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Effective Practicing

Thursday, May 24, 2018 by Bonnie Jack | Piano Teaching

Learning to practice effectively is at the heart of becoming an excellent pianist, and it is also one of the most complex things we must teach our students. We wish for a simple formula that could be followed in every practice session, one that would solve every problem with ease as long as it is followed to the letter. Fortunately, there are some very good formulas and principles, but unfortunately, nearly every passage of music requires a slightly different implementation of these formulas, depending on the difficulty of the passage, the technique necessary, and the skill level of the student. Practicing effectively requires the ability to think critically about what formula/method/technique/principle to use, and exactly how to employ it. It also requires constant evaluation of the formula being used and the progress being made, so that further decisions can be made about how to continue. It requires continually setting goals, evaluating those goals, and focusing on the goal at hand.

It is our job, as teachers, to methodically and effectively teach our students good practicing skills, and to help them understand the role they must take in making their own practicing more effective.

There are four main skills that contribute to effective practicing:

  1. Setting Clear Outcome Goals
  2. Choosing Effective Processes
  3. Evaluating
  4. Focusing

These skills can be taught in a simple way to the beginning student, and elaborated on as the student advances. Let’s look at each in more detail.

Setting Clear Outcome Goals

Too often, practicing consists of nothing but playing through each of the pieces on the student’s list. The only goal the student has in mind is to get through the pieces and use up the time. Even when a student has better intentions of actually accomplishing something, he often practices in a haphazard way that does not produce good progress, simply because he does not know how to set effective goals, and/or does not have the tools to accomplish them.

Outcome goals are long- or short-term goals that clearly outline the desired finished product. Long-term outcome goals are necessary for giving the student a vision of where they would like to be. These long-term goals then need to be broken down into shorter terms. Here is an example of a fictional student’s outcome goals regarding recital performance:

  • One-year goal: I will perform in 8 recitals.
    • 3-month goal: I will have my new recital piece memorized and performance-ready.
    • 6-week goal: I will have my piece learned solidly with all musical details.
    • 1-week goal: I will learn and polish 6 sections of my piece.
    • 1-day goal: I will learn 1 section during today’s practice session, with correct notes, fingerings, dynamics, and articulations.

The important thing here is that the student has the longer-term goals in mind, but is focused on immediately accomplishing the shortest-term goal, which is also the most detailed and clearly expressed.

Choosing Effective Processes

A process is a detailed procedure for accomplishing the shortest-term outcome goal—the simplest process being something like playing the right hand 6 times, left hand 6 times, and hands together 6 times. Establishing good processes may be the most important thing a student must learn in order to practice effectively. For a beginning student, the teacher must often outline each process very specifically in the assignment book. As the student matures and progresses, the teacher can begin to coach the student in devising his own processes, since each passage of music may require a slightly different and evolving approach. There are many techniques and tricks for tackling different challenges, but the following three principles provide a solid foundation for creating effective processes.

1. Start Small

When a student is excited about a new piece, he wants to be able to play the whole piece now. But effective practicing means breaking the piece into small sections, and then breaking those sections down even further—sometimes into smaller sections, and always into separate hands—for initial learning. As the student gains mastery of the notes in each hand alone, they become ready to put their hands together. As they gain mastery of small sections, they become ready to practice larger sections. Here are a few tips:

Overlap sections: always have the student play a few notes into the next section as they are drilling, so that the transition between the sections is smooth. Be sure, however, that the student doesn’t go too far into the next section, since the focus needs to remain on the section being practiced.

Include details: from the beginning, the student should ideally observe all notes, rhythms, and fingerings. Other details such as articulations and dynamics can be layered, focusing on one at a time until it is mastered before adding another.

Put hands together carefully: when putting hands together, a student must be very careful to continue to watch all the details, including notes, fingering, and articulations. Playing hands together feels completely different from playing hands separately, and requires a much higher level of focus to get everything right. This means taking it very slowly (see next section).

Gradually increase section size: as the piece is learned, smaller sections can be combined to form larger sections, increasing fluency.

Fix problems: after the piece is learned, there will be spots that need more drilling than others, whether it is because of imperfect learning or just sheer difficulty. Focus on one problem at a time, either by isolating a very small section, or by playing a larger section while focusing on one single element of the section. As the student solves each small problem, have them gradually incorporate the small section back into the larger section.

2. Start Slow

Students often have a tendency to play much faster than their technique or knowledge of the piece allows. But effective practicing means playing at a tempo that allows the student to play every note perfectly. Here are a few tips and things to remember:

Include details: this was mentioned in the section above, but slow playing is essential to a student’s ability to observe fingerings, articulations, and other details as they are learning a section.

Observe rhythm: this is often most effectively done at a slow tempo while counting out loud and/or using the metronome.

SLOW is FAST: students will be able to accomplish more in a shorter period of time if they practice slowly. Demonstrate this in a lesson by having them carefully and slowly learn a section of a piece they are working on. Contrast the progress they made in 5 or 10 minutes, using this method, with the progress they made over the last week or two, using their own “faster” method.

"Slow practice is the key to rapid technical progress. The cerebellum is a non-judgmental part of the brain: it assumes that any repetitive muscular activity is being repeated because the conscious mind is trying to make it automatic. The cerebellum will therefore automize incorrect sequences just as efficiently as correct ones. When practicing is done at a pace too fast for accurate playing, there is very little chance for the material to be mastered. On the other hand, the cerebellum can supply all the speed wanted if patterning is correct during slow repetitive practice."

