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THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE A Handy Compendium Of Useful Piano Practice Tips, Advice And Methods For Intermediate To Advanced Players THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE GUY SHEPHERD
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Page 1: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE - Guy …guyshepherdmusic.com/.../2015/03/The-Essential-Guide-To-Piano-Pra… · THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE: THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE

A Handy Compendium Of Useful Piano Practice Tips, Advice And

Methods For Intermediate To Advanced Players

THE PIANIST AS

AN ATHLETE

GUY SHEPHERD

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THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE: THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE

CONTENTS

I. PREFACE: THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE ……………………………………………. Pg. 2 – 3

II. IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF PLAYING THE PIANO……………………………. Pg. 4 We Are Magicians …………………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 4

Weight And Relaxation …………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 5

Don’t Fight Gravity …………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 5 – 6

Rotary And Lateral Movements ………………………………………………………………… Pg. 6 – 7

Take A Break And Innovate …………………………………………………………………….... Pg. 7 – 8

The Drop …………………………………………………………………………………………………. Pg. 8

III. MAKING THE MOST OUT OF EXERCISES …………………………………………… Pg. 9 Why Exercises Are Important …………………………………………………………………… Pg. 9

K.I.S.S. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 10

Mix ‘n’ Match …………………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 10

Brain Gym ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 11

Away From The Piano ……………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 12 – 13

IV. WHAT MAKES EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PRACTICE?…………………….. Pg. 14 Preparing A New Piece …………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 14 – 15

One Size Does Not Fit All ………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 15 – 16

Slowly But Surely …………………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 17

It’s All A Game …………………………………………………………………………………………. Pg. 17 – 19

Without Pedal …………………………………………………………………………………………. Pg. 19

Memorisation ………………………………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 19 – 21

Improvisation …………………………………………………………………………………………. Pg. 21 – 22

Spice It Up! ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 22 – 24

The Big 3 ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 24

10,000 Hours Of Joy ………………………………………………………………………………… Pg. 25

Motivation ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Pg. 26

V. A FINAL WORD OF WARNING! …………………………………………………………… Pg. 27

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THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PIANO PRACTICE: THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE

I. PREFACE

THE PIANIST AS AN ATHLETE

The often neglected topic of piano practice and technique is a vast and controversial

subject matter which takes more than a lifetime to understand. Throughout my studies

I’ve been amazed, especially in masterclasses, at how teachers will simply ask students

to ‘try this’, ‘imagine it this way’ or ‘make it sound like this’, without any regard for how

one is actually supposed to achieve it physically. It seems as if the student is supposed

prepossess intrinsic abilities to know how to execute these extraordinary feats.

For a long time in my early youth I never paid much attention to the importance of

technical exercises (probably because it wasn’t that important to my early teachers, a

great tragedy). Many people seem to think an accomplished technique is achieved

through being musical and musicality alone, which is simply not true. One of the main

obstacles at the piano is getting past the resistance of the keyboard through building up

strong hands and finger independence with exercises and etudes, and learning to use

arm weight and relaxation: resulting in an enormous amount of practice! When an

athlete – be it a body-builder, runner or fighter – trains constantly to build up their

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stamina, speed, muscle strength and flexibility, this is exactly what we as pianists should

be doing. Just because we play music which somehow transcends physical life and its

(sometimes) mundane drudgery, it doesn’t mean we’re different and special in any way.

If we want a good technique then we must physically work for it. Many great pianists

fail to share their technical success, automatically enhancing their astonishing abilities

with a sense of unreachable greatness in the eyes of those who wish to follow in their

footsteps.

Over the years I’ve largely made my own way in discovering what works and what

doesn’t at the piano. Of course I’ve had many (many) lessons, masterclasses and

performance experiences to learn from, but I’ve undergone a huge personal learning

curve about what it means to be a pianist. To me, being a pianist is much like being an

athlete, mentally and physically, which a lot of people won’t fully understand and would

disagree with. Everyone is different with varying hand shapes and sizes, synapses,

neural pathways and deep-seated musical ideas and ideologies. But there are some

important fundamentals I am certain of that underpin the piano and one’s technique

whilst sitting at this god of instruments.

