Tag: Pieces
Tips for Learning New Pieces Faster
Do you wish that you could learn new pieces on the piano faster? Do you find that you spend hours learning a piece only to find that you don’t know it nearly as well as you hoped when you attempt to play it?
Here are some of my top tips for how to learn new piano pieces more effectively:
- Know the score before – It helps to have some context before you begin. Do some background research, listen critically to a few recordings and do simple analysis (ask yourself questions about the form, and the character of the piece).
- Choose your fingering – Attempt to work out a good fingering for both hands together and write it in the score. You may find you need to adjust this as you start the learning process, so allow for any changes. However, once you’ve settled on the fingering make sure to stick with it each time you practise.
- Work on small sections at a time – Avoid overloading your working memory by breaking your piece down into small sections. Use mindful repetition to work on each section before moving on. A practice method I call “bar by bar plus 1” is a very effective tool for this (click here to read more about it)!
- Deconstruct and simplify – In addition to separate-hand practice, deconstruct the music by break it it up into separate strands and simplify it e.g. play only the bass notes, or first note of an arpeggiated pattern.
- Practise at the “speed of no mistakes” – Slow down difficult passages to a snail’s pace so you can play the notes, rhythms and fingerings perfectly. Do this several times, resisting the urge to play at speed for a while.
- Practising is saving, playing is spending – Avoid the tendency to constantly run through your pieces. View performing (playing through) as “spending” and practising as “saving”.
- Use mindful repetition – Use the “feedback loop” to first plan what you’re trying to achieve with each repetition. Evaluate and then carry the results forward into the next repetition. The process is “plan-play-judge”.
- Tackle weak links – A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Identify those sections of a piece that regularly break down or feel shaky and uncomfortable and put them into quarantine for a period of time.
- Start anywhere – Choose different places in your piece to start from when practising (these may also be your “Quarantine spots” from above). Divide a piece into sections, like tracks on a CD, and work backwards – that way, the end will be as secure, if not more so, than the beginning.
- When to avoid listening to recordings – During the learning process you’ll want to avoid listening to recordings or you risk copying other players’ ideas or getting frustrated that your speed doesn’t match Martha’s. Develop your own voice and trust your musical instincts. Learning a new piece is a process that takes time and patience – it’s important to learn to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
How about starting a new piece and giving these tips a try? Please see the following list of further resources for materials to support you along the way or to delve deeper into some of the concepts introduced in this article.
Further resources
- The Online Academy’s repertoire library has an extensive collection of video walk-throughs, annotated study editions and resources for learning new pieces, including:
- From the Ground Up – A series which uses reduced scores and outlines to help you learn new pieces faster, featuring works by Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Schumann and Beethoven
- Practising the Piano eBook series – The tips in this article are covered in in more detail in Part 1 of my multimedia eBook series.
- Sign-up to our mailing list and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tips and resources on practising, technique and learning new pieces.
- Free Online Course on Practising – Two-week email course based on my video lecture series with additional instructions and exercises for applying the various concepts in a practical manner (sign-up here).
Pieces to Play – ABRSM Highlights
Are you looking for a few ideas for some new pieces to learn? Or are you a teacher searching for interesting pieces for a student? In our new Pieces to Play series we will be featuring a selection of works to provide you with some ideas and inspiration. These will include links to resources with tips and suggestions for each work.
Instalments in this series will be published on our blog, and you can get updates from our mailing list. We hope that this series will give you some interesting ideas for what to learn next and perhaps introduce you to some exciting new discoveries!
Highlights from the ABRSM Syllabus
We’ve recently embarked upon an ambitious project to create a detailed collection of guides to the pieces in the new ABRSM syllabus. The first instalment in this series kicks off with some highlights from the syllabus at the late elementary (grades 3 and 4) and intermediate levels (grades 4 to 6).
Even if you’re not preparing for an examination, the new syllabus contains a curated selection of graded pieces, many of which are open domain and therefore freely available online. Exploring this rich and varied collection of works is highly recommended as you are bound to find some delightful additions to your repertoire!
