OK this tip might seem obvious but I expect we've all made this mistake. We've worked hard at learning a piece and then either noticed ourselves or had a teacher point out a mistake that we've been playing. Unfortunately, because we've been playing it wrong so many times it can be really difficult to get it right. So, the secret is to make sure we never practise mistakes.
Whenever you practise a piece always stop as soon as you make a mistake. Take this section and work on it. Play it through once and if you play it correctly then play it at least 3 or 4 times in a row correctly (preferably more). This way your brain is more likely to remember the correct version rather than the mistake. If when you practise the section you make the same mistake again then you need to do something to ensure you don't continue to practise it wrong. Either you need to slow the section down or practise it hands separately in order to get it correct. Then make sure you practise it several times correctly before attempting to speed it back up or put it back together again. If you start to the mistake again then you need to slow it back down or do it separately a few more times. Slow, separate practise does work!
When a piece is getting nearer to a performance you will need to practise performing it. On these occasions it is important to play a piece through from start to finish without stopping. In a performance you always carry on and ignore any slips. Hopefully the audience won't notice! However, even when practising performing a piece, make sure you work on any areas that do go wrong. I find it useful to record performances so I can listen back to them and spot anything that needs to be worked on. Its amazing what you notice on a recording that you didn't notice while practising!
Hope this tip helps. Keep up the practising and feel free to post your comments!
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Tips for Pianists no. 1: Fingering
Here is the first in a series of posts entitled "Tips for Pianists". The idea is to be able to pass on some ideas which you may find useful in your own piano playing. So today I thought I'd talk a bit about fingering. I'm sure many of my pupils must get fed up with me talking about fingering all the time. However, practising the correct fingering is essential in being able to play a piece securely. It is therefore appropriate that this is the first subject to cover in these "Tips for Pianists".
Whenever you start a new piece always start off with a sharp pencil and rubber and go through writing in the fingering that you wish to use. You will need to work through the piece slowly and with each hand separately to do this. Pupils with less experience in doing this themselves can be guided by a teacher. Often there is more than one way of fingering a passage so its important to try them all out on the piano and find out which fingering works best for you. We all have slightly different hands and so what works well with one pianist may not work as well for another. When you are writing in the fingering concentrate on working out what fits the hand most comfortably. However, also make sure that it will enable you to phrase the piece correctly and musically. It really is worth putting the time into this as once you get the fingering right and practise this fingering you will learn the piece so much quicker. If you keep changing the fingering you use every time you play a piece there is no pattern for the brain to remember.
Once you have written in all the fingering it is time to start practising the piece. Always make sure you play the piece using the fingering you have decided upon, even if it means playing the piece very slowly or separately. If you do change any fingering as you become more familiar with the piece then these sections will need extra practise as your memory will have already learnt the first fingering. If you accidentally play a passage with an error in the fingering always practise that section aiming to get it correct at least three times in a row before you go on so that your mind can remember the correct way of playing the passage rather than the error you made previously. By practising like this and always using the correct fingering your "muscular memory" will kick in and you will find the piece is really secure by the time you are ready to perform it.
Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any areas you'd like me to cover in these "Tips for pianists". Also feel free to add your comments.
Whenever you start a new piece always start off with a sharp pencil and rubber and go through writing in the fingering that you wish to use. You will need to work through the piece slowly and with each hand separately to do this. Pupils with less experience in doing this themselves can be guided by a teacher. Often there is more than one way of fingering a passage so its important to try them all out on the piano and find out which fingering works best for you. We all have slightly different hands and so what works well with one pianist may not work as well for another. When you are writing in the fingering concentrate on working out what fits the hand most comfortably. However, also make sure that it will enable you to phrase the piece correctly and musically. It really is worth putting the time into this as once you get the fingering right and practise this fingering you will learn the piece so much quicker. If you keep changing the fingering you use every time you play a piece there is no pattern for the brain to remember.
Once you have written in all the fingering it is time to start practising the piece. Always make sure you play the piece using the fingering you have decided upon, even if it means playing the piece very slowly or separately. If you do change any fingering as you become more familiar with the piece then these sections will need extra practise as your memory will have already learnt the first fingering. If you accidentally play a passage with an error in the fingering always practise that section aiming to get it correct at least three times in a row before you go on so that your mind can remember the correct way of playing the passage rather than the error you made previously. By practising like this and always using the correct fingering your "muscular memory" will kick in and you will find the piece is really secure by the time you are ready to perform it.
Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any areas you'd like me to cover in these "Tips for pianists". Also feel free to add your comments.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Find out what its like being in an award winning choir...
