Imaginary red pen

Playing your piece in the right order every time?

Warts and all?

I know you know the painful truth.

But I will say it again.

That's not practising.

It will not solve the problems you hit every time.

It will not help you move forward.

So, how about you circle your bad bits with an imaginary red pen?

These bits need you first.

Cover up the rest of the piece if it helps.

Bet you'll hear a difference in a few days. Hz

No stopping - for any reason

I know that you know.

You keep leaving a gap in that piece.

It's where you stop and have a think.

Where you can't find the next notes in time.

Sometimes, you grind to a halt right there and leave the room.

Take heart - try only the pesky group of notes as slowly as you can.

Check the fingering or placing on your instrument first.

Move smoothly between each note.

Replace the rhythm, still playing slowly.

Speed up a little each time.

Bravo - finish your session by playing a favourite piece. Hz

362 times?

362 times might be enough for one day!

I know, your teacher said to keep trying that bad bit.

Well, your Mother is being driven insane by your endless repetitions.

The dog is hiding under that prickly shrub in the garden.

And after hearing you, I'm saying - THAT'S ENOUGH FOR NOW!

With a bad bit

try to play it so that it improves each time

and then discover how it fits with the rest of the piece.

Don't ever be satisfied with messy or mindless work.

Aim to do it well.

Remember - good practising can save you lots of time. Hz

Refreshed

It's good to have a break sometimes.

Maybe a couple of days away from your instrument.

Tie it in with that trip to the mountains if you like.

Or maybe when you have family to stay.

Think of it - a weekend doing something completely different.

You'll come back to your music refreshed.

So, after you return, aim to resume good habits from day one.

Little and often. Every day is best.

Remember to blitz and blast those bad bits.

Convince me they were never ever terrible.

Want to run it past me now? Hz

Those bad bits need you

Life gets busy sometimes.

I know you have work, school, college, kids, laundry, sleep, chores etc. to fit into your life.

So, how can you use your practising time better?

All together now - WORK ON WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.

Easier said than done.

See, I know you always like playing your pieces in the right order.

And then you think it's done.

Even when that piece goes badly wrong in the same place each time.

Why don't you just work on the bad bits each day and then stop?

It will take far less time.

How about you try it and let me know if it works or not? Hz

Pick a line

Want to check if that piece is ready to play to your teacher?

Try this game called Pick a line.

Level 1 - Pick a line from your piece.

See if you can play it at the correct speed with no mistakes.

If you make a mistake, you get one more chance - start the line again.

Don't carry on and play the rest of the piece.

Note which lines need more careful work.

Leave out the easy lines and do what you need to do instead.

When you've worked on the tricky lines, try on another day.

Level 2 - play again but this time link up several lines, say 4, 2, 7.

Same rules.

Level 3 - play the whole piece beautifully in the right order.

If you make a mistake GAME OVER.

Try again tomorrow.

It might be tricky at first, but remember to have FUN! Hz

Recognize it?

See if you can recognize this.

I know, it's tough, but see how you go.

La la lalala laa de de de de dum

La la lalala laa hum a zummmmm

La la laa *!^£)$:"?! aghhhhhh ?(±|>±

La la lalala great big 4 bars of total silence

La la lalala laa hum hum hum hum ZUMMMMM

Yes - it was your unique version of that gorgeous piece your teacher gave you.

Homework this week - work on ONLY lines 3 and 4 until you can play them without mistakes.

THEN, try placing them back where they belong and have a run through.

Hey! It's not nice to swat at wildlife.

Blitz and blast

When we are learning something new, we are bound to make mistakes.

To improve, we have to try again, then try again some more.

There is no magic wand to wave.

It comes from the daily practising that you are aiming to do.

So, it's good to remember that we are LEARNING.

We learn from our mistakes - yes, even those horrors in line 3 of your piece.

Take those weird notes and try them alone.

Blitz them. Blast them. Learn them off by heart if that grabs you.

Make the bad bits as good as the good bits.

Make it like we could never tell which was which.

Come on! Let those notes beat you no more. Hz