This book is to help those who suffer, or have suffered, from poor pedagogical practice

or for those struggling to overcome plateaus in their own playing. This compendium of

knowledge is founded on and inspired by at least a decade of personal and professional

experience as a performer, composer and educator. Take what works for you and

dismiss what doesn’t. Some of the information and principles provided will probably

already be familiar to you; the book should be used in conjunction with your own

teacher and their pedagogy.

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II. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF

PLAYING THE PIANO

WE ARE MAGICIANS

The game of music always starts with the art of listening. This is especially important

for pianists as we don’t have to tune the notes we play, so we tend to stop listening to

ourselves. The sound we make from the notes we play is our signature. Unlike most

other instruments, the piano is incapable of sustaining notes to create smooth singing

lines. As soon as a note is pressed down the sound immediately begins to decay. This

phenomenon is cleverly concealed through the use of pedal, body language and what

some people call ‘intonation’. Intonation is the ability to create a seamless line by always

balancing the initial dynamics of the note just played with the decayed dynamics of the

preceding note. For example: if one wanted to sustain a note for a number of beats

followed by another note (or notes) with the aim of minimal disruption of the line, one

would have to listen to the end dynamic of the first note and match it with the following

note in order for there to be no bump in the line. The weight needs to be transferred

smoothly from finger to finger to create a legato cantabile line. Easier said than done!

TIP: Just think of rolling a heavy cannonball through thick treacle!

Practise transferring the weight from finger to finger, with the

feeling that the weight from one finger is being passed smoothly

and evenly to the other. Imagine placing weights on an old

fashioned pair of weighing scales to help with the visualisation.

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WEIGHT AND RELAXATION

One of the keys to achieving a good sound is through the use of weight and relaxation.

By relaxing your shoulders, arms and wrists you allow the energy to flow more freely to

the keyboard with minimal energy expended by tension. The principle of how different

qualities of sound are produced on the piano is complicated and little understood.

Physicists would have you believe that if the same force is exerted on a key then the

same dynamic and sound quality is produced. But any of us who have been playing the

piano for a considerable length of time will know this is simply untrue. You can be

certain that the sound produced by a good pianist compared to the sound produced by a

brick falling on the keys with the same force will be significantly superior in tone

quality. This is to do with the way the key is depressed and how energy is transferred

and converted into sound in the process.

DON’T FIGHT GRAVITY

Here is an analogy to help you understand the concept of producing different sounds:

Imagine! Think of a hockey player hitting a hockey puck. He/she can hit it in two

ways, 1) by swinging at it, producing a cracking sound, 2) by scooping it, producing little

or no sound. By hitting the puck in the first way, energy is lost through sound from the

hard hitting impact when the stick meets the puck, but, by scooping the puck in the second

way one is able to transfer all the energy to the puck with no hitting action, resulting in

the puck being driven a greater distance with a smooth action . . .

Puck being scooped smoothly Puck being hit with a ‘crack’

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Now try to imagine this action at the piano, where your shoulders, arms, wrists and

fingers are the hockey stick and the notes are the pucks. Instead of physically using your

muscle to depress a key, try just relaxing everything and let the weight of your arm and

gravity push down the key. The aim is for the key to reach the bottom of the key bed,

rather than just playing on the surface of the keys. You will notice a significant

difference in the quality of the two sounds. By using weight, you are allowing the full

vertical range of the key to be utilised, with minimal energy being wasted by forcibly

pushing down the key. The reason why we keep the fingers firm, while everything else

is relaxed, is because the fingers act as the final terminal for the transfer of energy to the

keyboard. The aim is for the transfer to be as direct as possible: compare the difference

in trying to press down a key with a flat floppy finger with a firm curved finger. The tone

quality of the latter is much richer and more direct. See figures 1 and 2 below.

Figure 1 Figure 2

ROTARY AND LATERAL MOVEMENTS

An important principle of playing the piano is economy of movement. This is primarily

to achieve evenness of touch and control. Preparation and the covering of notes are

essential for feeling ‘ready’ prior to playing notes. This is attained through rotary and

lateral movements. Rotary movements allow us to support either side of the hand, when

required, through the use of more force or weight by tilting the hand side to side. This

ensures an even touch and effect from all fingers, especially outer fingers, such as the

fifth finger and thumb, to help pronounce melodies and counter-melodies. This concept

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can be considered as rotation-touch. Lateral movements are sideways movements of the

hand, with emphasis on the passing under of the thumb, particularly in scale and

arpeggio passages. Without these horizontal connecting movements, such techniques

would be impossible to join and play smoothly, resulting in jerky disconnected

passagework. For larger horizontal leaps, the whole arm and shoulder must be engaged

to help deal with the distance involved. Rotary and lateral movements must be used in

conjunction with vertical freedom and relaxation of the wrist.

