“Here’s a blog post I published a couple of years ago. I’m putting it up again as a reminder to my students on how to use practice time efficiently”
It's Sunday evening and ahead of a new week full of delicious music, here are some basic tips for good practice aimed at my students, as well as being a useful reminder to myself! These are just suggestions. There is no one correct way to practice, no guaranteed winning formula. You need to find what works for you.
Decide what you need to practice and why. Put pen to paper. Define the problem, work out why it's difficult and come up with good ways of practicing
Take 3 minutes to think about what you're going to practice and what you want to accomplish
Plan the amount of time you need to spend on each piece. Get a notebook and make a timetable if it helps
Repeat, repeat, repeat! Having played a passage correctly after playing it several times with flaws, you need to practice it correctly more times
Practice fast as well as slow
Avoid overwhelm by separating problems and solving them one by one. Break a passage down into sections
Practice difficult passages in context
Practice away from the harp. This one is really important and very revealing
Don't neglect so called easy sections
Set yourself achievable goals - memorise one or two lines, then gradually the whole piece
Practice techniques and tools:
Always learn your notes with hands separately first, and aim for fluency before putting hands together. Building a piece of music is like baking a cake - sometimes, all it needs is a pinch of something!
Break down the individual voicings - listen to the melody, bass line and harmony separately,
Analyse - know and understand the key signature, time signature and rhythm, musical structure, harmonic sequences, modulation - understand what you're playing and if you don't, ask me!
With a difficult passage, get playful! Practice jumps, practice rhythmical patterns (groups of 2-7 notes in rapid succession in passage work), repeat each note twice then alternate hands, memorise your left hand...
Make friends with your metronome (I know many of you don't like it but it really does work or I wouldn't go on about it...) and make it a game - start low and slow, get comfortable, then take it up 2 notches. Play it through without stopping, then take it down one notch and work on any problem areas. Continue this process until you've gone a couple of notches past your ideal tempo.
Research - find out about the composer, look up any unfamiliar printed markings, be inquisitive.
When a piece is more familiar, get your blindfold on while you practice. I'm serious! Try it!
After an intense practice session, bash through your piece at top speed. This can help dust off the cobwebs and get rid of frustration. Then calm your fingers by playing through it slowly.
Remember you're in charge of your practice. What you learn in your lesson is the tip of the iceberg that needs to grow after your lesson.
Happy practicing!
