Home Practice
Elvina Pearce, Editor
At least once a yearand usually in the springI invite my students to participate in some sort of a survey to assist me with making plans for their continuing study. In May of 2002, the survey had to do with practice, and students were asked to respond to 12 questions related to this subject. One of my colleagues, Beth Jones, also surveyed her students using the same questions, and in this issue's column, we are presenting a composite of both of our students' responses to these questions:
1. What are your
goals when practicing technical warm-ups?
2. What practice steps do you usually do when working out a brand
new piece?
3. Why do you think that SLOW practice is important?
4. What practice steps do you use when progressing from a slow
tempo to the performance tempo?
5. What practice steps do you use to memorize a piece and then
to check your memory?
6. If you are playing and have stumbles or errors in a spot, what
do you do?
7. How do you continue practicing a piece that you know you'll
be playing soon on a recital or in an audition?
8. Why do you think hands separate practice is important?
9. What do you like about practicing?
10. What do you NOT like about practicing?
11. Do you think that you practice enough? If not, how much do
you think that you should practice each day?
12. What else would you like to say about practicing? . . .
from Emily Jane Morlan's article
Practice is an essential part of obtaining a high level of achievement. It trains and prepares for a finished product.
When I sit down at the piano, I begin with two or three different warm-ups: scales, arpeggios, chords, legato thirds, trills, octaves, etc. This obviously gives my fingers a chance to wake up, but I also like to think of it as bonding time between the piano and me. I focus on the music and leave the world of CNN, finance, and unfinished schoolwork behind.
Then it's down to business. Before playing a single note of a new piece I am to learn, I simply look at it. This introduces me to the overall framework of the piece and gives me a rough idea of what the end result may be.
The mind, eyes, and hands need to absorb a lot when learning a new piece. It makes sense to break it down to more manageable, reasonable increments. For this reason I learn the piece very slowly, hands separately, two or three lines at a time. When this becomes fairly secure, I put it hands together.
Lately, I am really making an effort to notice the voicing of a piece . . .
In response to this same student survey on practice, one of Elvina Pearce's students, Emily Jane Morlan, submitted a comprehensive essay on the subject. Emily was age 17 at the time and completing her senior year in high school. In April of 2002, she presented a graduation solo recital performing works by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Debussy, Casella, and Khachaturian. She is currently enrolled as a piano major at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL where she is a student of Dr. Karin Edwards.
For the other Samplers from this issue
