#1 Practice Method You Can’t Do Without

The most common approach people use for learning a new piece is to just play it from start to finish, over and over and over again. This method is ok to do once in a while, but practicing in bite-sized chunks will give you better and faster results. So we should divide our pieces up into bite-sized pieces so that we can conquer them in every aspect.

Conquer your chunks by doing things like:

• Analyze the musical and technical content of the chunks

• Work out the best fingerings for left and right hands

• Nail the rhythm (use a metronome)

• Balance of melody and accompaniment, or whatever texture it is

• Dynamics?

• Memorize the chunk

• Work on good technique: minimize unnecessary movements, use good

  posture of your hands and body, etc. (use a mirror)

The advantage of this is that you can (and should) make a lot of progress very quickly!