Please buy and read the book. 

Here is my 1st take away and commentary on practicing.  

Start with the tricky bits. But before diving in, try to figure out what the problem is. Don’t just start playing. If the passage is long, break it up in small manageable chunks. As you repeat these chunks consider all the markings in the score, especially fingerings and dynamics.

How many times should one repeat the corrected passage? Five if you have time, ten if you are in a hurry.

Things that hold you back? Irrgeluar fingering is perhaps the greatest obstacle to playing with ease. Second is practicing without dynamics, with the idea, “I’ll add those later after I’ve got the notes,” means you must learn the darn piece twice. In performance I’ll bet you’ll play version 1.

“Which pathway am I reinforcing by how I’m practicing?” Molly Gebrian, Learn Faster, Perform Better. Good question. For example, do you skip over the “boring bits” to get to the good bits? This is self defeating. I’ve learned that the “boring bits” are the essential bits. So, I dive in with gusto.

Question to consider. How is your posture? Are you sitting up or slouching?

​Best, 
David Story
Piano teacher and professional nag.

The Royal Conservatory of Music has a record of all the examinations your students have completed. My students have successfully completed 821 music exams since 1994. 821 wow!!!! They should send me and my wife on a nice cruise in recognition of services rendered.

Obviously, I feel exams are valuable, I have my ARCT. Here are few reasons in no particular order. 

​1. If you master the skills required to suceed, you will improve as a pianist. What skills? 1) performance skills, 2)aural skills, 3)sight reading, 4)theory.
2. Developing the skill or trait of perserverance in the face of difficulities or in the parlance of today, grit.
3. The music is varied and appropriate for each level. As a teacher, it is wonderful to see the students recognise their growing skills and authentic achievements because sitting for a piano exam, like sports, is the real deal. No electronic distractions, just you and the task before you. If it works, you did it. If it fails, you own it. Either way valuable life skills are developed or reinforced. 
4. Personal note. When I completed my Grade 10 and ARCT I felt like superman. 

I won't promise you will feel like superman or superwoman, but I do promise you will have an authentic experience. 

Cheers, 
David 

My practice time is limited. Why? I'm 66 years old. My runway is short. So, because I'm in a hurry, I practice new material slowly. And I use a metronome to keep me honest. Otherwise, I forget and off I go wasting my precious practice time zipping along playing through mistakes, missing nuances in the score, etc. Final thought. I've learned a few things teaching all these years, including the sad fact that there are no shortcuts, but there are lots of do overs.  ​
Best, 
​David Story

Posted on Facebook today by Eli Baumgarten.

My responce. 

“Yes, I personally practice and prioritize ear training. I transcribe licks, chord progressions, the works. Not practicing ear training is analogous to learning a new language through reading alone. How would you ever be able to hear and respond to the nuances of tone and accent, idioms, or pacing? That would make no sense if your goal is to converse, at some level, with a native speaker.”

Currently, my ear training, at the keyboard, encompasses blues tunes, (see my previous blog), big band drumming, and listening and analysis of Classical string quartets performances. 

Blues:
I figure out the form, chord progressions, the keyboard groove, and important keyboard licks. I may or may not write them down.

Big band drumming:
I'm transcribing drum fills and set ups, as well as orchestration on the drum kit. 

Classical string quartets performances:
I'm listening and noting how the music is phrased. For example, the relationship between melodic direction and dynamics. I'm particularly interested in phrase ending and tempo fluctuations. 

For beginners, where would you start?
If you are a classical piano student, start practising the ear training and completing the theory assigned to your level. 

If you are a jazz student?
Copy the melodies of jazz standards. Master musicians modify what you see in the fakebook. You want to internalise their interpreations. How does one do this if it is not immediately or intuitively easy? Listen to the track repeatedly. Renowned teacher Ed Soph said, "one hundred times." Herbie Hancock recounts that as a kid he listened to an Oscar Peterson track 100 times before he was able to work it out. He also said that the next transcription only took 99 times. In my experience, students give up too soon or attempt melodies that are too difficult. 

