The idea of 'drilling' a difficult passage in a piece of music is something I'm sure we've all come across. Clearly, if we accept that 'repetition is the mother of all learning', then this does seem a reasonable approach.
However, first, this can often lead to fairly mindless repetition of a passage which in itself casts doubt on how much learning is actually happening. Secondly, in my experience, frequently just because we're able to play a passage in isolation, doesn't mean we'll be successful with it once we put it back in context. Indeed, I released a video some time ago discussing this very concept - that of once we think we have 'fixed' something, to start practising it in context. However, as is often the case, I have recently found a way of taking this a step further that I have nicknamed 'looping'.
Put simply, the principle is that rather than focus singularly on the problem area, we expand what we're going to play to include what precedes and what follows it. It's surprising just how often music lends itself to this and we're able to find a 'natural' loop that we can use. We then use this loop to practice that trickly spot multiple times without stopping but also in context.
In the video, I give examples from Beethoven's Fur Elise, Debussy's 1st Arabesque and Chopin's C Sharp Minor Waltz and Schubert's Impromptu in E Flat so that you can get a good idea of what to look for.
If you'd like further practice tips for these pieces, then the following videos should be of interest:
Fur Elise - Melanie Spanswick's Play It Again Piano | • Play It Again Piano by...
Debussy's 1st Arabesque | • Debussy 1st Arabesque ...
Chopin's C Sharp Minor Waltz | • Piano Tutorial: Chopin...
Schubert's E Flat Impromptu (a speed building approach) | • Get Faster on Piano | ...
Let me know in the comments how you get on with it.
Chapter Markers
00:00 Looping - a step up from simply Drilling
00:48 Beethoven Fur Elise - the idea of a 'short loop' and a 'long loop'
02:37 Debussy First Arabesque - two easy to find loops in the most complex parts
05:12 Chopin C Sharp Minor Waltz - looping the pairs
06:42 Schubert Impromptu in E Flat - looping to build 'stamina'
07:46 Looping in Practice Variants - Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 2 (The Bees)
For the best source of actionable Practice Advice, check out the Practising the Piano Online Academy. Currently, you are able to get 14 day FREE trial to the Online Academy by clicking on the link below:
www.informance.biz/online-aca...
EQUIPMENT:
Full details of all equipment used are available on my blog at the address below:
tommyspianocorner.com/youtube...
Filmed on an iPhone 13 Pro - using the Filmic Pro app
Piano Audio captured on a Zoom F6 using a matched pair of Rode NT5 microphones (see my review of the F6 here : • Record Piano | 5 Reas... )
Voiceover captured on a Rode SmartLav microphone plugged into an iPhone 6S
Video editing done using Lumafusion
Audio editing done using Garageband (voiceover) and Cubase LE Elements (piano).
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: / tommyspianocorner
Twitter: @tommyspianocor1
EMAIL:
tommy@tommyspianocorner.com
6 июл 2024
