Bite Size Repetition - How to Practice: Quick Tips Ep. 2

[@PetulaGuimaraes]

Indeed, I must practice very differently...

[@BedlingtonGroomer]

Excellent advice. Thank you!

[@sy86157]

👍 nice video. This is exactly how I use this practice method that I started to make progress on my piano learning. It might seem slow in the beginning but after practicing this way for a week or so, I see tremendous improvement on mastering difficult measures.

[@PianistAcademy1]

100% yes!

[@bunnyhollowcrafts]

Thanks Charles! I know this but don’t use it effectively! Loved the descriptions used! Thanks!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks, Bunny! I hope the little bite snippets here remind you to do it in practice :-)

[@zekiyezeynepsahin9449]

I will surely take your advice. Thanks..😊

[@cutiejumps4088]

Totally agreed! I do that too, especially when I learn a new piece. I call it Lego method, like put up a Lego pieces by pieces and finally build the whole model. 😊

[@PianistAcademy1]

Love it!

[@geoffreyhusmillo6783]

Omg I love this! Exactly the song I’m working on among others. Thanks for the practice tips, I try to pass on diligent, focused practice to my peers. ❤

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for watching, Geoffrey!

[@WSJade]

The beginning could very well have been a food commercial; got hungry watching. 🤣

[@PianistAcademy1]

😂 I’m grateful I only had to do one take of the massive cup of Chex mix!

[@sharonstopka8609]

I do this all the time I also have my students do this so that they can accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Brilliant!

[@PedroStreicher]

I`m practicing this piece just right now, a simply lovely piece of music, and very hard to see content about it on youtube. Very nice video as always... The piece was more confortable to play than I think it would be, but the thirds section for sure was the hardest to put it together. Now i`m in the final ajustments stage.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Great, Pedro! You should post your performance of this Schubert online when you’re ready! I hope you found this tip helpful for your future practice sessions.

[@haydarkhattar2773]

Very informative and helpful Charles thank you! Do you think you can make a video on reading notes? Tbh this is the most struggled with topic

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks, Haydar! I will likely do a video or handful of videos or even a few-hour long course on note-reading. I’d like to develop more “method” behind my approach to reading so it’s a little more standardized and easier to follow. Right now, I’ve given away a few tips about this on various live streams and also as a part of my “Christmas-Next Level Piano” course. But yes, I’ll work up something more!

[@pianoatthirty]

This is great advice. Just a quick note for anyone wanting to go even smaller (playing even shorter chunks), check out David Chang’s approach, using what he calls “sets”. It’s brilliant.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

I gained 3 pounds watching that! ;-) EXCELLENT! This is a perfect description and example of this approach of focusing on those challenging spots. I like, also, your other video where you stress the need to pause and reset between repetitions -- an excellent point! To this you might possibly add a few of the other "tools of the trade" -- using rhythms, accents, alternate touches (staccato, legato, forte, pianissimo, each hand different, combined), bringing out different voices, etc. I typically like to expand gradually in both directions for context -- one measure before, one measure after, then two measures before and after is usually enough depending on how complex the surrounding measures are. When does your piano "go under the knife" ?

[@PianistAcademy1]

HA! Yes, I’ll have more short tip videos that go into everything you mention here… one at a time to keep each concept “Google-able” and also under 10 minutes. They are all great tips and ones I use on a regular basis in my own practice. And yes, going one measure past a difficult spot is also good… in fact I even did it in this video but didn’t exactly bring it up! The work on the piano HAS officially begun. On Thursday about 90 strings were removed from the instrument, and the hammer samples were also removed and shipped in. The capo bar was also sanded smooth. My tech will be back to put fresh wire on those top three octaves this coming week, and he’s hoping to have the new Renner hammers ready to install before the end of the month. The piano probably still won’t be playable at that point… it’s going to probably need at least a handful of full tunings to get it stable again in just a matter of a few weeks, the voicing work on the new hammers will be a bit of trial and error as I play and give feedback, and then there’s a little more regulation work to do once the piano fully settles in again. I’ll be ecstatic if I can record on the instrument by the middle of May! I have a few more videos that I pre-filmed before the work started, so those will come out over the next week or two… then I’ll need to decide what direction I go in the meantime!

