Is it possible to do too much work on a classical exam piece? One of mine has started goes wrong when I play with an accompanist but is fine at home. Could be nerves but hubby thinks I am practicing it too much and that I should take a week off. Could he be right?

I know that I over practiced my jazz pieces last year and the improvisation was starting to go a bit off and I benefitted from a break, but classical is different though, isn't it?

Oh yes you can; I've done it loads of times both as a soloists, ensemble player and a conductor. It's especially annoying because in rehearsals it sounds amazing and in performance it's only a pretty good or even mediocre.

Try different ways of practising! Take it at strict tempo with metronome, faster tempo, slower tempo, in pp, in ff, all detached or tongued, sight-transpose it (not for the faint hearted), etc.! Just remember to always keep in mind what you actually want to sound like in performance, and use the different methods of practising as a means (and not an end) to achieve the sound you want.

Or play with people more, that's always good fun and it gets you ears and brain really working

how is it going wrong? If it is only going wrong when you play with the piano could it be your timing? If a piece of mine unravels it is usually because I have taken it up to a fast tempo too quickly. I find concentrated playing very slowly for a few days usually sorts things out.

Hi Clarinetgigirl

I reckon that it is easy to overpractise, or possibly better to say "over-work" pieces, yes. I find that sometimes (esp. with exam pieces) one can get it just perfect, and then it will suddenly seem to fall apart. I think that this is due to too much time being spent on it, and possibly knowing it so well that one doesn't really concentrate/think about things well enough, and if you do concentrate, it might be tooo hard!!

When this happens for me, i just give the piece, say, a week's break, and often when i come back to it it will be good again, and i might find that i can learn something new from it!
I often find that this happens just a few weeks before the exam, which gets a little unnerving when you leave it (!) but pays off in the end - leave the best performance for the exam! if you leave it, come back and are still playing well, it obviously shows you know it well and should be able to do well in the exam.

Hope all that writing helps: seems rather a lot to me...(i have a habit of writing a lot )
I'll shut up now

Piello

Oh, and good luck for your exam!!

I often find that if I don't practice my violin for a while, that when I go back to it I can play to a better standard!

My previous violin teacher certainly practiced too much; resulted in a badly damaged wrist for 3 months.

Also meant I had no lesson for 3 months
ah well not her fault!

Tough one. You want to know a piece inside out upside down and all the rest so you do need to practise a lot. I don't think taking a week off would be very sensible if the performance is soon.

It might be that the more you know a piece the greater your expectations are so you are noticing more? It might also be the distraction of an accompanist, have you had much experience of playing with the piano accompaniment?

Wondering how a damaged wrist prevents you from teaching?

I was always under the impression ones wrists were rather important when playing violin :S

It is possible to teach without demonstrating. Not necessarily ideal but definately doable.

but the only way when I have a pupil studying Cy Walters jazz arrangements - Consecutive and rapid 10ths are not physically possible for me - 16-year old pupil has no problem

Life dealt me a cruel blow when it came to small hands!

yes, same here, although not the violin. the piano, in my case. but it is entirley possible to practise to much, sometimes taking a break can be good!!

Not really - there is always something that can be improved or made more secure


A week's rest can be a good thing - but not because you are practicing too much - just that you may, more generally, need a rest. Also your subconscious mind continues to work on the pieces even when you are not actually playing them, or even playing anything at all.

More likely you are practicing the wrong things. You need to figure out why you go wrong with the accompanist, then figure out practice routines to fix the problem(s).

However it is usually a mistake to do a complete run through of a piece on the day of the performance. Play something different to warm up.

Interesting thoughts. I have practiced small parts of it slowly this week rahter than plough through the whole thing and I have had a day off (just one, but I did feel better for it). There was a definite improvement in my lesson yesterday. I think part of the problem is likely to be to do with playing with the accompanist - I am certainly terrified everytime I even go to her house!