My recommendations for students:
- Practice daily (at least 4-5 days per week) for 45
- 60 minutes or more depending upon your age and level of advancement.
- In the beginninig of your practice, warm up your fingers by playing scales,
chords, arpeggios, and the rest of technique of your level.
- Put a clock
on your piano. Always make sure you divide your time between all the pieces
of your program. Start with the most complicated piece, or with
the one which I asked you to practice more.
- Never choose a fast tempo in the beginning, concentrate
on the clarity, texture, and voicing of each musical phrase. Increase the
tempo slowly as you improve.
Never forget that multiple repetitions of a phrase, and later of the whole
piece, is the key to your success.
- When you work
on polyphonic music, play each voice separately, then try to combine pairs
of voices, and later play all the voices together. So
much fun!
- If you use
the damper pedal, make sure you can still hear the original composer's
chords and clear melodic line. Some students forget to release the pedal!
- Understanding
of style and specific details of the pieces you are working on require
some knowledge of the time, epoque, and biography. Read some books
on music, musicians, and music history - it will help you to understand
the music that you are playing.
- Listening to classical music CDs may help you, but please
ask for my recommendations - listening to a poor performer may do you more
harm than good!