Some people love to be graded. Some people just love learning, and don’t necessarily need the feedback that a formal assessment provides. For the former, this post is for you. I have some (a lot of) experience with practicing for and taking examinations through an institution called the Royal Conservatory of Music. I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the program a bit, and maybe give a bit of personal insight into my experience with the process.
The Royal Conservatory of Music is Canada’s most well-established arts educator. Their mandate is to help develop human potential through music and the arts. Although their programs are many, I’m going to focus mainly on the RCM Examinations certificate program, as it is an internationally recognized curriculum (not to mention I am most familiar with this program.)
The RCM Examinations certificate program spans 11 grades, from beginner (Grade 1) to ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music). Each level has certain requirements that need to be achieved in order to obtain recognition for that level. Curriculum for a specific level includes technical requirements, ear training and sight reading requirements, as well as a selected repertoire. These skills are evaluated at a one-on-one practical examination in which a certified examiner will assess the student. The student will received a mark, as well as written feedback about their performance.
As the student progresses through the levels, the requirements become more demanding. Theory examinations, intended to complement practical study, begin at the Grade 5 level. There are several different types of theory examinations:
Rudiments of Music - This examination evaluates the student on their knowledge of basic musical theory and notation.
Harmony- The harmony curriculum is intended to introduce the student to composition, with basic theories of classical composition
History - These examinations focus on a specific period in musical history, studying both the composers and the compositions
Counterpoint- I’ve never taken this exam, so I have no personal experience in it. However, it also focuses on compositional principles.
The Royal Conservatory of Music also offers a Piano Pedagogy curriculum for those interested in teaching.
The cost of an examination can range from just under $100 for the beginner levels, to over $500 for ARCT examinations. For more information you can visit their website to see if examinations are taking place in your area.
The best things in life come in threes… Like… umm…uhhh… Well, maybe the best things in life don’t come in threes. So this introduction isn’t going to work very well… But I’m pretty much committed to it now. I’ll make it work. Here goes…. Although the best things in life usually don’t come in threes, some notes do. (Awesome.)
So far we’ve figured out how to fit one note into the duration of one beat, using a quarter note. To fit two notes into one beat, we can use two eighth notes. To fit four notes into one beat, we can use four sixteenth notes. All of this we have learned in previous lessons. But… and you can probably see where I am going with this… how do we fit THREE notes into a beat? *insert anticipatory pause here…*
We can use TRIPLETS! The use of triplets tells the musician to play THREE notes in one beat. Triplet notes look like 3 notes that are connected together using a bar. Additionally, the number “3″ is displayed above or below the notes, depending on their position in the staff. See the image below for two examples of triplet runs.
Now that we know what the triplet looks like, we need to know what to do when we encounter triplets. There are different ways to count triplet notes, but I like to use the phrase “One-and-a Two-and-a Three-and-a Four-and-a… ” etc. If you have triplet note runs, it can sound a lot like a gallop. Just try repeating the phrase “One-and-a Two-and-a Three-and-a Four-and-a” over and over again. You’ll be lucky if you don’t end up galloping around the room by the time you are done. Now, you don’t HAVE to use the “one-and-a..” counting technique to count triplets. Some people like to say “trip-uh-let” when they encounter a triplet run. This doesn’t make much sense to me because the word triplet only has two syllables. But hey, whatever works for you!
So, in the phrase above, try to count out the rhythm using the method summarized in Lesson 14, including what you learned about triplets in this lesson. It will sound a lot like this: “ONE TWO THREE-and-a FOUR. ONE TWO THREE-and-a FOUR”. Remember to tap your foot slowly and evenly, and that each number will fall on a foot tap. Pretty soon I hope to get some worksheets up in the download section so you can practice your triplets!