JS Bach – Prelude in C minor (BWV 999)
Grade 4
Originally written for the lute, this piece is based on a harmonic progression that Bach opens out into figuration (we find one texture throughout). It makes an ideal preparatory piece for the C major and C minor Preludes (from Book 1), constructed in similar ways.
Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.
Ecossaise in E-Flat (No. 4 from Six Ecossaises, WoO 83)
Grade 3
This lively Scottish dance by Beethoven looks rather square on the page, but in fact it requires rhythmic flexibility (as well as elegance and grace) to bring it to life.
Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.
Burgmüller – Innocence (No. 5 from 25 études faciles et progressives, Op.100)
Grade 3
A study in delicacy of touch and articulation, tonal balance between the hands and scale patterns in the upper register, Innocence gives plenty of scope for understanding harmony and developing musical as well as technical skills.
Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.
Chopin – Mazurka in G minor (Op. 67 No. 2)
Grade 6
This delightful entry-level mazurka in G minor, written in the last year of Chopin’s life (1849) is a great choice for the intermediate player who loves Chopin but who isn’t quite ready for the bigger works.
Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.
Sergei Prokofiev – Tarantella (No. 4 from Musiques d’enfants, Op. 65)
Grade 5
Prokoviev’s Tarantella is one of the best examples of this type of dance piece, featuring spinning patterns in both hands and plenty of quirky harmonic and rhythmic features that make the composer’s style so engaging. If you’re looking for an accessible modern Russian piece that sounds harder than it is, here it is!
Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.
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Further Resources
The Online Academy and our store have numerous resources to support you in learning a wide range of popular pieces, including:
- Video walk-throughs of popular works such as Burgmuller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu, Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor (Op. 3 No. 2)
- A growing collection of video walkthroughs for selected pieces in the new ABRSM 2021 & 2022 examination syllabus
- From the Ground Up – a series that uses reduced scores and outlines to help you learn new pieces faster, featuring works by Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Schumann and Beethoven
- Annotated study editions and walk-throughs for works by Bach, Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert and Ravel
Click here to find out more about the Online Academy or click here to subscribe from as little as £13.99 per month or £119.99 per year.
How to Practise when Learning New Pieces
When learning a new piece, not all practice makes perfect. We’ve all had occasion to stumble at the same learned-in mistakes that originated when we first started learning the notes, and weren’t perhaps as careful as we might have been. To establish good habits we need a thorough, mindful approach from start to finish.
Here are some tips and suggestions for how to break down the process of learning and refining a new piece to avoid typical pitfalls:
Prepare your mind
Making time vs. instant gratification
You have chosen a new piece and are excited to get stuck in to learning it. One or two read-throughs is a good idea, but take care to avoid the repeated read-through method or you risk ingraining all sorts of sloppiness.
What to do away from the piano & why
This is the start of a new relationship between you and your new piece. Laying the groundwork starts with some research into the origins of the piece, its raison d’etre. Listen to recordings, make notes and begin to explore the score away from the piano. By the time you start work at the piano, you will already have an idea of what you want to convey with your interpretation.
Analysing the music
Study the music and analyse its structure in whatever ways are meaningful to you. Look at the various sections, phrases, tempo relationships, patterns, chords, and so on before your fingers even touch those keys. Have a sense of the overall design and what you want to bring out in your performance means you can hit the ground running.
Taking a logical, patient approach
Learning a new piece takes time and discipline, also a certain amount of patience. Have a plan for your monthly, weekly and daily practice, using a practice diary to help you structure and reflect on your work.
Learning the notes
Repeat good habits
Tempting though it may be to play your new piece at speed and race to the end, any mistakes that sneak through here will likely come back to haunt you. Instead, when practising a difficult section, tackle those weak links head-on: slow the passage down and work very deliberately on the notes, rhythms and fingerings. Repeat mindfully, and repeat again.
Pitfalls to avoid
In the early stages of practising a new piece, it’s important to stay alert to those things you might do that will have a lasting negative impact on your ability to play a piece. Beware of over-exertion and physical tension, keep an eagle eye on the score to make sure you are observing the composer’s phrasing, dynamic and articulation markings, not allowing any wrong notes or fingerings to slip under the radar. Remember – any errors you repeat will quickly become ingrained, and much harder to fix later on. Focus on nipping any careless errors in the bud as soon as they appear.