TIP: Combining these principles with the idea of using weight, relaxation and

gravity will lead to the ability to create much with little.

TAKE A BREAK AND INNOVATE

The best practice is extremely concentrated with no daydreaming at all. Everyone has

different lengths they can concentrate for and will discover their own limit in time.

When focus starts to decrease and unrelated external thoughts start to creep into the

practice session that is the time to stop and take a break. Try going for a short walk, go

to the toilet, get some water or talk to someone; anything to take your mind off

practising. Sipping water while you practise is extremely good for maintaining

concentration and presence of mind. I personally find practising for an hour at a time

with 10-15 minute breaks in between to be very effective, ensuring that I’m refreshed

and ready to be productive for each new hour. The amount of practice you do will

depend on the workload of an individual. This could be anywhere from 3 - 8 hours a

day!

TIP: You will find that, by taking these frequent breaks, your brain will become

more creative and innovative!

It’s also important to be consistent. Some days you will have more energy and will feel

inclined to practise, other days quite the contrary. Try to complete the same amount of

highly concentrated practice each day. It’s more constructive for your energies to be

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spread out evenly over the course of a week. If you feel your practice is going well, don’t

do any more than you would normally do that day. Save your energy for the next day. To

get the most out of each hour session, it’s a good idea to set yourself goals to achieve in

that hour and to make sure you reach them in the time limit. This will help you to

practise more efficiently without wasting time.

TIP: Remember, its quality not quantity!

THE DROP

Whether you are a sportsman, athlete, actor, musician or any profession that involves

performance of any kind, one of the most crucial factors to successful delivery is

relaxation and the feeling of dropping your body weight into every movement you do.

This not only helps unrequired muscles to stay relaxed, but is also incredibly beneficial

from the point of view of having a calm and confident mind-set. By using the natural

weight of your body you are again using gravity to aid in the physical side of

performance. Try this warm-up below at the start of each day to eradicate tension.

Imagine! Stand with your feet should-width apart with your arms loosely above

your head. Then, while simultaneously bending your knees and breathing out, drop your

arms and all your body weight to the floor, like you are feeling all tension rush out from

your body. Immediately afterwards, using the power stored by straightening your knees,

breath in to erect your body upright and bring your arms back above your head. Repeat

the process in as relaxed a fashion as possible, timing your breathing with the movements.

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III. MAKING THE MOST OUT OF EXERCISES

WHY EXERCISES ARE IMPORTANT

The importance of developing a strong technique from the start is paramount in

expressing personal musical ideas more efficiently and intrinsically. Not only do

exercises and etudes develop one’s technique, they help to cultivate a deep, innate

understanding of self-expression, creativity, improvisation and performance confidence.

Scales develop physical technique as well as coordination, feel and colour of different

keys. They strengthen the fingers, tendons and muscles, and improve agility, speed and

stamina. Many complex exercises also draw on one’s knowledge of harmony, chord

progressions and music theory for their successful execution, thus improving their

musicianship skills and mental capacity. Tailor your exercises to specific technical

problems you have general difficulty with, and to current problems you might be

experiencing in new repertoire. Below is a warm-up suggestion:

Imagine! Start away from the piano by moving your arms in circles in both

directions. Feel your shoulder muscles relaxing and the blood being flung to your

fingertips. When you feel warm and loose sit at the piano. Begin by placing your right hand

thumb on middle C, and, with the first finger stretch to the right to the farthest note

possible and press it down. Do this as legato as possible with all the fingers in succession in

both hands separately. Pause on each note briefly to let the body adjust physiologically . . .

TIP: This will improve your flexibility. Don’t over stretch, think moderation!

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K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple stupid! The first practice session of the day can sometimes be slow.

