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Writer's pictureJack Mitchell Smith

Balancing Act: How to Prioritise and Identify What Requires Practice on Piano


Piano Practice


We’ve all been there - a good 30 minutes, 1 hour, full day perhaps, of sitting down at the piano and practising only to go back the next day and be none…the…wiser. But how can this be? When we literally spend so much time concentrating on and thinking about what we are doing, why can’t we always just pick up from where we left off? In fact, why do we sometimes fall backwards and do considerably worse than where we left off? Or even from where we started?


As a very black and white rule, I tell pupils to average roughly 30 minutes a day for practice; that’s a few minutes of warming up then scales and technicals, a good chunk of focusing on their pieces (in particular on problem areas) and then rehearsing performance style at the end (e.g. playing what they have learnt but playing it as more a performance than a rigidly metronomical interpretation). Obviously the timeframe can extend or shorten for different people, but the format is the same and if all areas are addressed correctly - nothing can go wrong!


However, things can go wrong because addressing each area correctly is difficult, and it’s a difficulty that reaches far past what you may refer to as the ‘cop-out’ reasons (“it’s boring to play slowly”, “I can play it well enough” etc.) and actually roots itself in being so difficult because our brains are all wired so spectacularly differently. Not only that, our brains develop and change as our skills develop; not just in piano - but in anything! So for me to say that this way of practising your scales will work and this way will not work is way too generalised!


And that brings me to the purpose of this short but hopefully very informative blog post: how to consider different approaches to practising the same thing.


Before I go on, make sure that a practise session covers a whole load of things. Whilst it’s fine to prioritise scales and give them longer for one session if they’re your pitfall against your pieces, don’t neglect the pieces! Variety is the spice of…the practice session!


Anyway, a couple of tips:…



Intense Repetition vs. Paused Piano Practice



Let’s say that you’re struggling with the B♭ minor scale (a sentiment close to my heart as it’s one of my least favourites too!).


There is without a shadow of a doubt one - and only one - type of learner who I’ve ever experienced when it comes to practising piano: the ‘driller’.


They will play it. Get it wrong. Do it again. Play it. Get it wrong. Do it again. Play it. Get it wrong…etc. etc. - eventuallyyyyyyy they may actually play it correctly but by this point it’s fluke, otherwise it’s not even a part of that same practise session.


Try out this fun little exercise. Choose a random word that has no relevance. Something everyday such as: concrete.


Normal word, right?


Now say it ten times.


And ten more.


How does it sound now?


Little bit odd?


Just to add to the audible weirdness, read the word a few times and see how odd it starts to look too:


Concrete, concrete, concrete, concrete, concrete.


If you wish to take the experiment even further, write it out a few times. You may even start to stumble over the spelling because it’s just lost all meaning and relevance. The word in passing is perfectly viable and usable and you wouldn’t ordinarily hesitate on the word or the spelling, but now we’ve overexposed it. You’ve ‘overpractised’.


So, as an alternative, try this when practising your dreaded B♭ minor scale:


Play it slowly. Observe any issues.


Now wait 30 seconds.


Play it slowly again, focusing on correcting the issue. Observe if it happens again, or if any others happen.


Wait 30 seconds.


Repeat this until your allocated timeframe for scales is up - 5 minutes, for example.


Will it be perfect by the end of 5 minutes?


…NO!


But you’ll have been much more focused on it and thinking about it more than just relying on muscle memory, thus when you go back to it - whether that be a day or a week later (please try not to leave it a week though!) you’ll be able to recall it much more easily.


Not only that, you won’t be tired from 5 minutes of intensive finger workout and stressed from not getting it right!


Same principle goes for problem areas in pieces or finger exercises - memory is a powerful tool that is underestimated in piano. Just make sure you concentrate on what you’re playing and try not to practise to the point of only using muscle memory.



Practical Practice vs. Music Theory



Practical Practice refers to physically playing the instrument, whereas music theory refers to what makes music as we recognise it work: the rules etc., including how to interpret notation.


A lot of my pupils are very excited by theory and that’s fantastic, but it’s happened a few times now where they have been so engrossed in the theory that they forget to play! Or, indeed, those who don’t necessarily enjoy the theory as such forget to remind themselves of certain basics because for them, piano is all about sitting at the instrument and only playing the keys.


The reality is that it is like a circle; practising on the instrument and getting yourself used to note position, key signatures, rhythms and harmonies / intervals etc. can naturally improve your theory, whilst studying theory can really put you in good stead when it comes time to sit back at the keyboard.


Not all piano practice has to be physically sat at the keyboard! Next time you are practising a piece - especially one you’re quite new too - try sitting down with a pencil and assessing things first. Draw in lines to dictate rhythms if rhythm isn’t your strong point, identify bigger intervals or extract rhythms from a piece that you can work out first. Putting theory into context is a huge part of music and is one that is often missed out by those who just read up on it. Do this before you try and play the piece and you’ve now ticked off both halves of this point: practical piano practice and learning music theory!



 

Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.


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