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Efficient Practicing
I've had some PDF practice sheets as a resource in my online shop for a while, but I wanted to write a little about them here for you as I have never really talked about the philosophy of using them. Everyone has their own thoughts and methods on how to best practice and these are my thoughts and what works best for me. I use these templates regularly when I have new music to learn and I find them really helpful in making my practice time super efficient.
They are for learning music on ANY instrument, so I have produced two versions. One which is more specific to harpists, and one for everyone else!
Very often I'm grabbing practice time when I can, so it's in small sporadic blocks of time and it can take me a while to remember where I am up to when a learning a new piece. By using these templates, I can keep track of where I am up to and go straight to the section I need to work on next.
For me, learning to play music involves understanding the form/structure of the piece and VERY SLOW practice to start with.
I break the piece into small sections which are relevant to the music - this helps to understand the form and also creates multiple 'jump' points within the music where you feel comfortable to start playing from. Depending on the complexities of the piece this could be a 8 bar/measure section, 4, 2 or even 1 bar/measure. Whatever makes the most sense with the music. The bigger the chunk that you break off, the longer it will take to chew. So I always advise smaller chunks which musically flow are better.
I write these bar/measure numbers into the practice template.
Then I choose a section to work on. Doesn't need to start at the beginning of the music, and in fact I find jumping around and learning the sections in a different order is good. I'll start by making sure the section of music I'm working on is fully marked up; fingering, and lever changes/pedal markings etc. That could take a while as you might change your initial ideas about fingering especially. Then it's super slow practice just working out basics such as: which direction is the music / my hands moving ? Up, down, contrary motion? What are the chords? Identifying the intervals between consecutive notes etc. Once I've got the broad strokes of what is happening in the music and I vaguely know which direction my hands are moving in then I start with the metronome.
They are for learning music on ANY instrument, so I have produced two versions. One which is more specific to harpists, and one for everyone else!
Very often I'm grabbing practice time when I can, so it's in small sporadic blocks of time and it can take me a while to remember where I am up to when a learning a new piece. By using these templates, I can keep track of where I am up to and go straight to the section I need to work on next.
For me, learning to play music involves understanding the form/structure of the piece and VERY SLOW practice to start with.
I break the piece into small sections which are relevant to the music - this helps to understand the form and also creates multiple 'jump' points within the music where you feel comfortable to start playing from. Depending on the complexities of the piece this could be a 8 bar/measure section, 4, 2 or even 1 bar/measure. Whatever makes the most sense with the music. The bigger the chunk that you break off, the longer it will take to chew. So I always advise smaller chunks which musically flow are better.
I write these bar/measure numbers into the practice template.
Then I choose a section to work on. Doesn't need to start at the beginning of the music, and in fact I find jumping around and learning the sections in a different order is good. I'll start by making sure the section of music I'm working on is fully marked up; fingering, and lever changes/pedal markings etc. That could take a while as you might change your initial ideas about fingering especially. Then it's super slow practice just working out basics such as: which direction is the music / my hands moving ? Up, down, contrary motion? What are the chords? Identifying the intervals between consecutive notes etc. Once I've got the broad strokes of what is happening in the music and I vaguely know which direction my hands are moving in then I start with the metronome.
The metronome really is the musician's best friend.
I start with it on SUPER low speed. The slower the better. It could be up to 1/4 of the speed (or more!!) that the final tempo is supposed to be. Can I play this section in time with the metronome? Have I got all the right notes/fingerings etc. If the answer is no, I stay on that speed until I can play it correctly with no mistakes. When the answer is yes, I'll move the speed up a very small amount and start the process again. That bad boy of a metronome only moves up a speed when I can confidently play in time with it.
The result is, of course, that the time I spend playing at super slow speed appears to be a really long time. Which is absolutely fine. Eventually my fingers know what they are supposed to do, and the rate in which I can move that metronome up a speed increases in between play throughs. Before I know it, I'm playing it correctly up to speed.