Exercises are a good way of getting into the swing of things without having to think too

much. Exercises are physically and mentally beneficial. Simple exercises that are easy to

remember, like five finger studies, allow you to focus on the physical aspects of what

your hands and fingers are doing. These are a good way to start the day and to warm up.

The other benefit is that more complex exercises are not only a workout for the fingers

and hands, but also challenge and stretch the brain’s mental capacity. Longer,

harmonically advanced and modulatory exercises will make everything else seem like a

walk in the park. Make sure you’re focusing mentally and physically on your movements

and your sound. Many hours of mindless repetition is dangerous and

counterproductive, so a thoughtful, intelligent and pragmatic approach is vital.

TIP: Always try to start your day with some exercises.

More repetition = greater results!

MIX ‘N’ MATCH

The greater variety of exercises you can do, the better! To accompany scales and

arpeggios, one must work on all areas of technique, including chords, divided hands,

octaves and broken octaves, extensions, weak fingers, trills, double notes, staccato and

more. Find areas you struggle with the most and devote more time to improving them.

It’s simple but true, the more hours you spend at the keyboard performing various

acrobatics, the faster your technique will improve. Intelligent repetition is key.

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BRAIN GYM

If you really want to get ‘stuck in’ then try this. Most exercises are written in one key at

a time. All exercises should be played in all keys. To get the brain working let’s make

things more interesting. Starting very slowly, take any scale, arpeggio or exercise and

play each hand in a different key simultaneously. This will test the brains ability to think

in two keys at once, building strong bridges between the right and left hemispheres of

the brain. Once you’ve got the hang of that, try swapping over the hands; right hand

over the left and left hand over the right. Swapping the hands over is amazing for

ensuring both hands are even and together in scale passages. The hand that you find

lagging behind should be the hand you put underneath to work it harder. The wrist of

the hand underneath is forced down by the hand on top, requiring the fingers of the

under hand to articulate more clearly. Now practise the exercises with each hand

playing a contrasting rhythm and articulation. This is where it starts to get trickier! You

can also try playing all the scales with C major fingering. After doing this, every ‘normal’

scale will feel significantly easier. Here are some recommendations for books on

exercises, studies and technique (Hanon, Tankard, Brahms, Dohnanyi, Chopin):

Once you feel you’ve made progress with these different ways of playing exercises and

scales, try mixing and matching different methods to give your brain a thorough mental

workout. Get creative and start making up your own exercises to assist in specific

technical problems you experience. This is where the fun really starts!

TIP: The harder you make your brain work, the easier everything else will

seem. Your understanding of harmony, keys, chord progressions and theory will

advance rapidly after a brain gym session!

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AWAY FROM THE PIANO

If you happen to find yourself at a loose end without a piano to practise on, then are

ways to keep your hands in shape. A hard surface such as a table top or your knee will

suffice as a keyboard to carry out simple exercises. Pianists often forget that they are

also percussionists due to the very nature of the piano. This requires pianists to have a

good sense of rhythm, which many don’t, with the ability to execute passages such as

split octaves between the hands and repetition of octaves in one hand. The movements

required for these actions are virtually identical to that of a percussionist playing a

rhythm or a roll on a snare drum using alternating hands. Paradiddles, drumming

patterns, can be practised on your knee anytime, anywhere. See the example below for

some ideas to get you started:

Figure 3

TIP: The right and left hand markings should be strictly adhered to!

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Here is a finger exercise with five variations you can do on any hard surface:

Figure 4

1) Hold down the thumb 2) Hold down the 2nd finger

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2………………………………………………

1……………………………………………… 1 1

3) Hold down the 3rd finger 4) Hold down the 4th finger

5 5 5 5

4 4 4………………………………………………

3……………………………………………… 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

5) Hold down the 5th finger

5………………………………………………

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

For each variation, hold down the finger marked by the dotted line while playing the

respective chord patterns indicated by the colours representing each finger. This

exercise will improve your finger independence. The 4th and 5th fingers, being the

weakest, need to be more pronounced with greater articulation. Perform the exercises

slowly and deliberately, focusing on lifting your fingers high and using weight.

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IV. WHAT MAKES EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE

PRACTICE?

