Our last Practice Clinic recording for the year features answers to questions on ornaments, a tricky passage and avoiding over analysis in the early stages of learning works by Bach & Beethoven!
Practice clinic questions
Beethoven Sonata in E, Op 14 No. 1 (1st mvt) – Bars 5 and 6 are fiendishly difficult and I’m finding that bringing the RH over the left derails the rhythm in Bar 6. Can you advise some ways to practise this?
JS Bach Fugue in G Major, BWV884 (Well-Tempered Clavier Book II) – I would like some advice on how to play the trills in this work. The RH trills in Bars 50 and 52 are not finished with a ‘turnaround’ but the LH trills in Bars 57 and 59 are written with turnarounds? Should the RH ones just finish on the main note? I’d also like some help with how to manage the trill in Bar 61 and practice strategies for playing the runs in Bars 62-64 evenly.
General Question on Learning New Pieces – I have found out that my learning process is very much sabotaged by “brain clutters”. When learning a piece, my conscious mind knows how to move, which keys to press and what sound I want. However, I still end up with incorrect movements and doubts about the whole process. I have a teacher and follow their guidance in the lesson, but I struggle in the practice room.
Another part of my brain clutter is overthinking or overanalysing. What seemed to be an advantage in my earlier journey as a pianist is problematic in more complex repertoire. An example in which I am facing this challenge is JS Bach’s Prelude in C Minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier (Bk 1). I have been working on the first three lines bar by bar and know it separately but am now in the process of putting everything hands together.
Looking for Festive Piano Inspiration?
Christmas Music by the Masters
This presentation by Fred Karpoff features a wonderful collection of seasonal piano gems written by great composers. Fred demonstrated how multi-dimensional piano technique can be combined with expressive music making in works by composers such as Liszt, Reger, Mendelssohn, Reger and Rebikov!
You can watch some excerpts of featured works here and you can use this link to get 30% off the recording which includes Fred’s marked scores for several of the featured works!
Spontaneous Social Piano – Christmas Edition!
In this festive edition of her popular spontaneous social piano workshop, Lucinda shows how to play, accompany and improvise on a wealth of carols and seasonal songs including Jingle Bells, Silent Night, Good King Wenceslas, Auld Lang Syne and more! Click here to purchase access to the workshop recording and resources.
Gifts for Pianists and Teachers
Are you looking for a present for someone who plays the piano? Our range of eBooks, digital editions, video lessons and subscriptions make ideal presents for piano lovers and teachers! The following links will give you 30% off a selection of some of our most popular products available for gift purchase:
- Practising the Piano Online Academy – Annual Subscription
- Foundations in Piano Technique (course for adult beginners and returners)
- Ultimate Technique Bundle
- Practising the Piano eBook Series
- Practising the Piano Annotated Study Edition Bundle
- Teaching Healthy, Expressive Piano Technique
- The Complete Pianist (eBook)
Please visit our store and use voucher code XMASGIFT2024 for more gift options!
Next practice clinic
We’ll be taking a break from our practice clinics over the Festive Season and will resume in the New Year. In the meantime, if you are an Online Academy subscriber and would like to submit a question for our next clinic then you can do so 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. Please sign-up to our mailing list here for updates on future dates and to receive links to the recordings when they become available.
Watch previous clinics
Recordings of past practice clinics are posted up on our blog, Facebook page and YouTube channel once recorded and you can also view our full archive of previous events via these platforms.