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Top tips for practice
Always work to a plan
- Know what needs to be achieved in each practice time
- Small sections practised slowly and thoroughly are always more successful than longer passages given less care
- Sometimes begin with the 'difficult bits' rather than starting at the beginning
- Vary the work to avoid boredom, having other, perhaps easier, pieces to hand
- Make sure the all-important 'finger memory' is in place before moving on
- Sometimes practise playing straight through, noticing the trouble spots and returning to them later
- Be aware of the pulse - it's dangerously easy to slow up for awkward corners
- Know when to stop. Focused work for a short period is better than playing through for longer
- Perfect practice makes perfect!
- What you can't play slowly you can't play fast
- The only way to learn to sight read is to sight read
- Pedal with your ears! (Generally applies to pianists only for obvious reasons)
- Enjoy what you play - a varied diet is essential
- When you've finished listening - listen some more!
- If you get stuck - stop - come back again later and try again
- Fill every minute's practice with 60 seconds of concentration
- Practise in small chunks
- Practise the whole performance experience - play your exam pieces to friends and family so you experience a few nerves and learn how to cope with them
- Stop practising if you feel any physical discomfort or pain
- Don't practise when you're tired