PREPARING A NEW PIECE

Doing everything right and adhering to everything in the score from the beginning is of

crucial importance! Psychologists can prove that a stimulus enters long-term memory

(that is, it is “learned”) after it has been attentively observed 7 times. But if an

“incorrect” stimulus is first learned, it then takes an average of 35 repetitions to learn

the “corrected” stimulus! Learning it right the first time is five times easier than re-

learning after learning it incorrectly. I can say with confidence and experience that this

is 100% true, and if you don’t want to waste your time then one must always remember

this for efficient and successful results. The most important and demanding areas of

learning new music are the initial stages, where discovering the ‘correct stimulus’ is

paramount to ultimately preparing a piece soundly and securely.

Choosing the correct stimulus from the

start will ensure you get on the right path!

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Through much experience, I’ve come to the realisation that the slower and more

pragmatic the approach to learning a new piece, the better the results. The key to

making a particular stimulus a permanent part of your long-term memory is to review it

repeatedly over a long period of time. Memories that are not reviewed in this way

become gradually weaker with time. To help speed up the initial process of learning a

new piece, here are some handy tips:

1. Establish a numbering system for distinguishing the hierarchy of important

notes and beats. Familiarise yourself with passages where weak fingers are used.

2. Work out and circle unexpected notes and notes with many ledger lines to save

working them out each time you come back to it.

3. Analyse the structure of the piece, identify the climax and any repeats.

4. Write in the harmonies, any modulations and changes of character.

5. Identify broken chords and arpeggios. Break down complex scale passages into

more understandable, bite-size sections.

6. Find similar patterns, repeating motifs, matching bars and phrases, thematic

material. Fit the piece together like a jigsaw puzzle.

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Everyone has different hands. So this means not sitting down and religiously following

the fingerings that the editor has put in the score, without even exploring alternatives

that might otherwise prove to be far more effective. There’s only one way to find out

what works best for you, and that is to discover which fingerings are most comfortable,

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effortless and logical at the final performance tempo. This is especially true for passages

of a higher technical and harmonic complexity where security and memorisation might

be an issue. There is no point in reading through the music slowly, deciding on a set of

fingerings, practising it slowly, to only then realise that it doesn’t lie comfortably under

the hands or feel fluid when up to tempo. This problem could have been solved from the

start by trying out several different sets of fingerings up to tempo, and then going with

your gut feeling as to which one feels ‘right’. What feels ‘right’ will vary from person to

person, depending on hand size, finger strength and agility, understanding of harmonic

progressions, and also the innate instinct to follow patterns that have been ingrained

through rigorous practising of technical tools such as scales, arpeggios and exercises. It

can be advantageous, from the perspective of memory security, to use the same

fingerings on passages where a motif or pattern is used in a sequence or in another key,

even if it might appear awkward or ‘go against the grain’ at first. This is of course a

personal choice, and may not be wise, such as playing a passage in D flat major with the

same fingerings as one would in C major. Always remember, go with that ‘right’ feeling.

TIP: Always write any observations you make in the score. Every day your

brain will see these annotations until they become embedded in long term memory.

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SLOWLY BUT SURELY

Once you’ve analysed the score, written in your decided fingerings and adhered to the

composer’s intentions, the process of finalising and polishing begins. Most of the time

spent learning a piece is in the polishing process, not the initial learning process. This is

where slow and deliberate practice is essential to attain technical and mental security

over the piece. Do not make the mistake of practising to play slowly rather than slow

practice. All necessary movements, dynamics and expression one use while playing up

to tempo should be there during slow practice. Using weight will also be a factor in

achieving control of touch.

TIP: Imagine you are choreographing your whole body, but at a slower tempo!

IT’S ALL A GAME

One will undoubtedly experience musical and technical problems in any piece they

encounter. We need to be keen problem solvers to overcome the labyrinth of puzzles we

face at this stage of the learning journey. Don't look at practicing as putting in a certain

amount of time at the piano, or as repeating your pieces a certain number of times. Look

at practicing as solving problems in your pieces. This process occurs in three stages:

1. Identify the problem.

2. What is causing the problem?

3. Fix the problem.

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Once you’ve identified the problem and found out why it exists, you can move on to

finding solutions to solve it. Problems may be caused by bad technique, bad fingering,

awkward jumps and stretches or maybe an unclear mental image of the piece. Below is

a list of practice tips and ideas to help assist in common technical and musical

difficulties. Remember, they must be practised slowly!