Invent exercises
Play around with the patterns of your piece and create exercises to practise, based on the difficulty you are trying to solve. Make these as short and simple as possible so you can look down at your hands as you practise. There are many ways to practise chords so they end up feeling great under the hand. For example, play the top line by itself then add the bottom notes (omitting the middle notes).
Reflect & Reinforce
The Feedback Loop
Focus your practice session by deciding what and how to play, and how it should sound. Listen critically to your results. Depending on how well the outcome matched the intention, the feedback loop will help you decide whether or not to repeat the process and give you a tangible target to aim for on the next repetition.
Recording your session
After listening to your practice session, reflect on your performance. Highlight what you did well and write down what needs attention. This will inform the content of your next practice session.
Practising a performance
Practise playing the piece through from start to finish in order to build up your confidence and concentration. Don’t allow yourself to stop for any reason (after all, you are practising a performance and in no performance can you stop to make corrections!). Further suggestions for practising a performance are available here.
Conclusion
As you will see, learning a new piece is a process that takes time, effort, commitment and concentration. Think of it like a journey, and you are going on a voyage of discovery. Use the practice tools to help you navigate the journey every step of the way, remembering to listen to your results critically. This logical, focused approach to practising will help you tackle any new material with confidence.
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Further Resources
The Online Academy and our store have numerous resources to support you in learning a wide range of popular pieces, including:
- Video walk-throughs of popular works such as Burgmuller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu, Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor (Op. 3 No. 2)
- A growing collection of video walkthroughs for selected pieces in the new ABRSM 2021 & 2022 examination syllabus
- From the Ground Up – a series that uses reduced scores and outlines to help you learn new pieces faster, featuring works by Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Schumann and Beethoven
- Annotated study editions and walk-throughs for works by Bach, Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert and Ravel
Click here to find out more about the Online Academy or click here to subscribe from as little as £13.99 per month or £119.99 per year.
Pieces to Play – Birthday Offers
The next instalment in our “Pieces to play” series features a selection of popular works at a more advanced level for which we have published annotated study editions and other resources.
JS Bach – Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor from WTC Book I
The prelude for the work is built on a continually repeated pattern of broken chords with sharp, often dissonant accents on main beats and constant movement in-between them. This makes the score conducive to simplification using blocking to discover the underlying harmonic progression. Click here to find out more about simplification methods or click here to hear a recording of this work on Spotify.
Fugues are one of the most complicated musical structures and as a result, many pianists shy away from them. However, there are ways to approach learning a Fugue that make the challenge less daunting. One of these is to use the “practice stepladder” which is based on learning voices separately (or in various combinations) rather than hands. Click here to find out more about the practice stepladder.
Click here to purchase our study edition for this work.
Beethoven – Sonata in C# Minor (Moonlight), First Movement
Beethoven’s Sonata in C# Minor (Sonata quasi una fantasia), Op. 27 No. 2, is surely one of the most famous pieces of music of all time. Completed in 1801, it was dedicated to his student, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The title “Moonlight” was given not by Beethoven, but by poet Ludwig Rellstab; even though Rellstab dreamed this up five years after Beethoven’s death, his nickname stuck.
One of the particular challenges of the piece is voicing. In this video, Graham Fitch demonstrates exercises to help projecting the melody in the right-hand while playing the accompaniment figuration softly, evenly and comfortably:
Another interesting factor to consider is that the functioning of the pedal in Beethoven’s time was different to that of today. This blog post provides some background and further suggestions on pedalling for the work.
Click here to purchase our study edition for this work.
Schubert – Impromptu No. 2 in E-Flat Major, D899
The second of Schubert’s first set of Impromptus opens with a scale-based melody comprising fast triplets, almost in the style of an etude. The A section is charming, delicate and pretty but is contrasted with a darker, more ominous B section.
Developing speed while retaining evenness is one of the challenges in this work. This video demonstrates various method for developing speed in this work.
Click here to purchase our study edition for this work.
Chopin – Fantaisie Impromptu in C-sharp Minor (Op. Posth. 66)
This is undoubtedly one of Chopin’s most popular works for the piano and as a result, many pianists attempt to play it before they are ready to tackle the various challenges entailed.
