The Sixty Minute Practice Session

The serious piano students should plan to practice at least one 60-minute practice session each week - this is feasible after year three, and certainly should be part of our routine by year five.

The First Five Minutes

True warm ups. More than “just scales”.

Then it’s time to get into some repertoire.

Are you warmed up? Then let’s get into advancing our repertoire. Choose a piece. Set a specific goal. Hone in on THAT particular task. What will it take to accomplish that task in 3-7 minutes?

Practice must be goal-oriented, focused, directive.

Put it into context.

Dig Deeper. Either shift pieces, and go deep into work and study on the next piece, or stick with the same piece you’ve been "working toward the goal” and explore it more deeply.

Always hone in on technical passages - focus on what needs your attention.

Did you play it musically? Always slur the phrases, articulate the staccato accent or portato passages.

How effective and aware of dynamics is our playing?

Record yourself & play it back - spend 5-12 more minutes refining and re-record. Always listen to what you’re up to. Make it even more fascinating, more convincing, convey something more than just notes.

Is there a piece that is almost ready to perform?

Play it slowly, with a metronome if appropriate.

Is it ready for a faster tempo? Try it hands separate at performance speed? Not ready for that yet - then slow it down and work with the metronome to gradually increase tempo.

Is it fast but not musical? Go back to the score and observe, note, explore dynamics and phrasing.

Do you have a three piece program that is nearly ready to perform?

Then a sixty-minute practice session may incorporate running the program.

Don’t just play. Consider: which piece should go first?

If two pieces are in the same key, use those as your bookends - first and last. Program the third piece as a contrasting key, tempo, or character in between.

If two pieces are in the same key but vary drastically in terms of character, it may be interesting to program them back to back - consider why and how you can accomplish a compelling three piece program with 2 pieces in the same key.