Top Ten Tips to Maximise Your Practice
At the start of the New Year, everyone is making resolutions. I have noticed that these usually have to do with self discipline - not eating or drinking so much…
Practising Chopin’s “Ocean” Etude
In last week's post on ties and repeated notes, I referred to Chopin's Ocean Etude (more properly known as op. 25 no. 12). A reader contacted me asking if I…
Transposing the Difficult Spot
Vocal accompanists and repetiteurs need to develop the skills to transpose virtually at sight in order to accommodate the different voice types and the vocal ranges of the singers they…
Inventing Exercises from Pieces
There are pieces that contain passages of technical difficulty that require special attention, a type of practising over and above the routine use of the other practice tools. This could…
Snakes And Ladders
In life, we repeat certain ways of doing things until they become habits - until we become unconscious of them and do them without thinking (and without the need to…
Top Ten Tips to Maximise your Practising
I have had a lot of requests for this article, which first appeared in Pianist Magazine last year. Here it is! With the Olympics very much in the news at…
An Obstacle Course
I have spoken before about the negative effects of playing pieces through prematurely, before the foundations have been laid. However, once the piece has been thoroughly learned, we will need…
Practising Chords (Part Three): The Difficult Chord
I am sure we can all identify a particular chord in a piece that causes us to stumble or fumble (and, under our breath, mumble). This could be because the…
Top Ten Tips for Trouble Spots
It is possible to hack away at a trouble spot for several minutes, constantly repeating it and beating it into submission, and then be able to manage it, more or…