The biggest challenge when attempting to put the hands together is managing the 4:3 polyrhythms found throughout. This video provides a simple, but effective exercise to develop the coordination for the polyrhythm:
NEW STUDY EDITION! Our new study edition for this work featuring six walk-through videos, numerous annotations, additional video demonstrations and practice worksheets. Click here to find out more or click here to purchase it.
Brahms’s Intermezzo in A Major (Op. 118 No. 2)
Written for Clara Schumann towards the ends of their lives, this piece by Brahms is full of nostalgia, tenderness and yearning. Click here to find out more about the touching back story to this work
Our collection of resources for this work include a downloadable study edition, a video walkthrough series on how to learn it and a set of “fantasy analysis” videos which offer a personal narrative on interpretation. Click here to purchase from our store.
More Pieces to Play?
Sign-up to our mailing list here if you’d like future instalments in our Pieces to Play series or click here to see other instalments.
These editions can also be purchased as a combined bundle for £19.99 from our store and are included with an annual subscription to the Online Academy. Click here to find out more about the Online Academy or click here to subscribe.
Tips & Tools for Learning New Pieces
When learning a new piece from scratch, there are a number of tools we can use to get the maximum benefit from our practice time and to lay the foundations for a secure and successful performance.
I shall be presenting a workshop on this topic next week using examples of different levels from the new ABRSM syllabus. The following are some of the tips and tools that I will be covering:
Limit Yourself to One Read-Through
Many people attempt to learn a new piece by repeatedly reading it through at the piano. Unless the piece is well below your current level this approach tends to be superficial and unsatisfactory; how frustrating to end a practice session sensing the beginnings of fluency only to discover the next day that nothing has stuck and you’re back at square one.
Be like the third of the Three Little Pigs, who takes the time and effort to lay solid foundations for his house so that no amount of huffing and puffing from the Big Bad Wolf can topple it! Deep learning is a truly satisfying and absorbing process that leads to intimate knowledge of your piece and a level of security in performance that will enable you to play confidently and expressively.
One (or two) read-throughs is enough to get the gist of the piece – aim for a rough sketch at this stage, leaving out surface detail you cannot manage.
The Three S’s (Slowly, Separately, Sections)
The Three S’s are the most rudimentary practice tools for thorough learning, but they are easily overlooked or skimmed over in an attempt to play through the piece. Working on a fast piece in small sections at the “Speed of No Mistakes” ensures note, rhythm and fingering accuracy from the outset, thereby avoiding embedding careless errors that may be hard to fix later on.
Taking the time to practise hands separately is incredibly valuable, not only in the note learning stage but regularly thereafter. Handel’s Gavotte in G (Grade 3, A:3) is a duet between the hands, the left hand equally important and active as the right. Unless the teacher hears the left hand by itself, working on fingering, phrasing and articulation, there is little incentive for the student to practise like this. As teachers, we model in the lesson how we want our student to practise between lessons.
Picking out one element for the whole piece offers a broader overview than chipping away at phrase by phrase with all the notes. For David Blackwell’s atmospheric arrangement of Down by the salley gardens (Grade 1, B:3) it would be a good plan to work on the melodic line (the right hand by itself) from beginning to end before even looking at the left hand. Singing the melody with the given words helps to understand the meaning of the poem, as well as where to breathe and how to shape each phrase.
The “separately” practice tool does not only apply to hands alone, but also to strands. The left hand in the opening section of Tchaikovsky’s Douce rêverie (Grade 5, B:3) consists of two elements, a countermelody and an off-beat chordal accompaniment above it. Deconstructing the score is a helpful first stage. We might play the right hand’s main melody together with the left hand’s lower line, omitting the chords until we have heard and felt how these two lines work together.
Q-Spots
Most pieces contain spots that are trickier than others. By identifying and marking these spots into the score we are able to begin each practice session with a step-by-step sequence of activities designed to solve the problems, for several days in a row. Only after working on the Q-spots may we play the piece from the start.
