Do you find it takes you ages to learn new pieces? Or do your pieces fall apart when you try to play them at speed? Does practising sometimes feel like a chore or do you find yourself losing concentration?
Graham Fitch’s new series of interactive workshops will show you how to apply his tried and tested practice tools for effective, enjoyable and rewarding practice sessions. Based on our most popular resources and workshops of all time, these sessions combine video lessons with hands-on demonstrations and activities specially designed to help you get the best results from your practising!
How it works
Each workshop features a selection of tools and practice methods that are introduced in video lessons sent in advance for the session. During the workshop, Graham will demonstrate these tools and exercises for applying each of them to your own pieces (or prescribed examples). You will then have the opportunity in a break-out session to try them out in the comfort of your own home and get assistance from Graham afterwards if you wish. Click here for more information on our interactive workshop formats.
What you’ll learn
Over the course of four workshops, you’ll learn how to:
- Bridge the gap between knowledge of practice methodologies and applying these within your own practising
- Lay solid foundations from the outset for faster progress and more confident, secure performance
- Effective ways to achieve fluency and accuracy when playing your pieces up to speed
- Adopt the right mindset for getting the best results from your time spent practising
- Use a variety of tools to stay engaged and make your practice sessions more interesting and enjoyable
Workshop schedule & topics
- WORKSHOP 1 (8th March @ 15:00 – 17:00 GMT): Slowly Does It: Discover how to lay solid foundations when learning a new piece, how to maintain and finesse control in pieces you already know and to combine slow practice with fast movements for building accuracy and speed.
- WORKSHOP 2 (5th April @ 15:00 – 17:00 BST): Fasten Your Safety Belts! Learn how to apply a range of tools such as chaining, rhythms, accents and different types of controlled stops to build speed, fluency and accuracy while avoiding common pitfalls that can prevent you from reaching the full performance tempo.
- WORKSHOPS 3 & 4 (10th May & 7th June @ 15:00 – 17:00 BST): Creativity in Practice – Make your practice sessions focussed, fun, engaging and imaginative using practice tools as “practice toys” and incorporate “desirable difficulties” to incorporate challenges into practising for greater concentration.
The prescribed examples and exercises will be drawn from repertoire at an intermediate level and will be suitable for pianists from a late elementary level (approx. grade 3 / 4) through to advanced levels (you may also choose to use your own pieces for these exercises). Worksheets with the examples and exercises will be sent out in advance of each session and you will also receive recordings of the sessions which will allow you to revisit the demonstrations and exercises in your own time thereafter.
Ticket options & prices
Tickets for each session cost £60 (or £36 for Online Academy subscribers) and include a collection of high-quality video lessons, worksheets with repertoire examples at multiple levels, live participation and access to recordings afterwards.
A limited number of early bird tickets are available for the first workshop on 8th March for only £50 (£30 for subscribers). Click here to sign-up and take advantage of this offer!
Don’t miss this opportunity to energise your practising and take your playing to the next level!
Please see our FAQ below for further information or click here to contact us if you have any other questions.
Frequently asked questions
- How do these workshops differ from Graham’s previous practising workshops? This workshop covers similar material but in a much more detailed, hands-on manner with new examples and video lessons which are sent out in advance of the session. The live workshop complements the video lessons by giving a set of exercises carefully designed to show you how to apply each of the concepts and tools yourself.
- What pieces? You may choose to use pieces you are learning for the purposes of the exercises or the examples provided by us.
- Can’t join live? If you can’t join us live then you can still sign-up to receive the worksheets and then watch the recording of the sessions and try out the exercises at your convenience afterwards.
- How does the interactive element work? Graham will provide a brief overview and demonstration of each exercise. You will then have the opportunity to try the exercises yourself in a breakout session using the worksheets which will be sent to you in advance. Graham will be on hand to offer advice and give assistance during and after the breakout sessions.
- What level is this workshop suitable for? The exercises and examples will be suitable for a wide range of levels from late elementary upwards. They have been carefully designed to illustrate concepts and to give you a tangible experience in applying them yourself rather than to test your proficiency as a pianist.
- Is any preparation required? No, we will be using prescribed worksheets and exercises that will be sent to you in advance. Although we will provide example pieces for the exercises, you may also wish to use your own pieces for the practical aspects of the workshop.
- Do I have to play or share my camera? This is entirely voluntary and you will not be expected to work with Graham unless you want to!
- I would love to participate but I’m nervous about playing in front of others! Working with Graham during this session is entirely optional therefore you do not need to play unless you wish to. The exercises have been designed to demonstrate specific tools and concepts rather than proficiency. It’s entirely natural to feel nervous playing in front of the group and Graham’s approach is to recognise and respect this, creating a safe and non-judgmental space for everyone.