I firmly believe that there is no one right way to learn a new instrument. Just as there is no one right way to lose weight, study for your midterms, or eat a block of cheese (where every way is the right way), the experience of learning a new instrument varies from person to person. The Suzuki method offers a methodology for children to develop their musical ability and creativity by using a number of techniques including musical recordings, parental involvement, musical integration, and focus on memorization. The following is a discussion of the background of the method, as well as pinpointing a few of the key techniques that this method uses.
The Suzuki method was developed by a Japanese violinist who had an interesting idea. The idea was that music is a language, and all children have an innate talent for acquiring languages. And much like a child learning a language learns to speak before they learn to read, the Suzuki method does not focus on note recognition at first. Rather, it focuses on playing and mastering the instrument. First, become comfortable with the instrument and music. Then, learn to read.
So, how does one become comfortable with an instrument without knowing how to read music? Well, the Suzuki method first focuses on learning music by ear, that is, listening to a piece of music and then imitating it. Along with ear-instrument training, the Suzuki method also prioritizes memorization of music. You can imagine that these techniques have led to some controversy over the effectiveness of the method. Some may (and do) argue that a child taught using the Suzuki method may not acquire the skills necessary to become a well-rounded musician.
Despite these types of arguments, supporters of the method argue that the method is most effective when used with very young children. It facilitates the process of learning the instrument, and focuses on musical notation when the child is mature enough to remember and apply musical theory. It does not eliminate musical theory completely, only shifts the initial focus.
The Suzuki method requires a lot of parental involvement. In fact, it encourages parents to be active participants in their child’s musical education to the point of supervising every practice and every lesson. Some may even be encouraged to learn the instrument themselves in order to more effectively coach their child.
The last key philosophy of the Suzuki method is musical immersion. The method encourages children to attend concerts, listen to music at home, talk about music, and perform in public often. This is intended to ensure that the child develops musicality and musical creativity, as well as becoming comfortable with public performance.
Like any other method, the Suzuki method has pros and cons. Ultimately, it is up to the parent to decide if the method is right for them and their child.
Its been a long time since I’ve talked about rhythm and the time values of notes. So perhaps a mini-refresher lesson is in order. (I know it is for me.) So far we have learned about the following notes:
whole notes
half notes
quarter notes
eighth notes
sixteenth notes
dotted notes
I’ll go over these one by one during this lesson so that we can move on to more complex rhythms during the next lesson.
OK, lets start with WHOLE NOTES. The whole note looks like a white circle with no stem; the simplest note there is. The whole note is worth 4 counts.
Next, we discussed HALF NOTES. The half note is white with a stem. It is worth 2 counts. That means in the same time that you play one whole note, you could play two half notes.
QUARTER NOTES are worth one count. It is a black note with a stem. You can play 2 quarter notes in the time it takes to play a half note, or you could play 4 quarter notes in the time it takes to play a whole note.
The diagram below displays the whole note, half note, and quarter note, and how they would be counted in a piece of music.
Now it gets a little more difficult. An eighth note is worth half a count. This means two eighth notes can be played in the same time as it takes to play a quarter note. It makes things a little more difficult to count, but you can use the technique discussed in Lesson 14 (Figuring out rhythm). The eighth note is a black note with a stem and a flag. The flag can either be a fancy flag that is not attached to it’s neighbor, or they can be connected together with a bar (see the image below). These two notations are equivalent, however the notation on the right is used more often when there are multiple eighth note runs. It just looks cleaner, and it can be easier to read.
So the SIXTEENTH note is worth half of the value of an eighth note. This means that 2 sixteenth notes could fit into an eighth note, and 4 sixteenth notes could fit into a quarter note. Again, it is more difficult to count than the other types of notes, but to help count these notes you can use the technique discussed in Lesson 14. The sixteenth note is a black note with a stem and two flags (as shown above). Like the eighth note, the flags can be (and often are) connected together if more than one sixteenth note occurs in a row.
