    Practice Makes Perfect

We've all heard that practice makes perfect, and it's a truism that is actually true. There is absolutely no point in spending time, energy and money on lessons if you aren't going to practice. It's analogous to going to the gym for half an hour a week and expecting to be able to run a marathon or lose 25 pounds in a few months. Unfortunately, there is also no escaping the fact that practice can be tedious at times. For the parent, it's like pushing water, and for the student, it's "boring." However, because it is so crucial to any sort of progress, I set up a realistic practice schedule with each and every student I teach from the beginning of our time together, and I work with the parent(s) to make sure it is supported during the week between lessons. For more advanced students, here are some great ways to make your practice more effective and interesting:

1. Practice A Portion

   "How do you eat an elephant? A bite at a time!" This is true in any given task. Don't practice the whole piece in one day. I will help you break down the piano piece you are going to learn in many portions. You'll need time to digest any given measures. The fingers need to familiarize themselves with the location and touch of the notes. Half of performance is muscle memory, so your fingers need to learn by repetition.




2. Analyze The Piece

   We will analyze the piece by observing any repeating segments. Very often a musical work has repeating segments, although the repeating segments might vary slightly. By doing this, you achieve the goal of practicing a small segment but covering the repeating portions that appears later on in the same piece. Also analyze the forms of the piece. Common musical forms include Binary (e.g. AB), Ternary (e.g. ABA), Sonata (e.g. ABA'+coda), Rondo (e.g. ABACADA), and Theme & Variations (e.g. AA1A2A3A4A5).




3. Chord/Cadence Analysis

   The same chord may appear for a few measures. This is true in any musical period (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, Modern). If you notice the same chord being repeated for many measures, then the notes within those measures belongs to the same chord and scale. This also helps your sight reading abilities. You get to predict the chord and notes ahead of time.




4. Get Into the Key

   Warm up the fingers by playing the key of the piece. If the music piece is in the key of A major, you may want to warm up by playing the A major scale numerous times to have a feel of A major's tone and fingering.




5. I/IV/V Chords

   Write down the tonic (I), dominant (V), and subdominant (IV) chords of the key signature. You will soon discover the left hand part of the music is comprised mostly of these three chords. This is true in any given music. These three chords are predominantly used and harmonized.




6. Separate Hands

   Practicing each hand separately is method is most useful if you are playing pieces from the Baroque period. Music composed by Bach, for example, usually has many themes. Very often each hand is playing a different subject. Practice slowly in the beginning, and then speed up once you have a good understanding of the piece. This is important when you have a work that varies in rhythm (going from quarter note to half note, dotted quarter note, etc).




7. Stay Positive

   Some music can be frustrating to learn. Keep a positive attitude. Although you are practicing a small portion at a time, you are still making progress. Some advanced repertoire may take 4-6 months or even longer to master.