Top Tips for Starting a New Piece
Last week I launched a free email course on how to start learning a new piece and lay solid foundations from the outset (click here to find out more). The…
Laying Solid Foundations in a New Piece
Have you had the experience of learning a new piece one day and coming back to it the next day to find it hasn’t stuck at all? Photo by Ludwig…
Practising Polyrhythms
Following a question on a Facebook page about coping with polyrhythms, I decided to republish this post from 2012. I hope it helps! I want to suggest some ways of solving…
Efficient Practising for Busy People
This is the follow-up to last week's post, in which I outlined the first few stages for cleaning up a piece beset by errors, stumbles, approximations and other anomalies that…
Chess or Checkers?
I have written extensively about the subject of slow practice on this blog and elsewhere. Since slow practice is such a cornerstone of our practice routine I don't apologise for making a…
Q&A: How Do I Get A 12-Year Old To Practise Slowly?
A reader sent me in the following question, which feels more like a plea! I have been teaching a 12-year old boy for a couple of years now. He has…
A Sound Investment
In a recent post, I suggested that performing (or playing through), can be compared to spending, whereas practising has its parallels with investing. Successful people in the business world will…
A Supplement to Slow Practice
A few weeks ago, I gave some suggestions for practising Mozart's Rondo alla turca and I would like to apply this principle to another piece, which really couldn't be more contrasting in…
More Thoughts on Slow Practising
I am convinced it is not possible to say too much about slow practising or to overemphasise its importance. Here are one or two random thoughts on the subject, which…
Craftsmanship
This post is more philosophical than practical, but it has occurred to me as I have progressed with this blog over the past few weeks that the main underlying principle…