Now for the DOTTED NOTE. A dot can be slapped onto any note: whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, etc. Putting a dot behind a note changes the duration of the note by increasing it by half of its original value. For example: A whole note is worth 4 counts; A dotted whole note would increase the duration of the note by half of it’s original value (+2), so a dotted whole note would be worth 6 counts. A dotted half note would be worth 3 counts. A dotted quarter note would be worth 1 and a half counts. (This is where it gets fun.) A dotted eighth note would be worth 3 quarters of a count, and on and on it goes.
Lesson 14 does not cover how to count dotted notes. Keep you eyes peeled and your ears tuned for the next lesson where I will explain how to count out the most common dotted notes and commonly-used rhythm patterns that use dotted notes.
If you have studied or listened to piano pieces, you have probably run into different types of words that are used to describe a piece of music. Preludes, Nocturnes, and Etudes are just a subset of the many different types of musical composition. In this post, I will discuss the differences between them. Next time you listen to a Prelude, Nocturne, or Etude, see if you can distinguish the elements that make it what it is.
Prelude:
Preludes are characterized by being short and sweet (relatively), with a melodic and/or rhythmic motif that is featured throughout the piece. This motif will recur throughout the piece, sometimes differing slightly as the music progresses. A prelude may be played on its own, or as a preface to another piece, usually more complex.
Nocturne:
Nocturnes are generally lyrical and tranquil pieces. The nocturne is known for being expressive above all else. It follows no specific form, but evolves as the music progresses.
Etude:
You can probably guess this one. Etude is the french word for study; so a musical etude is just that – a musical study used to perfect a particular technical skill. Generally etudes are quite difficult, featuring runs of quick notes, and arpeggios.
Those were just three terms that are commonly used to characterize a piece of music. For some examples of these styles take a look at the works of Chopin. He composed 24 Preludes: One in each key, major and minor, 27 Etudes, and 21 Nocturnes.
Learning to play music by ear can be a useful and fun technique to employ. Combined with note recognition and technique training, it helps form a strong musical foundation that will serve you well in the future. Some people have a natural talent for picking out tunes and being able to play them. But even if you don’t, you can still learn! Here is a few steps you will have to complete to master the art of learning music by ear:
1. Learn your instrument:
Teach your fingers where the notes are; be comfortable finding different keys on the keyboard. It is important to learn to recognize notes and play off of sheet music as well. Having a balance of skills will make you a well-rounded musician who can adapt to different musical situations quite easily.
2. Playback
Playback consists of a someone playing a short tune on the keyboard, and then the student trying to mimic it. Start with short and easy tunes consisting of only a few notes. Beginners can be told what note the tune starts on, and more advanced students can be told what key the tune is in. As the student progresses, the playback can become longer and more advanced, and involve some harmony as well.
3. Listen to the radio
How is the radio going to help me, you ask? Well, picking out a tune and trying to play it on the piano can not only be fun, but very helpful for your ear-training regimen. Sing the tune in your head first, and then try to pick it out on the piano. If you get stuck, try starting in a different spot. Once you have mastered the art of picking out a tune, you can start adding harmony and embellishment.
4. Play around!
Practice picking out new tunes and playing around on the keyboard. Play random notes, play patterns, just play! Doing this allows you to find sounds and patterns of notes that you like. While you are playing around on the keyboard you might find that you come across a pattern that you recognize from a song. This is one of the most fun ways that you can help train your ears to pick out tunes.
Well, that should help you get started. Playing by ear is a very useful tool to have in your repetoire of musical skills. But more importantly, it’s fun!
We have already been dealing with tones and semitones in previous posts without even realizing it. A SEMITONE is the smallest distance between any two sounds used in Western music. It is the smallest distance between any two adjacent keys on the piano, whether they be black and white, or white and white. We have already touched this concept when learning about sharps, flats, and accidentals.
A TONE (or WHOLE TONE) is equals to two semitones (in the same direction). Pick a note on the keyboard, now find the next semitone to right. Move right one more semitone, and you’ve got a WHOLE TONE. You can do the same thing in the opposite direction.