Accenting and sustaining notes – this should be used on notes of importance

such as beat notes (in hierarchical order) and weak fingers to achieve rhythmic

clarity.

Pauses – this is useful for eradicating urges and rushing at places such as jumps,

prior to accents and on beat notes during running passages to act as mini

anchors for inner calm. Imagine a climber on a huge cliff face fastening

themselves on in crucial places for safety.

Breathing – integrate breathing into your slow practice as a way of staying

relaxed, especially at moments of tension and technical instability.

Counting – in rhythmically complex passages, try counting the beats out loud

while playing. This will vastly enhance your understanding and feel for the

rhythms at hand.

Rhythms – practise using a variety of rhythms to help achieve even, controlled

passagework. This is used in conjunction with pauses and stops.

Reverse order – try practising the piece starting with the end first, or the middle

first or by starting at different sections first. This tests to see if you know the

piece inside out.

Prioritise – always get to work on the difficult bits first, the easy bits will come

naturally.

Dynamics – practise your touch by using different dynamics to achieve even

control.

Articulation – use different articulations such as staccato to help strengthen

fingers.

Closed eyes – use this method for passages containing jumps and stretches

where there might be a large distance between the hands.

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Repeated notes – play each note twice to reinforce mental and physical

mastery, this is particularly useful in fast running scale passages.

Hands separately – good for a piece where one hand is difficult enough to

warrant separate attention. I would recommend putting both hands together as

soon as possible.

Finger groups – divide complex passagework into groups separated by the

passing under of the thumb. E.g. C major: 123 (stop) 12345 (stop) 54321 (stop)

321.

WITHOUT PEDAL

The majority of one’s practice should be done without pedal. By playing without pedal

one is able to listen more carefully. Without the aid of the pedal you have to work

harder to create a better sound and smooth linear lines, forcing the fingers to use true

finger legato and the whole arm to use more weight. Playing slowly without pedal

improves the evenness of your sound, but over doing it can lead to excessive tension.

Don’t aim for that super glossy sound you get from the pedal, not all the notes need to

be connected; some of the finest legato lines have been achieved in octaves with the

pedal as the glue. Do the best you can, but be aware that taking your hands completely

off the keyboard to pause in places is useful for bringing in space to the piece. It’s always

a good idea to find at least one place in a piece where you can breathe and refresh.

MEMORISATION

For some people memorising music is incredibly natural and subconscious, but for

others it’s a conscious effort and quite daunting. There are a variety of ways to

memorise music, some more difficult than others. The body memorises playing music

through touch and feel of the keyboard, how it sounds, by looking at visual elements of

how the body carries out movements to play the music and also through mental

memorisation. This is simplified into four below methods:

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KINAESTHETIC AUDITORY

VISUAL MENTAL

The former three methods are automatically integrated into practice, but some people

can forget to include mental practice into a physical practice session. One of the key

reasons why people struggle with memorisation is because they haven’t envisaged a

vivid enough mental mind map of the piece. This mental mind map should literally be a

virtual score, complete with performance directions and feelings one experiences

during live performance. Kinaesthetic, auditory, visual and mental practice can all be

done at the piano, but mental practice alone, away from the piano, is the best method

for testing whether you really know a piece. It gives your hands a rest and

simultaneously works the most important organ of all, the brain! Try this exercise:

Imagine! Sit comfortably in a chair with nothing but your thoughts. Close your

eyes. Now, visualise yourself at the piano with your hands on the keyboard. Take a piece

from your repertoire and start practising it through. You must try to feel everything:

imagine the fingers you’re using, how it sounds, how it physically and emotionally feels at

each moment, hear all the different textures involved, places of rest and tension and see a

clear image of the evolution of the harmony. Try to see where the music is going and the

big picture with all its components. Imagine the entire mental soundscape lain out before

you. Quite simply, imagine you’re at a real piano practising . . .

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Visualising in this way is difficult and requires an enormous amount of concentration.

Start with small sections first and build it up bit by bit until you’re confidently able to

imagine yourself practising and playing through a whole piece. If you can do this,

without the aid of physical muscle memory, you have thoroughly memorised the piece.