The concept of Q-Spots is a very helpful teaching tool and a powerful aid to effective practice at any level. A good example is to the found in Kabalevsky’s Etude in A minor (Grade 4, A:2) from the second half of bar 10 to the end of bar 11. By quarantining this small fragment, we can apply chaining techniques – playing just the first group of notes until we feel the beginnings of automation and then adding the next group, and so on.
There is an especially awkward moment from bar 65-69 in Bartók’s Rondo (Grade 8, C:1) that will respond well to similar treatment. In this example, metronome practice would help fluency and control. Begin at around 60 bpm (or even slower) and increase the metronome speed in increments of your choice until you can exceed the intended speed.
Tracking
Dividing the piece into manageable, meaningful sections (like tracks on a CD) not only helps us structure our practice by ensuring that all parts of the piece are equally solid and secure, but also gives us anchor points in performance.
For example, I have divided up Fauré’s Andante moderato (Grade 7, B:1) into five sections, making it easy for the teacher to specify the week’s assignment. When we have learned the piece thoroughly, we might track backwards for added security in performance. We play track 5 and then tracks 4 and 5 together, working backwards track by track until we reach the beginning.
For a more detailed, practical demonstration of how to apply these tools when starting work on learning a new piece, please join me for an online workshop on Wednesday 24th Feb @ 13:30 GMT (click here for more information and booking details).
Further Information & Resources
The tips and tools mentioned in this article are covered in in more detail in Part 1 of my multimedia eBook series and in my Practice Tools Video Lecture Series.
The Online Academy’s repertoire library also has an extensive collection of video walk-throughs, annotated study editions and resources for learning new pieces, including:
- Video walk-throughs of popular works such as Burgmuller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu, Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata and Rachmaninoffs Prelude in C# Minor (Op. 3 No. 2)
- From the Ground Up – A series which uses reduced scores and outlines to help you learn new pieces faster, featuring works by Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Schumann and Beethoven
- Annotated study editions and walk-throughs for works by Debussy, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven and Ravel
Please click here to find out more about the Online Academy or click here to subscribe.
A Mozart Fantasy, New Pieces and Voicing a Melody
In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answered questions on tips for practising a passage from Mozart’s Fantasy in C minor (K475), starting a new piece with Tchaikovsky’s Sweet Dreams used as a demonstration and bringing out the melody in an excerpt from Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu.
Practice clinic questions
- WA Mozart – Fantasy in C minor, K475 – I’m wondering the best way to learn and practice the Piu Allegro section is as I have no idea really how to go about it properly without making a mess of it!
- Learning a New Piece (Tchaikovsky Sweet Dreams from Album for the Young) – Your books are my first exposure to any type of practice or even the fact that there was a way one can practice other than sight reading and then playing the piece over and over! Can you suggest how I go about learning a new piece from scratch, including planning practice sessions and selecting which practice tools to use?
- Chopin – Fantasie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66 – I watched your walkthrough of this piece again and while your advice helps a lot, I am missing one detail concerning bars 17-21: what kind of movement and what kind of exercises do you recommend for bringing out the melody with the fifth finger? I have no problem bringing it out with the thumb, but 17-21 do not work well. Furthermore: in some bars of this section (16, 22-24) there is no melody (according to Henle), do you make these parts sound very different? And if so, how?
Next practice clinics
Our next practice clinic takes place on Wednesday 22nd September on our Facebook page at 12:00 BST. Please sign-up to our mailing list here for updates on future practice clinic dates.
Watch previous clinics
Recordings of past practice clinics are posted up on our Facebook page and YouTube channel shortly after each event. You can also view our full archive of previous events via these links!
How they work?
Online Academy subscribers can submit questions for practice clinics up to two weeks before each session. This can be done using the link provided on the Online Academy dashboard under “subscription benefits” (click here to sign-in and visit your dashboard).
Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.
Learning Pieces Showcase – Practising the Piano
Our next showcase features the learning pieces section within the Online Academy takes the various concepts from our practising resources and applies them to specific pieces within the repertoire. This extensive repertoire library offers advice on how to learn, interpret and tackle challenges posed by works from the elementary to advanced levels.