Starter tunes:
1. Killer Joe
2. Satin Doll
3. Summertime

Cheers,
 
David Story

1. I’ve set July 2026 as my completion date. At my current skill level, that gives me plenty of time.
2. I’m learning the tunes by ear. Of the 50 on my list, I’ve already learned about 30.
3. I’m focusing only on the keyboard parts.
4. I’ve scored 30 pieces because it helps me remember them—I have a strong ear and visual memory. However, at a blues jam, like in jazz, reading music is verbatim.
5. Starting this month, I’ll begin attending blues jams to explore the scene, learn who I’d like to play with, and who to avoid.
6. I practice piano separately to maintain and restore my keyboard skills. Teaching piano all day isn’t conducive to keeping professional-level chops.
7. I’m watching YouTube videos on blues organ technique to learn about drawbars, the volume pedal, and Leslie speaker effects. Blues piano and I are old friends; authentic blues organ playing, not so much.
8. I listen to a lot of blues recordings.
9. I focus on learning “feel” before virtuosity—feel wins every time.
10. I’m learning Green Onions using a combination of score and ear. So far, it’s the only piece I’m reading.
11. I’m doing this for fun.
12. I bought a portable keyboard that (1) fits in a backpack and (2) has the necessary sounds for this project.

​If I were a jazz student, I’d follow the same method—with one caveat: I’d make sure my piano skills were up to the task. If not, I’d get some lessons.
​
Cheers,
David

(BTW, I asked Chat GPT for a list of tunes to go with a list I have from a friend.) 

Here’s a practical, gig-tested list of 50 blues standards that are most commonly played by bands in blues clubs today. This is based on modern blues jam sessions, club gigs, and working-band repertoires rather than historical importance alone. I’ve grouped them so you can quickly see why they’re so common—and this should be especially useful given your background as a music teacher (great material for ensemble classes, jams, and stylistic study).

🔹 Core 12-Bar Blues Standards (Absolute Essentials)These are called constantly at jams and gigs.

1. Sweet Home Chicago – Robert Johnson
2. Stormy Monday – T-Bone Walker / Al
   
3. lmand Brothers
4. Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Waters
5. Got My Mojo Working – Muddy Waters
6. Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker
7. Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughan
8. Crossroads – Robert Johnson / Cream /Eric Clapton
9. Messin’ with the Kid – Junior Wells
10. I’m Tore Down – Freddie King
11. Everyday I Have the Blues – B.B. King

🔹 Shuffle & Swing Blues (Very Common Club Tempos)Great for teaching groove, feel, and swing articulation.

1. The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King
2. Further On Up the Road – Bobby “Blue” Bland
3. Key to the Highway – Big Bill Broonzy
4. Caldonia – Louis Jordan
5. Let the Good Times Roll – Louis Jordan / B.B. King
6. Baby Please Don’t Go – Muddy Waters
7. Shake, Rattle and Roll – Big Joe Turner
8. Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison
9. Ain’t No Sunshine (blues reharmonized) – Bill Withers
10. Route 66 – Bobby Troup

🔹 Slow Blues (Called Every Night)These are mandatory for any blues band.

1. Stormy Monday Blues – Allman Brothers version
2. Since I’ve Been Loving You – Led Zeppelin
3. I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James
4. Red House – Jimi Hendrix
5. Tin Pan Alley – Stevie Ray Vaughan
6. It Hurts Me Too – Elmore James
7. Black Magic Woman – Fleetwood Mac
8. As the Years Go Passing By – Albert King
9. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
10. Have You Ever Loved a Woman – Freddie King

🔹 Texas / Chicago Blues Club StaplesModern blues bands love these.

1. Mary Had a Little Lamb – Stevie Ray Vaughan
2. Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughan
3. Further On Up the Road – Eric Clapton version
4. Mannish Boy – Muddy Waters
5. Smokestack Lightning – Howlin’ Wolf
6. Little Red Rooster – Willie Dixon
7. I Just Want to Make Love to You – Muddy Waters
8. Killing Floor – Howlin’ Wolf
9. Goin’ Down – Freddie King
10. Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King

🔹 Blues-Rock Crossovers (Very Common with Younger Crowds)These keep blues clubs packed.

1. The Sky Is Crying – Elmore James
2. Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
3. Tush – ZZ Top
4. La Grange – ZZ Top
5. Before You Accuse Me – Eric Clapton
6. Crosscut Saw – Albert King
7. Love Me Two Times – The Doors
8. Dust My Broom – Elmore James
9. Cocaine Blues – Rev. Gary Davis
10. Got You (Feel Good) – James Brown (blues-funk staple)