MY TOP TIP - I find that if I can't think it, I can't play it. If a section of music just isn't getting better/quicker, it's usually because I'm not really sure about either the notes, the rhythm, the fingering or the interval between the consecutive notes. It might be that I need to spend a bit of time away from the harp tapping out the rhythm, saying out loud the names of the notes or identifying the interval that I'm playing between a couple of notes. Sometimes it's just one little 'thing' in a passage that you are unsure of that makes the whole passage off-kilter.
It's methodical, but this is genuinely the most efficient way I get to learn LOTS of new music, quickly.
When I'm practicing I don't try to practice the whole piece, I just check my sheet and spend 5 minutes working on one small section. If I have more time, I'll spend another 5 minutes on another small section. I'll look at what metronome marking I have previously written down and I'll work at that speed and then if it sounds ok, I'll move the metronome up and work at the new slightly faster speed. When I finish my practice time I'll write down what speed I'm up to, so when I next have a spare 10 minutes to practice I know what to start with.
I start with it on SUPER low speed. The slower the better. It could be up to 1/4 of the speed (or more!!) that the final tempo is supposed to be. Can I play this section in time with the metronome? Have I got all the right notes/fingerings etc. If the answer is no, I stay on that speed until I can play it correctly with no mistakes. When the answer is yes, I'll move the speed up a very small amount and start the process again. That bad boy of a metronome only moves up a speed when I can confidently play in time with it.
The result is, of course, that the time I spend playing at super slow speed appears to be a really long time. Which is absolutely fine. Eventually my fingers know what they are supposed to do, and the rate in which I can move that metronome up a speed increases in between play throughs. Before I know it, I'm playing it correctly up to speed.
MY TOP TIP - I find that if I can't think it, I can't play it. If a section of music just isn't getting better/quicker, it's usually because I'm not really sure about either the notes, the rhythm, the fingering or the interval between the consecutive notes. It might be that I need to spend a bit of time away from the harp tapping out the rhythm, saying out loud the names of the notes or identifying the interval that I'm playing between a couple of notes. Sometimes it's just one little 'thing' in a passage that you are unsure of that makes the whole passage off-kilter.
It's methodical, but this is genuinely the most efficient way I get to learn LOTS of new music, quickly.
When I'm practicing I don't try to practice the whole piece, I just check my sheet and spend 5 minutes working on one small section. If I have more time, I'll spend another 5 minutes on another small section. I'll look at what metronome marking I have previously written down and I'll work at that speed and then if it sounds ok, I'll move the metronome up and work at the new slightly faster speed. When I finish my practice time I'll write down what speed I'm up to, so when I next have a spare 10 minutes to practice I know what to start with.
Where this approach really comes into it's own is when I have lots of new music I need to learn all at once for a deadline/concert. I fill out one sheet for each piece and keep them on my table. Then I can easily see where I am up to and what I need to concentrate on in my next practice session. This has been a godsend for when I have had a lot of difficult contemporary music to learn all at once.
not all metronomes are equal
I'm just going to sign off by saying that I'm not a fan of metronome apps on your phone. I always try to discourage my students from using them.
WHY?
Because that metronome app is just one click away from checking your facebook, instagram or tik tok and before you know it, that 20 minutes you put aside for practicing is now only 5 minutes.
My favourite metronomes are digital ones so you can move up and down in speed by really small amounts. Plus I prefer clipping them on to my clothes and having it really close to my ears.
Here's a very old short video of me (before pink hair) using my favourite clip on metronome learning Monika Stadler's piece "Away for a While" for recording on my first album .
WHY?
Because that metronome app is just one click away from checking your facebook, instagram or tik tok and before you know it, that 20 minutes you put aside for practicing is now only 5 minutes.
My favourite metronomes are digital ones so you can move up and down in speed by really small amounts. Plus I prefer clipping them on to my clothes and having it really close to my ears.
Here's a very old short video of me (before pink hair) using my favourite clip on metronome learning Monika Stadler's piece "Away for a While" for recording on my first album .
This more methodical way of practicing really helps for me, and I've included the harp version as well as the non-harp version of the template as well as a second sheet for longer pieces below. Plus I've included some thoughts on practicing that I produced for my adult students who are new to learning an instrument.
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generalpractice_template_-_landscape.pdf |
guide_to_learning.pdf |