TIP: An advantage of this method is that it can be done anywhere: in the

shower, on the train or walking your dog!

IMPROVISATION

Classical musicians suffer from performance anxiety and stage fright more than any

other kind of performing musician, be it jazz groups, pop singers or folk fiddlers. This is

primarily down to the fact that classical musicians stick to the straight and narrow

during performance, so to speak. Jazz musicians in particular include improvisation as a

core feature in their music. This automatically introduces an element of uncertainty

with a mind-set of ‘anything goes’ into the mix, dispelling the feeling of ‘I have to play

this note perfectly’. This is also true of musicians who write and perform their own

music; no one can tell them it’s wrong when they wrote it. It’s this mind-set that

classical musicians need to embrace during performance; imagine you’re the first

person in the world to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, and you wrote it! No

pressure at all. To help get rid of this pressure and to embrace the ‘anything’ goes mind-

set try improvising on pieces you are playing. Get used to it sounding different, and that

it’s ok for it to sound different. Experiment with key changes, jazzy rhythms, melodic

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extensions and thematic development. Improvisation will improve your performance

confidence and to trust yourself.

SPICE IT UP

Now that you know your pieces so well it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming

complacent. This is where lack of concentration, boredom and an inflexible attitude

creeps in. Flexibility is essential in dealing with various performing conditions and

coping with the unexpected. It’s important that one is innovative to find new ways to

practise, improve and progress through plateaus. Practising should be fun and creative

with a variety of practice methods to keep the brain absorbed for longer periods of time,

allowing a greater retention of what you learn during practice. Here are a few ideas on

how to make your practice more interesting:

If you are struggling with a certain passage, try playing it in another key.

Returning to the original key will feel much easier and more secure.

Practise with a variety of touches. For pianists this is advantageous as we are

constantly playing different pianos, so we must be able to handle a range of

keyboard actions.

Practise closing the lid of the piano and playing on the lid to hear how you are

articulating a passage. The deeper the thud, the better the articulation and

power.

To ensure that your wrists stay relaxed throughout your playing, flick them up

and down and ‘break’ them occasionally to remind you of how it feels to relax.

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To improve your concentration, try having the television on in the background

speaking about a subject you are interested in. Try to block this external stimulus

from your head.

Inside out practice is useful for improving the memorisation and security of

chords. Practise by playing the inner notes first followed by the outer notes.

Make sure you fully prepare notes by covering the keys, pausing and breathing

prior to playing them. This will help reduce nervous rushing and improve

musical line.

If you are unsure about how you sound in a certain passage or piece, try

recording yourself to better understand the interpretation you’re trying to

achieve.

Practise for perfection by taking a passage or piece and playing it ten times in a

row perfectly. If you can do this then it shows you’ve mastered it!

Sing the repertoire you’re learning away from the piano while you’re cooking, in

the shower or shopping! By singing you are improving your ability to memorise

the music.

To help identify areas that need more work, play the piece through then break it

up into workable chunks, then repeat the process. This is called whole-part-

whole practice.

Use the metronome at different tempi to help produce even passagework. This

method works particularly well for the precision of classical music.

Practise so slowly that there is no discernible musical line. By doing this you are

forced to create the musical line in your head, improving memory and strength of

direction.

It’s much more effective to practise a section or passage of music for a short

period of time but frequently, than practising it for a long period of time but

infrequently.

Always sit up straight with good posture. It lifts your spirit and creativity. Try it!

Don’t try to play everything legato and connected. Try taking your hands off the

keyboard every now and then to bring space into your playing while you

practise. Keeping your hands in their most natural position as frequently as

possible will ensure you stay relaxed without undue tension and strain.

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TIP: Play musical games with yourself. Innovation, flexibility and variety!

THE BIG 3

In the end it all boils down to one question: am I playing musically and technically to my

full potential? To know this, break the question down into three smaller ones:

1. Does it SOUND right? – have you adhered 100% to what’s in the score, including

the right notes and rhythms, dynamics and tempi, performance directions and

voicings etc.? The basics need to be learned correctly right from the start.

2. Does it FEEL right? – It is important that you are mentally relaxed and physically

comfortable 100% of the time. An awareness of how you use your body is crucial

in conveying musical ideas without excess movements expended by tension.

