• Store
  • Sign-up
  • Sign-in
Menu
Practising the Piano
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Multimedia eBook Series
    • Online Academy
    • Video Lessons
    • Annotated Study Editions
    • Repertoire Resources
    • Piano Technique Resources
    • Amateur Piano Groups & Clubs
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Online Events
    • London Piano Courses
    • Practice Clinics
    • Online Performance Workshops
  • Blog
      • Practising
      • Learning Pieces
      • Technique
      • Performing
      • Teaching
      • Archive
  • About Us
    • Help & Support
    • Contact us
HomeLearning PiecesTop Tips for Starting a New Piece

Top Tips for Starting a New Piece

By Graham Fitch, 2021-03-04 Posted in: Learning Pieces

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 following is a summary of some of the tips and practice tools from my course which will help you get started on the right track:

  1. One (or two) read-throughs is enough to get the gist of the piece – aim for a rough sketch at this stage, leaving out surface detail you cannot manage.
  2. Taking the time to practise hands separately is incredibly valuable, not only in the note learning stage but regularly thereafter.
  3. Practising separately doesn’t only apply to hands alone, but also to strands. It can be useful to deconstruct a score and play voices separately and then together in different combinations.
  4. Working on a piece in small sections at the Speed of No Mistakes ensures accuracy from the start and helps you avoid embedding careless errors that may be hard to fix later.
  5. By identifying and marking tricky spots in a piece upfront, you can begin each practice session with a step-by-step sequence of activities designed to solve the problems.
  6. Dividing the piece into manageable, meaningful sections helps us structure our practice and ensure that all parts of the piece are equally solid and secure.
free email course with tips on starting a new piece

If you would like a more detailed explanation of these tips and tools, plus examples and other resources then please do sign up for my email course! The course is entirely free, featuring seven video lessons ranging from three to twelve minutes in length. The videos are accompanied by downloads, notes and exercises to help you follow and implement each stage of the process.

Tags: email courselearning a piecepractice toolsSeparatelySlowly

Related Posts

Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship

By Graham Fitch, 2011-08-13
Posted in: Practising, Teaching

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 of successful piano practising can be summed up in one word: craftsmanship. With it, we have a clear frame for…

Read More

Tags: craftpractice toolsSlowly
Craftsmanship
Where Do We Find Musical Expression?

Where Do We Find Musical Expression?

By Informance, 2018-07-02
Posted in: From the Ground Up, Inspiration

This week’s guest blog post features an article on finding musical expression when learning new pieces by Ken Johansen. In this post, Ken suggests practise methods using examples from various pieces featured within his From the Ground Up series to help you discover an interpretation for yourself from the inside rather than relying on external…

Read More

Tags: expressionFrom the Ground Upinterpretationlearning a pieceRobert SchumannSchumann Album for the Young
Where Do We Find Musical Expression?
There’s a Hole in my Bucket

There’s a Hole in my Bucket

By Graham Fitch, 2014-05-09
Posted in: Practising

Imagine a situation where you have to fetch water using a bucket. The problem is your bucket has a few holes in it, and on the journey from the well to your bathtub most of the water leaks away. You've got two choices - either make dozens of journeys before…

Read More

Tags: beethovenexaminationsinterleaving practicepractice toolspscyhologyquarantiningRobert BjorkSchumannThe Bulletproof MusicianThe Pareto Principle
There’s a Hole in my Bucket

Previous Post

How to Start Learning a New Piece

Next Post

A Balanced Approach to Exercises and Studies

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

Sign-up To Our Mailing List!

Sign-up to our email newsletter for free resources, news updates and special offers!

TOPICS

  • Practising
  • Learning Pieces
  • Technique
  • Performing
  • Teaching

LINKS

  • Online Academy
  • Informance
  • Help & Support
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Practising the Piano All Rights Reserved

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy Policy
  • T&Cs
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.OkMore Information