Now that we have fleshed out the intracacies of the Western concept of a semitone, we can delve a bit further. A semitone comes in two “flavours”: chromatic and diatonic. When a semitone contains two notes with the same letter name, it is called a CHROMATIC SEMITONE. See below for examples of chromatic semitones. As you can easily see, the notes of a chromatic semitone are the same, but one is altered with an accidental.
A diatonic semitone occurs when a semitone contains two notes with different letter names. See below for examples.
A chromatic semitone can be manipulated to be a diatonic semitone and vice versa. Remember, that most notes can be referred to by different note names. For example E# and F are the same note. Take a look at the two intervals below. They are equivalent, but one is a chromatic semitone, and the other is a diatonic semitone. Try to identify tones and semitones on the piano keyboard. The more you practice the easier it will become. It is very important to grasp this concept fully, as it will form the foundation of many future lessons in musical theory.
Key signatures tell us which sharps and flats to play consistently in a piece of music. But just because a piece of music has a key signature, does not mean that no other sharps are flats are allowed. Often, a piece of music will have a combination of a key signature and ACCIDENTALS which are sharps, flats, and naturals that are located in the piece of music. An accidental is located in front of a note, and alters the pitch of the note for the remainder of the measure. (If you remember naturals in Lesson 21, all accidentals act much the same way.)
There are several particulars you should know about accidentals:
Accidentals do not affect the same note in a different octave
Accidentals are not repeated on tied notes.
Accidentals affect the pitch of the note for the remainder of the measure
So you’ve learned the basics of accidentals – basically they are SHARPS, FLATS, and NATURALS that can be strewn throughout a piece of music (rather than being in the key signature).
But wait! There is more! We haven’t learned of every type of accidental. Soon we will learn about DOUBLE SHARPS, and DOUBLE FLATS, which alter the pitch of a note by 2 semitones instead of 1. I’m sure you are looking forward to learning about that, but I will leave that for the next lesson. photo credit: oh_candy
There is a world of piano styles out there to discover. Jazz piano is a great style of piano that is a lot of fun to play. There are many fundamental differences between jazz piano and classical piano styles. Below I summarize some of these differences in the rhythmic styles.
Swing: swing rhythms are quite popular in jazz music. In swing rhythms, a series of eighth notes is played with the first eighth note having a slightly longer time value. The second note has a slightly shorter duration.
Syncopation: Jazz rhythms use a lot of syncopation. Syncopation occurs when one accents a ‘normally’ weak beat. Another word for this style could be ‘off-beat’.
Polyphony: In the post, “Musical Texture”, I discuss different types of musical texture including polyphony. Polyphony (also called counterpoint) occurs when more than one melody exists at the same time in a piece of music. This is very common in jazz music, often with several instruments improvising around different melodies.
Well, that’s just a taste of jazz! We’ll have to discuss it more later – it’s a really wonderful style of music!
I grew up with a fluorescent green book full of a wonderful world of finger exercises by a man called Charles-Louis Hanon. This book had several redeeming qualities: It glowed in the dark, and it entertained me for hours and hours upon end. OK, so maybe it wasn’t so entertaining… and it didn’t actually glow in the dark. But little did I know, as I was hammering away at my Hanon exercises, a raging debate was taking place about whether these exercises were helpful, or … dun dun duuuuuun….. harmful! to your technique.
There are several arguments for Hanon:
Hanon-the-Good
Hanon develops finger strength and dexterity. I can’t argue with this one. Hanon is equivalent to running on the treadmill: It takes you nowhere, but you can certainly feel the burn!
Hanon develops finger independence. I think this could be true, except for that in my experience most Hanon exercises are the same in the right and left hand. But don’t take my word for it – I haven’t used Hanon in quite some time.