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@PianistAcademy1 SUPER! (although with all the work described, if it was my piano I think I'd be the one needing the anesthesia!). Yes -- middle of May would be ambitious -- felts and strings will continue to settle in -- it should be approaching optimium in a few months -- should be sterling by the time the holidays start to roll in. Maybe you could do a digital instrument presentation and discuss some of the in's and out's of using a digital instrument -- or have you done that already? I'm not sure how helpful that might be since it looks like most of the folks are using acoustic instruments -- but there may be some out there in the wings who would benefit from that. Have a great week-end!

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@aBachwardsfellow Yes, a video on digitals might be good... or an overview of my favorite sample libraries to use... I'll think about it! I think I'll be having Burgmuller Op. 100 No. 2 come out this week (performance plus a class on it). That was prefilmed, I just need to edit it. After that I was planning a short Beethoven vid, but I'm not sure I want to do that without my acoustic. I also am due to get a new arrangement out on my other channel, and I have yet to start work on that!

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

The fingering I use for that chunk is "(53) (41) (32) (41) (52) 4 (321) 5 (521) (521)"

[@PianistAcademy1]

If you're comfortable navigating the 4 over 5 cross at performance speed, this is a great choice! It's still tricky, just in a different way than the jump I prefer to use.

[@jamesrockybullin5250]

Why not take the F with the left hand? (24) (13) 2 (13) (24) 5 (123) 4 (125)

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@jamesrockybullin5250if it works, go for it! I personally prefer to keep the continuity of the thirds… it would take more practice to stop RH 1 from playing and to restart the thirds motion, than simply continue it. But, technique is a bit different for everyone. This isn’t an Etude, so if that fingering makes it easier for you, then use it!

[@jamesrockybullin5250]

@@PianistAcademy1 I haven't played this piece, but it sounds very fun! Is it about ABRSM diploma level in difficulty? I'll have to listen to the other pieces in the set. Taking it with the left hand just makes sense because it's already printed in the bass clef. What you lose in continuity with the thirds, you gain in continuity with the tenor voice suspension. With the obvious benefit of no awkward jumps or finger crossings. Although the fingering I suggested does require a strong 4 and 5.

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@jamesrockybullin5250 my score has the note printed for either hand to take, which I interpret as leaving it up to you to choose. If I remember correctly, this is RCM level 8.

[@YaelEylatTanaka]

Fantastic demonstration. Fingering?

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks! Did you have a question about fingering? Or about fingering I chose?

[@BarnieSnyman]

Delicious tip! Everytime I now apply the self-discipline to practice slowly and in small chunks, I'm going to reward myself with a chocolate or snack of some sort! :) Jokes aside, this is perhaps one of the most central pillars of mastering a difficult piece. Since you also like Jarrod Radnich, take a few minutes to hear how beautiful his Jurassic Park arrangement is when played slowly, flowingly and softly (esp measures 19 and 20).

[@BarnieSnyman]

(seriously, my mouth started to water a little with the chocolate-part :D )

[@PianistAcademy1]

Haha, I hope the chocolate rewards add up! Yes, I can't tell you how much time I spend in practice focusing on just one or two measures in sometimes entire pieces. As another example, I'm in the process of learning Chopin's Ballade No. 1 for the first time (when I was younger I rejected the idea of learning what *everyone* else was learning... and now I regret that a bit 😆) and 90% of my practice time goes toward the coda... and not just the coda as a whole, but probably 50% of that practice time is only about 8 measures of the coda where the changes in direction of motion are the absolute most difficult. Those 8 measures go by in something like 10 seconds, but they receive something like 70% of all of my practice focus. You mention Jarrod, yes his arrangements are masterfully conceived and so many spots, including the one you mention, can be absolutely beautiful when slowed down!