The Looe Ladies Choir, Keltique, are hosting their first Open Evening at Looe Community School music room on Monday 19th July from 7.30pm - 9.30pm. Anyone who is interested in finding out more about being in a ladies choir is welcome to attend.
I have the privilege of being the musical director for Keltique and we also have a brilliant accompanist in Liz Sidebotham. On 19th July we will be talking about the choir, singing some simple songs and rounds that everyone can join in with, performing some songs to you and also enjoying some refreshments together. Anyone is welcome to attend even if you have never sung in a choir before. Keltique is a group of ladies of all ages and capabilities, not all of them read music, but they all share one thing: They are proud to be part of the Gorsedd Kernow award winning group Keltique. If you think you might be interested in joining Keltique or for that matter any choir and want to find out more do come along and join us on 19th July. For further details contact Kate Ward 01503 220153.
I have the privilege of being the musical director for Keltique and we also have a brilliant accompanist in Liz Sidebotham. On 19th July we will be talking about the choir, singing some simple songs and rounds that everyone can join in with, performing some songs to you and also enjoying some refreshments together. Anyone is welcome to attend even if you have never sung in a choir before. Keltique is a group of ladies of all ages and capabilities, not all of them read music, but they all share one thing: They are proud to be part of the Gorsedd Kernow award winning group Keltique. If you think you might be interested in joining Keltique or for that matter any choir and want to find out more do come along and join us on 19th July. For further details contact Kate Ward 01503 220153.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Acoustic or Digital?
One question I often seem to be asked these days is whether people should look at purchasing a digital piano or a traditional acoustic grand or upright piano. I thought, therefore, that I'd write a little bit here about some of the benefits of each type of instrument.
I think its important firstly to point out that no electronic instrument will ever be the same as a good quality acoustic piano. A piano has over 12000 different parts of which 10000 are moving parts. On a concert grand piano around 30 tons of pressure is caused by the tension of all the strings. When the player strikes a key the mechanism transfers this weight to the hammer which then strikes the strings and produces a tone amplified by the sound board. No electronic instrument will ever exactly reproduce the feel of a real piano action and the unique sound the instrument makes or the way in which this tone is distributed by the sound board. How can we realistically expect a plastic action, electronic components and loud speakers to reproduce the sound of a top of the range concert grand piano? Plus a piano can undoubtedly make a wonderful piece of furniture (although not a coffee table please!).
Having said this though modern digital pianos are amazing instruments and do a very good job at replicating a real piano sound and action. As many of you already know I often use my own Kawai MP5 stage piano when performing at venues which don't have their own instrument. Also, many of the top music colleges including the Royal College of Music use digital pianos as well as acoustic instruments. There are some advantages too to having a digital piano. Firstly, they don't need regular tuning. Secondly they can be portable. Finally most of them can be connected to a computer using USB or MIDI.
So what should you buy if you're looking at purchasing an instrument? Well sometimes buying a digital instrument is the only option due to space or controlling volume levels. As a general rule though, I would avoid paying less than £1000 for an acoustic piano. As I once heard someone say, you are in danger of buying expensive firewood! For less then £1000 you can buy a reasonable digital instrument. Here are some of the key things to look for in a digital instrument:
1. Stereo sampled piano sound - This basically means that the piano sound has been recorded from a real piano and therefore accurately represents what a real piano should sound like. Most modern digital pianos will have this.
2. A weighted hammer action keyboard - The keys need to be weighted to feel like a real instrument. Some of the better quality digital pianos have a graded weighted action where the bass notes are slightly heavier than the treble notes as they are on a real piano due to the different sizes of hammers.
3. Damper pedal - Again a damper pedal is essential and sometimes this needs to be bought as an extra. Some of the more expensive digital pianos have a graded damper pedal where the pedal replicates the pedal in a piano by allowing the pianist to use half damping.
4. Does it come with a stool, stand and built in speakers? Its so important that pianists sit correctly at their instrument so always check that a stand and stool is included. Otherwise this may need to be purchased as an accessory. Also check it has built in speakers or you may need to purchase these or plug the piano into your HiFi unit.
Well what about if I'm looking at spending over £1000?
Well now you're in the area of being able to buy a reasonable quality piano. Upright pianos tend to vary from £1000 for a reasonable second hand piano to £10000 for a good quality new upright. Grand pianos will normally be from £3000 upwards. If you are looking at spending toward the bottom end of these price ranges then do be careful to make sure you are getting a good quality instrument. Ideally try to take a friend along who knows something about pianos - maybe a piano teacher. However, here are some of the basic things to look out for when trying out a piano:
1. Does it sound fairly in tune? If one or two notes are badly out of tune it could be a sign of some serious damage to parts of the internal structure of the piano.
