Practice

The myth: You should memorize your piece after you learn to play it. The truth: It can be more beneficial to memorize your piece as you learn it. You know the drill…learn the notes, work on musicality, and then commit the piece to memory. Right? Actually, memorizing as you learn a piece, rather than after […]

Both quality and quantity go hand in hand to produce good practice results.

The myth: Practice everything slowly. The truth: Slow practice is extremely effective but can work even better if you intersperse practice at faster tempos. I am a believer in the incredible power of slow practice. Working on passages of music under tempo allows me to absorb the music more clearly. I am constantly reminding both

Research shows that timing the review of information is more important than daily repetition. Using thoughtful “spaced repetition” can get better results with less time spent on practice.

How many times have you sat down at the piano and immediately started playing scales? It seems to be built into our brains that scales must come first! Scales and other techniques are essential skills to develop, but it isn’t actually a requirement to play them before you hit your repertoire. In fact, you might achieve more success if you mix up your routine sometimes!

“How much did you practice this week?” is a question that pops up frequently. But perhaps the better question would be “How did your practice go this week?” Practicing encompasses so much more than a quantity of time, and it is a major step towards practice independence when students are able to self-evaluate what went well or what needs improvement.