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A commonly held view is that if enough time is spent working away at a piece it will come right in the end. This will not necessarily happen. Because we are so keen to progress as quickly as possible then we tend to rush ahead and overlook many important technical problems. Our impatience often leads us to practice mistakes over and over assuming they will eventually go away. Even when we overcome these errors they often creep back into our performance when we least appreciate it – usually during a concert or exam when the pressure is on.

If we follow certain principles we can build sound technique and therefore be more confident in our public performance. If you are learning the piano, always begin hands separately and overcome problems one at a time. Many problems are created by faulty fingering, don’t avoid using weaker fingers ( this is why they are weaker) Often, we can create an exercise to get over a problem and scales and arpeggios are vital practice (sorry but it’s true).

Ask yourself whether the problem is the notes, fingering or the timing or any other element. A good teacher will devise a strategy to help you improve various areas of technique. Try to work on problem areas rather than enjoying playing the nice easy bits all the time and you will soon start to enjoy a real sense of achievement. Different elements should be focused on individually. For instance try singing the melody lines and clapping the rhythm patterns.

When I started learning the piano I had to practice on a table with the keys marked out. Eventually we had a ‘real’ piano, but the experience helped me appreciate the sensual feeling of the touch and movement of individual fingers and of course ‘hearing’ the music inside my head. Try practicing your tricky phrase on a ‘non-active’ surface yourself occasionally. Also, listen to a tape-recording of yourself and you will certainly find yourself focusing on mistakes. Piano music is often quite complex and being more aware of the different layers and shapes can help us bring out the depth and beauty. Don’t think that the untrained ear of an average audience can’t tell the difference. This is often not true. Just listen to the applause for the one who gets it right!

CHECK-LIST

1. Make sure that your instrument is tuned correctly. I (unfortunately) when I began, spent several years practicing on a piano that was tuned a whole-tone below concert pitch, which affected my early development of pitch and key recognition.
2. The practice room should be a comfortable temperature, perhaps around 18C. and not too stuffy. You need to be able to concentrate so make sure your environment is as quite as possible and always practice alone unless you are working with an ensemble or duo.
3. Be aware of the difference between ‘playing’ and ‘practicing’.* When we are playing our musical instrument it is usually because we have an audience or are aware someone is listening, so we play in way that we think would be entertaining to them.
4. Ensure that your practice session is as beneficial as possible by planning the time so that the time is never wasted and set achievable goals. Warm up with scales and exercises and then work on slowly and carefully any part of a piece that is giving you trouble. If we want to ‘mess around’ or enjoy playing endless ‘licks and tricks’ then this is OK but choose another time for this.
5. If you want to practice for more than an hour, then take a break (maybe make a drink) because when your powers of concentration start to fade you will do more harm than good.
6. Make sure you can play through your piece without pausing, stopping or slowing down before you attempt to increase the speed. Be patient! speed doesn’t matter at this stage. Use a metronome to check your progress and to keep steady.
7. Don’t forget to LISTEN carefully to yourself, are you producing a lovely full tone? Are your scales even and with hands perfectly together? (if you are a pianist) and are you giving notes, rests and ties their full value? (where necessary).
   

The difference between ‘playing’ and ‘practicing’ is like the difference between ‘playback’ and ‘recording’ on a tape recorder. When we are playing, we are simply playing back information that has been ‘recorded’ (learned) into our brain during our practice sessions. For this reason, we need to ‘press the right buttons’ when we are practicing so that our brain is in the correct mode to process the information we want it to. Likewise, when we are performing we wouldn’t want to start experimenting with tempos or untried techniques.

As I probably mentioned earlier it would be wise to set realistic targets and deadlines. Every student should try to stick to their own personal practice schedule divided into short units of specific practice devoted to pieces, studies, sight-reading, scales etc.

It is common knowledge that a little ‘quality’ time spent in study, where one is focused and interested will be far more beneficial and effective than far longer periods of irregular and spasmodic practice, especially when tiredness and lack of concentration becomes a factor.

LEARNING A NEW PIECE.

• Scan through the piece as if it is a sight-reading test, noting clef arrangement, key & time signatures, phrasing, articulation etc.
• Play through very slowly using all your powers of concentration to absorb as much as you can. Remember to look at (anticipate) groups of notes rather than individual notes, noting scale passages, arpeggios, (arpeggios are usually best remembered as chords) and any unusual feature.
• Use a pencil to mark areas of special concern, if you do not work out suitable fingerings at this stage then you probably never will, and the same goes for incorrect rhythms and other technical faults. Once you start practicing one way, then the brain will simply record the incorrect information.
• Now you are getting the ‘feel’ of the music you can break up the music into shorter sections (maybe 4 or 8 bars) that are easier tackled during your practice sessions. Remember, when you are practicing a short phrase to always end on the first note of the next phrase, or you will find you will spend even more time ‘joining’ up these separate phrases.
• Don’t always start at the beginning of your piece to avoid this part improving too quickly in relation to the rest of the piece.
• Only practice when you can CONCENTRATE at a high level and when you are musically motivated. LITTLE AND OFTEN is another good rule of thumb. Always use your EARS and powers of imagination
• Finally, a good test I have used myself for many years is to be able to play a piece or smaller unit or section at least three times perfectly at the proper speed before considering the assignment finished and passing on to next unit or section. It’s also a good idea to record your progress by jotting  down notes of speeds achieved (on the music) with time and dates etc.
  

CORRECT PRACTICE HABITS REALLY CAN MAKE PERFECT.

This sound advice comes free from Mel Stallwood  www.mel.classycoolmusic.com