2. Does the action feel even? If one or two of the keys feel much heavier or lighter than others or some notes don't work then this can be a sign of very serious wear on the instrument.
3. Do all the notes have an even sound? If some notes are louder than others then this means the voicing of the instrument is out and can also be a sign of wear and tear.
4. Do you like the tone of the instrument? Pianos do vary in their tone and its important you find one you like.
5. What kind of post-sales care is offered? Most shops will offer a first tune after about 6 weeks when the piano has had chance to settle to the climate of its new venue. However, its worth checking whether they will take the piano back if you're not happy with it. Due to the different acoustics a piano can sound very different in your own front room to the sales showroom.
Anyway there's some of my thoughts. I'm certainly no expert on these things and I'd always recommend asking for more advice. However, hopefully some of my thoughts here might be helpful.
I think its important firstly to point out that no electronic instrument will ever be the same as a good quality acoustic piano. A piano has over 12000 different parts of which 10000 are moving parts. On a concert grand piano around 30 tons of pressure is caused by the tension of all the strings. When the player strikes a key the mechanism transfers this weight to the hammer which then strikes the strings and produces a tone amplified by the sound board. No electronic instrument will ever exactly reproduce the feel of a real piano action and the unique sound the instrument makes or the way in which this tone is distributed by the sound board. How can we realistically expect a plastic action, electronic components and loud speakers to reproduce the sound of a top of the range concert grand piano? Plus a piano can undoubtedly make a wonderful piece of furniture (although not a coffee table please!).
Having said this though modern digital pianos are amazing instruments and do a very good job at replicating a real piano sound and action. As many of you already know I often use my own Kawai MP5 stage piano when performing at venues which don't have their own instrument. Also, many of the top music colleges including the Royal College of Music use digital pianos as well as acoustic instruments. There are some advantages too to having a digital piano. Firstly, they don't need regular tuning. Secondly they can be portable. Finally most of them can be connected to a computer using USB or MIDI.
So what should you buy if you're looking at purchasing an instrument? Well sometimes buying a digital instrument is the only option due to space or controlling volume levels. As a general rule though, I would avoid paying less than £1000 for an acoustic piano. As I once heard someone say, you are in danger of buying expensive firewood! For less then £1000 you can buy a reasonable digital instrument. Here are some of the key things to look for in a digital instrument:
1. Stereo sampled piano sound - This basically means that the piano sound has been recorded from a real piano and therefore accurately represents what a real piano should sound like. Most modern digital pianos will have this.
2. A weighted hammer action keyboard - The keys need to be weighted to feel like a real instrument. Some of the better quality digital pianos have a graded weighted action where the bass notes are slightly heavier than the treble notes as they are on a real piano due to the different sizes of hammers.
3. Damper pedal - Again a damper pedal is essential and sometimes this needs to be bought as an extra. Some of the more expensive digital pianos have a graded damper pedal where the pedal replicates the pedal in a piano by allowing the pianist to use half damping.
4. Does it come with a stool, stand and built in speakers? Its so important that pianists sit correctly at their instrument so always check that a stand and stool is included. Otherwise this may need to be purchased as an accessory. Also check it has built in speakers or you may need to purchase these or plug the piano into your HiFi unit.
Well what about if I'm looking at spending over £1000?
Well now you're in the area of being able to buy a reasonable quality piano. Upright pianos tend to vary from £1000 for a reasonable second hand piano to £10000 for a good quality new upright. Grand pianos will normally be from £3000 upwards. If you are looking at spending toward the bottom end of these price ranges then do be careful to make sure you are getting a good quality instrument. Ideally try to take a friend along who knows something about pianos - maybe a piano teacher. However, here are some of the basic things to look out for when trying out a piano:
1. Does it sound fairly in tune? If one or two notes are badly out of tune it could be a sign of some serious damage to parts of the internal structure of the piano.
2. Does the action feel even? If one or two of the keys feel much heavier or lighter than others or some notes don't work then this can be a sign of very serious wear on the instrument.
3. Do all the notes have an even sound? If some notes are louder than others then this means the voicing of the instrument is out and can also be a sign of wear and tear.
4. Do you like the tone of the instrument? Pianos do vary in their tone and its important you find one you like.
5. What kind of post-sales care is offered? Most shops will offer a first tune after about 6 weeks when the piano has had chance to settle to the climate of its new venue. However, its worth checking whether they will take the piano back if you're not happy with it. Due to the different acoustics a piano can sound very different in your own front room to the sales showroom.
Anyway there's some of my thoughts. I'm certainly no expert on these things and I'd always recommend asking for more advice. However, hopefully some of my thoughts here might be helpful.
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