Highlights
Video walk-throughs
Our growing collection of video-walkthroughs cover specific aspects of popular works through to detailed walk-throughs of a complete work. Click here to view a listing of selected videos grouped by composer or click here to view video lessons available for once-off purchase from our store.
Examination Guides
Videos for a selection of over 100 pieces from the syllabuses of widely recognised examination boards are also featured. Even if you are not planning on taking a piano examination, the repertoire lists offer a curated selection of graded pieces, many of which are public domain.
NEW VIDEOS: Our latest additions to our guide to the 2021-23 Trinity College London piano examination syllabus features a selection of works from Grade 4 and 5. Click here to view the full index of resources for the Trinity syllabus on the Online Academy.
Annotated Study Editions
Inspired by Alfred Cortot’s editions, our Annotated Study Editions provides scores for popular pieces with annotations, fingering, footnotes and links. Annotated study editions can be purchased as stand-alone products from our store or are also available with an annual subscription to the Online Academy.
FREE CONTENT: Click here to view an excerpt from our study edition for Chopin’s Fantasie-impromptu, Op. 66
From the Ground Up
This series using outlines and reduced scores to help you to practise more effectively, memorise more consciously, and interpret music more creatively. From the Ground Up editions can be purchased as stand-alone products from our store or are also available with an annual subscription to the Online Academy. Click here for more information.
Beethoven on Board
Our new Beethoven on Board series started off with Beethoven’s first Sonata in F Minor (Op. 2 No. 1) and will ultimately include detailed videos exploring background, style, interpretation, technical challenges and practice methods for all 32 sonatas.
FREE VIDEOS: Click here to view the full video introducing the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1. Further previews or videos for this work are also available here.
NEW VIDEOS: Following from the above, we’ve just published 20 videos featuring all four movements of Sonata in A major (Op. 2 No. 2). Click here to view previews or click here for the full set of videos on the Online Academy.
Other showcases
Please click on one of the following links to see free content form previous showcases:
New Year, New Piano Pieces
The New Year is an excellent time to start learning some new piano pieces! If you are about to embark upon some new repertoire, we have many resources to help you along the way. These include online workshops on topics such as choosing the right pieces, interpretation and learning techniques through to video walk-throughs and annotated scores for a wide range of popular works.
Choosing the right pieces
How do we discover what’s out there and what criteria do we use to determine if pieces we’re drawn to are the right level? Many pianists tend to hanker after big pieces at the expense of building a broad base of repertoire made up of a mix of challenging long-term projects and other pieces that offer more immediate gratification.
If you’d like some tips and ideas for choosing repertoire, then don’t miss our online workshops on 4th February. In a set of three presentations, Graham Fitch gives advice on selecting suitable pieces and presents a selection of repertoire ideas from all levels, including popular works and hidden gems. Click here to find out more or to book your place.
Workshop Offer – Save 20%!
Save 20% by purchasing a combined ticket for both our 14th of January workshop on creating personal interpretations and the full set of repertoire ideas workshops on the 4th of February. Click here to take advantage of this offer and obtain access to these events and the recordings for £80 (£48 for Online Academy subscribers)!
Narrative and interpretation
Learning the notes accurately is only part of the process and alongside this, it is vital we develop our own individual artistic image of the music, uncovering the composer’s message as we see it and formulating our own ideas about how the music should sound. This requires us to open up our imagination to engage with the music expressively rather than mechanically.
In our first workshop of the year on 14th January, Graham Fitch will use a selection of pieces from the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels to demonstrate how one might and explore narratives, images and expressive ideas in order to shape a personal interpretation. Click here to find out more or to book your place.
Laying firm foundations
Many people attempt to learn a new piece by repeatedly reading it through at the piano. Unless the piece is well below your current level, this approach can lead to problems that can be difficult to fix. We’re busy updating our popular free email course which shows you how to go about laying good foundations from the outset when learning a new piece.
This new course will have several supplementary videos featuring the various concepts applied to a range of pieces. The course will be launching within the next few weeks together with a Facebook group in which we will be posting various materials relating to learning pieces and giving you the opportunity to share your progress. In the meantime, you can sign-up to be notified when the course is available here and you can join the Facebook group here!