~Dr. Frank R. Wilson, neurologist

  • Stutter-free practicing: stops and stutters have absolutely no place in effective practicing. Slow, careful learning will go a long way toward avoiding stops and stutters, but in reality, nobody practices perfectly, and most students end up with multiple stutters in their playing. Here are some tips for helping these students break this bad habit: 
    • The student may not even realize they have stutters in their playing. Have them count out loud and/or play it with the metronome (or with you clapping) so they can hear the stutters.
    • Many stutters can be fixed simply by slowing down, playing with a steady beat, and focusing on smooth playing.
    • Explain to the student that it is actually better to play a wrong note without a stop than a wrong note, a stop, and a right note. Stopping and fixing the note every time just means that the student has drilled the incorrect pattern of playing the wrong note and then the right one.
    • Teach the student to think of wrong notes not as mistakes, but as opportunities to practice playing through mistakes. This essential performance skill will serve them well again and again. Of course, if the same mistake continues to happen, then it needs to be isolated and fixed.
  • Metronome tips: 
    • The metronome can be used as a tool to keep the tempo steady and slow when a student is in the early stages of drilling, and later as a tool for increasing tempo.
    • Do not have the student use the metronome from the very beginning of their learning. It will actually do more damage than good if they are stumbling over notes because they are trying to stay with a metronome before they know the notes.
    • When the student has learned the notes and is ready to start drilling, have the student choose a tempo that is slow enough that they can play every note perfectly. You can choose a tempo for a beginning student, but as the student matures and progresses, coach him in choosing his own tempos, since each passage will have slightly different challenges. Most students will have a tendency to choose tempos that are too fast. Continue working with them on exactly how slowly to begin, and what really constitutes perfect practicing.
    • The student should be able to play the passage at least 3x in a row perfectly before moving faster. If the student is stumbling over one small part of the passage, have them isolate that spot and fix it, rather than continuing to play the entire passage.
    • When the student is ready, have them move the metronome faster one notch at a time. Don’t skip notches. If a solid enough foundation has been laid at the slow tempo, it may be okay to play it only once or twice at each notch as they move faster, but they should reduce the tempo again if they reach a speed where it is no longer perfect.
    • The brain and the fingers are only capable of moving so much faster in a single practice session. When the student reaches a plateau, it is time to stop for the day and pick up the process tomorrow. Keep in mind that the next day, the tempo should be lowered a notch or two to allow for some review.

3. Repetition is the Key

The brain learns through repetition, whether it is internalizing a theory concept, memorizing a pattern of notes in a piece, or developing muscle memory. If a student plays a passage only a few times, it will not be learned solidly. Depending on the difficulty of the passage, true mastery may require hundreds or even thousands of repetitions.

How many repetitions? Many students do not know how to truly drill. They play the passage a few times, often with stutters and mistakes, and if they do focus on a goal of playing it perfectly, they often stop when they have played it perfectly one time, feeling that they have accomplished their goal! This is erroneous thinking, since the number of perfect repetitions must outweigh the number of imperfect repetitions by a factor of 10 (see next tip). Once the notes are learned perfectly, that’s when the drilling should begin. There is no set number of repetitions that will produce mastery. The best method of drilling does not involve counting repetitions, but simply creating a flow of playing the passage—perfectly—again and again until it becomes easy and automatic. 

Fixing bad drilling: Obviously it is worthwhile to make sure initial drilling is done slowly and perfectly, but mistakes will be made, and then the student must understand how to drill and fix them. They may need to execute up to ten times the number of original repetitions in order to fix a wrong note. Remember that stutters are even worse than wrong notes, and must be addressed and eliminated by slow and careful repetition.

Evaluating

Establishing effective processes is very important, but to continue to use his time as effectively as possible, the student should be constantly evaluating his processes by asking himself questions such as: 

  1. What goals am I trying to accomplish? Keep long term and short term goals in mind.
    1. What is the next thing I need to do? Choose a small goal to accomplish or problem to solve.
    2. How do I accomplish/solve it? Devise an approach and begin.
    3. Is my approach working?  
      1. If not, should I do a smaller section? Should I do it slower? Do I need to focus harder?
      2. If yes, continue to do repetitions until it is easy and automatic.
    4. Am I ready to move on (to a new section, hands together, or faster tempo)? If yes, repeat from number 1.

Focusing

The final key to practicing effectively once you have the tools is focus. This can be a difficult thing to teach to a young child, but do not give up. A scheduled practice time with a consistent routine will help the young student gain focus quickly in each session. Teach the student that especially on the days that they don’t feel like practicing, staying consistent with their routine will be the most important contributor to their long-term progress. Technique/warmups are essential to the daily practice routine. If done every day, while mindfully considering posture, body involvement, and relaxation, they will quickly put the student in a focused mindset. Moving through a routine of sight-reading, method book, and literature will keep the student in that state of focus. Ending with a fun piece or free play will leave the student feeling positive and energized. 

As students mature and become ready for further techniques regarding focus, give them the following coaching:

  • When drilling, try to relax and create a smooth flow of repetitions. 
    • Do not be anxious about the end goal; simply be aware of it. Rather than worrying about the long-term goal, only ask yourself what needs to be accomplished right now, and what your process will be. 
    • Focus on one problem at a time. Once it is solved, move on to the next problem.
    • Do not get upset about mistakes; just notice them and adjust your approach if necessary. 
    • Do not watch the clock or be anxious about the time. Learn to enjoy the time alone, spent improving yourself and making music. 
    • Take short (2-minute) breaks every 20 to 30 minutes, or when your mind starts to wander. Come back with renewed determination and focus.

Conclusion

A student who wants to practice effectively—one who sets goals, thinks about how to accomplish them, evaluates his processes, and focuses on the task at hand—will learn problem-solving skills that can go far beyond what we teach them in the lesson. Conversely, the student who practices carelessly will often do far more damage than good to their technique and long-term progress. Therefore, we must continue to work to instill a desire for excellence in our students, and then make sure we have given them the tools to achieve that excellence.