You can let out your anger with Hanon. It certainly is satisfying to bang out a quick Hanon (pardon the ahem, innuendo). You can play it loud, you can play it ugly
You can annoy your neighbors with Hanon. Yeah. I find these exercises very annoying. This might belong under the Hanon-the-Bad category. But sometimes it can be useful to annoy your neighbors.
You can train your fingers to find intervals with Hanon. In my opinion, this is one of the major strengths of playing Hanon. It’s all about learning where the notes are and training your fingers where to find them.
Hanon-the-bad
Hanon gives you wrist problems? Some say that the repetitive nature of Hanon exercises can give you wrist problems? I’m not saying it’s not true. I’m just skeptical.
Hanon does not increase musicality. Hanon is repetitive. Hanon is boring. So by extension, Hanon cannot be musically engaging and increase your musical ability. Again, I tend to disagree (not about the repetitive and boring part), because I think that an increase in control can help your musical expression. Hanon does help with control if played correctly. Hanon exercises are not intended to stimulate your creativity.
Hanon exercises were developed like a million years ago… how could it be applicable today? Argue this one yourself. Or don’t.
OK, that’s it. So it’s pretty obvious that I’m biased. Hanon is boring, Hanon is repetitive, but in my opinion it IS useful for strength and dexterity if practiced correctly. My verdict: Hanon is OK!
Check out the new book. Its not bright green, and it doesn’t glow in the dark, but its still Hanon.
So I’m playing the piano for a wedding in May, so today I dusted off the old “Canon in D” by Pachelbel. While I do love that song, I can summarize it for you in 8 letters. D, A, Bm, F#m, G, D, G, A. Yes, that’s all. Just play these notes over and over again, and you’ve got Canon in D.
Of course, I exaggerate. But if you haven’t seen this guy, you should:
Now that we know all about key signatures, we really need to know more about playing music with a key signature. Remember that a key signature consists of 1 or more sharps or flats. This group of sharps or flats is located at the beginning of the music. And what does this group mean? Well, it means the notes located in the key signature are ALWAYS played sharp or ALWAYS played flat. Or are they….. *insert eerie music here *….
Well, in fact, you can change the note back to it’s original or NATURAL state IN the music. How, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you! With a NATURAL sign. Nice and intuitive, right? In case you haven’t guessed already, a natural sign looks like the symbol on the left. OK, so how does this work? Lets say you have a key signature that contains an F# and a C# (Like the music below). In the music below, in the second measure the first C is marked as a natural. These means it should not be played sharp, but in it’s natural state: on the white key. In FACT, and this is an interesting and important tidbit to know, when a note is marked natural, it remains natural for the rest of the measure! So, in the piece of music below, BOTH of the C’s in the second measure should be played natural. Similarly, in the 3rd measure. In the 4th measure, the first C should be played sharp, and the second C should be played natural.
OK folks, well thats how naturals work with a key signature. Check out the worksheets section for downloads of practice sheets.
Key signatures are a very important topic, but difficult for some to grasp. The key signature tells you what notes (sharps or flats) will be played consistently during the piece of music. The key signature is denoted by a group of sharps or a group of flats positioned after the clefs and before the time signature. Key signatures will never mix sharps or flats. Whats more, the sharps or flats in a key signature are always presented in the same order! That is, the first sharp is always F#, the second sharp is always C#.. and on and on. Never will you have a key signature with only a C#. F# ALWAYS has to precede it. These are the rules – take ‘em or leave ‘em. But if you leave them, you would be wrong. Actually, not wrong – just not conforming to the standards of Western music.
So how do you remember the order of sharps and flats in a key signature? Well, like we always do – with a little saying! The saying to remember the order of sharps is: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. Isn’t it nice? Well, the saying to remember flats is a little morbid, even though it is the same words but backwards: BattleEndsAndDown GoesCharles’ Father . So when you write a flat key signature, B flat always come first, followed by E, A, and so on.
