WHat and for how long do you practise on your piano? I do scales, sightreading and my 3 pieces every day for about an hour. I practise all the scales from the previous exams,not just the ones I need to pass the current exam. At the end,if I have time, I'll play something for "fun" and enjoyment rather than the pursuit of an exam certificiate. Does this procedure sound right to you? Am I missing anything out? What do others' do?

WOW You are only grade 3 and yet you are doing an hour a day - If you were my pupil I would be more than happy. Maybe try some exercise as well - little hanon or czerny you are definitely on the right track. Well done

Goodness! I wish I was that disciplined.

Ditto. That shows fantastic committment!



I only started practising like this when I was working for my grade 8. I'd play a 'nice' piece to warm up, then do some scales; sightreading; more scales and maybe a piece or two. But I used to break it up into smaller sessions as I rarely had time to just sit for an hour or two to play due to school and other commitments.

Having a set routine really helps in preparing for an exam. As long as you feel you are improving and still enjoy playing, that looks about right to me!!

I think you're doing the right thing and keep it up!

I too practise for around an hour a day (I try to anyway, especially because I have Grade 3 this autumn!). The time just flies really, especially when I'm in the mood.
I warm up with scales, then play my exam pieces (or start learning a new one), then some of my favourites pieces for enjoyment (after studying a page of music for a while it's nice to play something I know from memory).

You're definitely doing the right thing - I never showed this much commitment and self-discipline when I was taking Grade 3 - well done! I'd say you'd be well on the way to getting a distinction at this rate!

~Wobby~

[quote name='Steinway' date='Jun 21 2006, 06:06 PM' post='346685']
I think you're doing the right thing and keep it up!

Good luck with your grade 3. I sat mine a few weeks ago, and the result came through at the weekend - a pass I'm pleased to say. I was also quite surprised as well as I was nervous when I went in and got progressively worse as the exam progressed. I found it impossible to gauge how well I had done. In hindsight I should have done a lot more playing in front of 'friendly audiences' - or perhaps some hostile ones!! - who did not hear my normal practice. I also should have had the pieces as polished as possible so that I would have had some leeway when the palms went sweaty. It was my first exam and a great learning experience. All the best - I know what you are going through.

Lostchord - a 45 yr. old beginner!

You are doing very well to be doing this amount of practice, if only each student did that! Good for you! I am sure you will do very well if you keep it up. Do you do lots of fun pieces too?

How about some ear training? I do 5 - 10 minutes with some computer software.
(In my case I really need to do this!)

well i'm starting grade 7 and i do about 1 - 2 hrs a day but the thing is..i get so bored of playing the same things over and over again!! I just start playing different pieces and become interested in them rather than the 1s i should be playing!!! (tut tut)

Nothing wrong with having a break to play around with other stuff as long as you put in enough concentrated practice on the things you still need to work on.

i spend around 3 hours per day at the piano whether it be composing, playing or ... enjoying playing.

i'm not working towards any grades, but it's fun to hear music!

Sounds good to me! As someone else suggested, maybe you could do some technical exercises - Czerny 101 would be a good book for you!

I'm working towards Grade 5 and tend to do a few scales to start off with and some arpeggios before working on a new piece or part of one (I try to break new pieces into digestible 'chunks' that I can learn and put the piece together as I go along. Hanon is a useful book as it strengthens your fingers and is good for flexibility. I also try to do a fun piece: something from the Making The Grade books is ideal as there are lots of different types of pieces in there from the classics to modern pop/rock songs. I would also advise doing some aural training and/or a bit of theory revision: these are both things I've not really bothered with and they are starting to catch up with me now. Ideally, I think anything between 30 mins and an hour is ideal, even if you do more than one practice a day. Even if you have a spare 10 minutes it's worth having a practice; it's quality of practice that counts not quantity.

Good luck for your Grade 3 and keep enjoying playing.