Practicing Classical Piano 75 minutes

1.       Play a tune from your repertoire-5 minutes
2.       Review your scales, chords, and arpeggios-15 minutes
          2.1.    Slow, methodical, and musical. Let the speed not come at the expense of good tone, rhythm, and solid fingering.
          2.2.    This is not an activity to rush through, but an activity to savor.
3.       Sight-read a new piece of interest from a repertoire book -10 minutes
           3.1.     A great opportunity to investigate possible future repertoire.
           3.2.    Good sight-readers require less practice time on new pieces.
4.       Time for some deep listening online of a master musician-5 minutes
          4.1.    I believe we can’t play what we can’t hear.
          4.2.    I suggest starting with listening to one element of the performance. Say, concentrate on the performance of articulations. How short is a staccato? How do they taper a two note slur?
          4.3.    How does the performer play a cadence?
5.       Now tackle the most difficult part of the most difficult piece on your practice list-15 minutes
          5.1.    No more procrastination. Jump in and tackle that nagging part. You know the section I’m referring to.
          5.2.    Is the fingering been settled and thought out?
          5.3.    Slow practice wins.
6.       Review another favorite piece from your repertoire-10  minutes
7.       Finish with your ear training and theory studies-15 minutes
          7.1.    Interval identification etc. See point 4.1.
      7.2.    Theory studies build understanding. Understanding is one cornerstone to playing beautifully.

I hope you find this helpful. Have Fun.

David

 

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