These are the basics of key signatures. Remember: the key signature is there to tell you to play certain sharps and flats every time you see the note in the piece of music. So if your key signature has an F# in it, every time you see an F in the piece of music, you should imagine that there is a sharp sign in front of it, and play it sharp.
I’ll be posting a key signature worksheet in the next little while. So check the worksheets section for some practice!
Teaching piano to children has its own set of challenges and rewards. In a previous post I talked about how to know whether your child is ready to play the piano. The next thing you need to know is the types of challenges that you will face… such as… how do you make practice fun? how do you know that your child is learning? how do you ensure that your child gets the most out of their music lesson?
Children generally have shorter attention spans than adults, so it is important to break up the lesson into fun, manageable activities. For children ages 4-6 I would recommend a lesson from 15 minutes up to 1/2 hour long – depending on the attention span of the child. Each child is different.
So how do you make practice fun? Well, take a lesson from modern early childhood education. I love talking with my teacher friends and finding out all about the fun activities that they plan for their classrooms. Have a repetoire of activities that you can practice with your child. This can include flash cards, note recognition games, clap-back games, and more! Fire up your creative juices! (Or take a page from my book and take advantage of google.)
Apparently I have a short attention span too. We’ll continue this thread later – until next time!
Sometimes I wish I could achieve things by thinking about them really really hard. I’ve tried, and it doesn’t work. No matter what the books tell you. It often takes hard work and dedication to achieve things that are important to you. Whether that be playing the piano, running a marathon, or losing those last 10 pounds. Nothing is easy. There are a lot of factors that will contribute to your ultimate success or failure. The biggest one? Motivation! Oh, it is such a fickle thing – here one day and gone the next. I haven’t yet mastered the art of keeping motivation. If I did, I would probably be at the gym right now, and I would post on this blog a hell of a lot more. I might also be a virtuoso pianist, entrepreneur, marathoner, and accomplished artist. But back to real life. Motivation. Yes.
Well, since motivation will have a huge impact on how often you practice the piano, and how dedicated you are to your lessons, you should find a way to keep your motivation high. My favorite method is to set a goal date where you will play in public (in church, at a retirement home, in front of friends, at a recital, etc). That way you are publicly committed to keeping up your practice. What motivates you to practice? How do you keep yourself going when you don’t feel like practicing?
Now that you’ve learned all about sharps and flats, it is time to get the bigger picture. Although sharps and flats can exist in the same piece of music (and often they do), they are like … enemies that can’t live without each other. OK, bad analogy. But you will learn that sharps and flats are similar, but opposite… I’m still not making sense…Let me start over…
I think this picture will explain it best.
So, as you can see, there are keys on the piano that can be referenced by more than one name. The C sharp key is the same as a D flat. A D sharp is the same as an E flat, and so on… Even the white keys can be referenced by more than one name. C can also be called B sharp!
Now, you are probably asking, now why would someone want to use B sharp instead of C – well.. usually they wouldn’t. But there are some special cases where it would make sense to use a B sharp instead of a C. We will discuss those another day, as it is a more advanced topic.
Check out the worksheets section to get more practice with sharps and flats!
You already know all about sharps. They are those little signs you find in front of notes that tell you to play the key that is the next one to the right on the keyboard. Well, there is another little symbol we will learn about today that is similar to a sharp. This little symbol looks like the letter ‘b’ – sortof… ok – not really. A flat symbol tells the musician to play the note one semitone DOWN (or lower)
It doesn’t matter if the next key down is a black key or a white key – either can be flat.
Look in the worksheet section if you want to practice finding sharps and flats on the keyboard.
As silly as it might seem, practicing without the piano can shorten the time you need to practice significantly. I’ve used this technique on many occasions. When encountering a new piece of music, I ALWAYS practice it in my head first, before putting my fingers on the keys.
VISUALIZATION is great for all levels, but is most useful for late beginners and up. It is important that you have a good feeling for the keyboard before you try to use this technique.