3. Does it LOOK right? – can you observe any unnatural or awkward movements

that lead to tension, that are interrupting the flow of the music or go against the

grain of a passage. Aesthetics is a very important part of playing the piano.

Looking at what you’re doing aids in creating awareness of muscular sensations.

TIP: If you can tick yes to these three questions then you are on the right track

with the way you practise. They are the fundamental cornerstones of practice itself!

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10,000 HOURS OF JOY

How well you practise ultimately denotes how much time you spend at the piano. Most

professional musicians have extraordinarily busy schedules, so practising efficiently and

effectively will be at the top of their agenda. Some love practising, some loathe it. Either

way, the ability to be productive in a short period of time is a win-win situation for all.

As a professional musician, I personally find practice to be a chore a lot of the time. But

it’s a means to an end, in the form of concerts, recordings or whatever. That is where all

the hard work pays off and time spent rewarded. There is a huge difference between

practising and playing. Many non-musicians fail to understand that practice for

professional musicians is part of their job and is not always fun. They only see the final

product, the playing, and the performance. It’s not all a bed of roses. Granted, learning

and playing music is a lot more fun than many other activities but, like every other

worthwhile field of human endeavour, there will always come an inescapable time

where results must be achieved through hours and hours of dirty, gritty, repetitive,

boring, time-consuming and difficult work…mostly spent alone! To put it in perspective,

many of you will be familiar with the 10,000 rule, and that’s just the beginning. To be

good at anything, hard work is unavoidable. Don’t listen to the person who can do 2

hours a day and get away with it. Do however much you need to do, and trust yourself.

The tips, advice and methods outlined in this book will help you to organise a

structured, efficient and productive practice routine without undue regimentation. How

WELL you learn a piece is of infinitely higher value than how QUICKLY you learn a

piece. Always remember, a prudent and pragmatic approach is the way forward, solving

problems logically and creatively along the way.

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MOTIVATION

Motivation is essential for the continuation of productive, focused and fun learning. One

must consider the four different types of motivation that can act upon an individual:

1. Extrinsic – motivation created through external importance such as a concert.

2. Intrinsic – motivation created through internal sufficient interest in the subject.

3. Social – motivation created through the need or want to please others.

4. Achievement – motivation created by feelings of success and avoidance of failure.

You might be motivated by one or a number of these four different types, but knowing

which ones can help you determine why you practise, making the task more worthwhile

and meaningful in the long run. Your motivation can be affected by a variety of factors

including how much you are challenged, people’s expectations of you, clear goals,

whether you thrive on praise or criticism, a pleasant and healthy learning environment,

a degree of freedom and autonomy and, perhaps most importantly, the balance between

how much you are challenged and your level of skill. ‘Flow’ is the desired mental state

one wishes to reach in order to maximise their energy, focus, involvement, enjoyment

and motivation while undertaking a task. Below are two diagrams illustrating this idea.

TIP: To avoid becoming stale, alternate regularly between which pieces you

practise. If you are bored or have reached a plateau with a piece, consider putting it

on the back-burner for a while and take up a fresh new piece.

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V. A FINAL WORD OF WARNING!

A barrage of physical, and sometimes mental problems, can arise from practising. As a

result of over-practising in the wrong way, one can develop RSI (repetitive strain

injury). This can lead to a permanent decline of one’s career without the ability to play

at all. The moment you experience any pain of any sort you must stop practising

immediately and rest. Always make sure your hands are thoroughly warmed up prior to

playing. If you haven’t touched the piano for a while, ease yourself gently back into your

practice routine to avoid excessive strain on the tendons of your hands and arms. RSI is

prone to being caused by repetition of too many exercises, which place enormous strain

on the weak fingers of the hand. If your hands are weak, build up the amount and

complexity of the exercises incrementally.

Pianists spend a frightening amount of time alone practising. It’s the nature of our

instrument. This isolation can affect and complicate the psyche in ways that aren’t

desirable. Examples of this are antisocial behaviour, anxiety, stress, feelings of

inadequacy and a detachment from the real world. It’s important that you have hobbies

and a social life outside music which can take your mind off its demands, ideally

something physical and social to release endorphins and serotonin. These are the

‘happy’ chemicals that are released when you eat chocolate or exercise.

Happy Practising!