In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answered questions on works by Schubert, Liszt, Couperin and Chopin. Topics discussed included time management, building speed and evenness.
Practice clinic questions
Building Speed – I have listened to the workshop on developing speed several times. I am wondering if it is wise to choose one of the techniques and stick with it or use a combination of all three (Metronome, little bits fast, and rhythms)?
Time Management – I usually spend a couple of hours a day practising and am struggling a bit with how much time to spend on different things. I don’t seem to be able to do everything every day! How much time should I spend on different activities? I seem to start out with scales, warmups, technique (etudes) and then I find I have less time left for learning pieces.
Schubert – Impromptu in Ab, D.142, No.2 – I would appreciate some help with the Trio section of this work. I’m finding it difficult to play evenly, and no matter what I do in my practice this section is always unreliable.
Liszt – “Chapelle de Guillaume Tell” (from Années de Pèlerinage I: Suisse) – The tremolos in the left hand (starting at bar 21) are killing me! How can I get a grip on them?
Next practice clinic
Our next practice clinic takes place on Wednesday 19 January on our Facebook page at 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?
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.