Here are some basic steps to start using the visualization technique for piano practice:
Start with a piece of music that you have already memorized. (Once you have mastered the technique you will be able to use it on any piece of music – even music you have never seen before.)
Read through the music at the same pace you would use to play it, and imagine that you are playing through it. Now is time to use that vivid imagination of yours! Make it as real as possible in your mind. Visualize the notes, and the fingers that you will use to play the notes. Visualize your hands moving up and down the keyboard.
Beginners can make visualization easier by using these techniques:
Visualize practicing one hand a time. Like hands-separate practice for your brain
Mix up playing and visualization. Play a passage of music, then visualize it, then play it again!
Read the music while you visualize playing it
Move your fingers as you visualize the keys on the piano and the notes you are playing
Visualization is a great technique to use when you don’t have a keyboard available, or as an additional technique to make the most out of your practice time.
So far we have introduced the concept of note names and found out where they are located on the piano keyboard. Well, you may have noticed that we only covered the white keys! You might be happy to know that a whole other world of keys exists for you to discover. OK, you might not be so happy to know that. But the black keys on the piano also play an important function. In this lesson we will learn how to name the black keys.
So – remember our piano key names: A,B,C,D,E,F,G. There are a group of two black keys and a group of 3 black keys.
First I’ll introduce the concept of a SHARP. Have you ever heard someone comment on a piece of music, saying it was a little sharp? This means that it was played at a HIGHER PITCH. In musical notation, a sharp symbol is placed in front of a note to tell the musician to play on the key located UP one SEMITONE. In Western music, a SEMITONE is the smallest step located on the keyboard – either between a black key and a white key, or between two different white keys. On the keyboard located in this post, can you find a semitone located between two white keys?
OK, so when you see the SHARP symbol in front of a note, instead of playing the note – play the NEXT NOTE TO THE RIGHT. That is, play the key that is ONE SEMITONE HIGHER. This could be a black key, or it could be a white key. If you want some practice naming sharps you can download the worksheet from this section from the worksheets section.
Try to find F#, C#, G#, D#, and A#. And when you have mastered that – find E# and B#. The frequency with which these sharps are used in a piece of music depends on the KEY of the music. We will cover this concept in a future lesson. Please mosey on over to the download section when you have a chance and practice a bit!
Here is another practice technique you may want to try. Divide your song into logical sections. Your section could be as short as a few bars, or as long as a few phrases. A good rule of thumb is: the more difficult the section, the shorter the section should be. An example of a section-by-section practice would be:
1. Play through the entire song
2. Identify the different sections. Rate the sections by perceived level of difficulty. (I recommend using a scale from 1-10)
3. Choose one of the most difficult section to focus on. (It doesn’t have to be at the beginning!)
4. Play the section the number of times corresponding to the difficulty. For example, if you rated the passage to have a difficulty of 7, play it 7 times in a row.
5. After repeating the passage a number of times, it is important to put it back into context. So play the entire song again. (If it is a really long song, just play a section of it again)
Now, of course – this is just one of the ways that you can use the section-by-section technique to your advantage. The main idea is to identify the difficult sections, and to repeat them a number of times. The more difficult the section, the shorter it is, and the more times you should repeat it. Play around with different ways of using the section-by-section technique. I’m sure you’ll find something that works well
for you!
Some people love to be graded. Some people just love learning, and don’t necessarily need the feedback that a formal assessment provides. For the former, this post is for you. I have some (a lot of) experience with practicing for and taking examinations through an institution called the Royal Conservatory of Music. I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the program a bit, and maybe give a bit of personal insight into my experience with the process.
you to play the key that is the next one to the right on the keyboard. Well, there is another little symbol we will learn about today that is similar to a sharp. This little symbol looks like the letter ‘b’ – sortof… ok – not really. A flat symbol tells the musician to play the note one semitone DOWN (or lower)
Posted on February 19th, 2010 by sharlene
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