In this month’s Practice Clinic, Graham Fitch answers questions on problems with rhythm, practising without the pedal, a sonata by Mozart and Debussy’s Arabesque No. 2.
Practice clinic questions
Practising without the pedal – Why is it good to practise a piece (that requires pedal) without the pedal?
Mozart Sonata in A, K331 (1st mvt) – This piece is on the new ABRSM 2023 & 24 grade 8 syllabus and some guidance on phrasing and pedalling in the Andante and variation 4 would be really appreciated!
Problems with Rhythm – Almost every piece I work on I have trouble with the rhythm. It’s not consistent throughout the piece or it’s just wrong. I don’t think I hear / feel the internal beat and struggle particularly when playing triplets. I’ve used the metronome, but my teacher says I don’t stay on the beat and I count out aloud when playing but nothing seems to help. What can I do to fix this? Even tried tapping with one hand. Almost six years is a long time to still be dealing with this. Help!
Debussy Arabesque No. 2 – I’m working on this piece and struggle with the section from bar 38 – specifically how to play the staccato notes when it appears that pedal is needed. Any advice on how to lighten my touch at the beginning would also be appreciated.
Next practice clinic
Our next Practice clinic takes place on 14th December @ 12:00 GMT. 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?
Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.
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.