Repertoire guides and resources
Our repertoire library on the Online Academy now features resources to help you learn and master over 200 pieces (and growing!) of all levels. These resources include videos focussing on specific aspects of a piece through to detailed video walk-throughs of complete works and annotated study editions.
We are in the process of making several updates to the navigation on our site, but in the meantime we have created a useful index of our resources for the repertoire which allows you to access them by composer, level and grade. Click here or on the image below to view the indexes.
Mastering a piece
Playing a piece over and over eventually makes the muscular movements automatic, but this muscle memory can be extremely unreliable when under pressure in a performing situation. On 18th February Graham Fitch presents an interactive, hands-on workshop exploring the different memory systems and introducing various tools that will help you learn pieces on a deeper level for confident performances that reflect your full potential! Click here to find out more or to book your place!
Other resources
Our monthly practice clinics feature answers to questions on specific aspects of a wide range of works. Our next clinic takes place on Wednesday 18th January @ 12:00 GMT and the recordings from past clinics are available on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
If you are an Online Academy subscriber and you would like to submit a question then please sign-in to your account and use the ink provided on your dashboard (questions for the January clinic are now closed but you will be able to submit for the next event).
Tips for Choosing Piano Pieces
Many pianists tend to choose piano pieces that they feel drawn to playing, but how does one know whether these pieces are right for you? Is the piece at a suitable level of difficulty for your ability and available practice time? How will the piece support your musical development? Given the vastness of the piano repertoire, are you also perhaps missing out on other works which might be a better fit?
In this post we share some tips and ideas to help you avoid common pitfalls and select piano pieces that help you get the most out of your playing!
Consider easier pieces
Pianists often hanker after the most challenging pieces in the repertoire at the expense of building a broad base of repertoire that includes easier pieces that offer more immediate gratification. Quick studies can be an excellent way to increase your active repertoire, improve your ability to learn music faster and expose you to new styles.
Fill the gaps
By primarily choosing pieces we’re drawn to, we often overlook how our pieces might aid in our musical and technical development. Perhaps consider selecting some pieces based on technical or musical gaps that you wish to address e.g. an area of technique you wish to improve or a style that is unfamiliar to you.
Finding the right level
To avoid being bogged down by pieces that are too difficult and losing motivation, assess the difficulty of a piece you’re planning on learning by doing a read through and identifying trouble spots from the outset. If you find too many of these that feel daunting then the piece might possibly be a step too far. You may even consider tackling some of these “quarantine spots” upfront (a great way to start if you do end up learning the piece!).
Once you’ve started learning the piece, do review how long it is taking you to learn and whether you’re making steady progress. If you find that you’re not making much progress despite regular, consistent practising then you may wish to reconsider your choice.
To select pieces that are broadly the right level, you might want to use examination syllabuses as a guideline or researching comments on the difficulty of pieces in discussion forums. Even if you’re not taking an examination, the syllabuses offer a graded set of possibilities and the often the chance to discover some exciting new works!
Try something new
Being exposed to a wider variety of pieces aids your overall development as a musician. Try choosing pieces by composers that you haven’t played before or possibly works in keys you haven’t played in often. Not only will this help you improve as a pianist, but you might also discover new things that you like!
Mix it up
It’s ideal to aim for a balance of projects at different levels. This would include challenging projects that might stretch you a bit and perhaps include aspirational pieces that you’ve always wanted to play. However, it’s important to learn others that are easier, offering more immediate gratification and the opportunity to assimilate what you can already do.
Further information & resources
If you’d like some repertoire ideas and inspiration then our online workshops on 4th February might be just what you’re looking for! Graham Fitch will be presented a a bouquet of pieces at different levels, including popular works and hidden gems. Click here to find out more or to book your place.
You will also find many ideas and resources for the piano repertoire in our library and if you’re embarking upon a new piece, we have several other initiatives to support you along the way here.
Repertoire Ideas & Interpretation – Save 20%!
Save 20% by purchasing a combined ticket for both our 14th of January workshop on creating personal interpretations and the full set of repertoire ideas workshops on the 4th of February. Click here to take advantage of this offer and obtain access to these events and the recordings for £80 (£48 for Online Academy subscribers)!