Practice Tutorial
A) Learn notes, fingering and counting
- Write in the counting in PENCIL (never ink)
- Count a small section out loud (without playing) while watching the music.
- Find the starting notes and hand and finger positions.
- Look for similar or identical patterns in the music and mark them in pencil.
- Start by learning the easier sections first.
- Learn the notes, one or two bar sections at a time.
7. Learn to play one hand and count it or sing-count it.
8. Do the same thing with your other hand
9. When the section is a lot easier, move to the next section.
B) Perfect the counting
- Play one hand while counting out loud and feeling the beat. Repeat while trying to improve each time.
- Do the same thing with your other hand.
- Now play both hands together and count out loud.
- After you can do this well, add the metronome.
- Play with the metronome at a slow speed while playing both hands together and counting out loud.
C) Work on dynamics, phrasing and articulation
- Watch all the additional markings in the music.
- Use the right dynamics and articulation.
- Where are the phrase marks?
- Do the dynamics, articulation and phrasing change the feel of the music? They should change the sound and feel dramatically!
D) Increase the tempo
- Practice with the metronome at a slow speed that is easy.
- Play it perfectly at your starting speed.
- When you can play it perfectly, increase your speed 2 clicks on the metronome
- Continue increasing 2 clicks at a time until you reach performance speed.
E) Memorize the music
- Repeat small sections, usually one or two bars long.
- Repeat each section several times until you feel you have it memorized.
- Combine smaller sections into larger sections
- Practice starting from different sections, instead of just the beginning.
F) Add the piece to your repetoire
- Play the music at least three times per week to keep it memorized.
- Now you can play this whenever and wherever you like – from memory!
G) Perform the music
- For your family and friends.
- For your school.
- For a recital.
- For a competition.