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Many of you have been asking how I prepare for a performance piece... So here's my process:
Most of the time, the piece I want to perform is beyond my sight reading level (as is the case for most people); I therefore choose to memorize the piece for a few reasons: 1) Since the piece is beyond my sight reading level, there's no way the sheet music will come in handy during a performance. 2) Memorizing will force me to know the piece so well that by performance day, all I will need to focus is the performance itself. By performance I mean being musical, dynamic, and emotional. It's impossible to truly 'perform' a piece from sight reading (I suggest you youtube.com videos of professional pianists, and 90% of the time, they are playing their piece from memory).
In order to memorize the piece, I set certain goals: Memorize right hand first, 1 page per day. I usually break up the memorizing by line. I will learn 1 line, then move to the 2nd line. I will then combine the first and second line and play them from memory. At this point I am not concerned with being able to physically the piece just yet (especially if its a technically demanding piece)... all I care about is memorizing it. I use my knowledge of theory to help me memorize patterns quickly. Once I have memorized the right hand, I move to the left hand. While I am memorizing the left hand, I try to completely forget about the right hand part that I learn. The more you forget and re-memorize something, the more ingrained it becomes in your brain.
Once the left hand is memorized I return to the right hand, this time my goal is to play the song at normal or faster than normal speed. To accomplish this, I slowly ramp up speed using a metronome. I play the song as fast as possible without making a SINGLE mistake... if I make a mistake, then I slow down the metronome. Once my right hand can play the whole piece at speed, I switch to the left hand and do the exact same thing. I force myself to not even think about the right hand so that I can purposefully forget the passages that haven't truly stuck in my mind.
Once both hands are mastered separately, I begin playing the piece hands together. I start at an EXTREMELY low speed and ramp it up every day or every other day depending on how well I am improving. My goal is at this point is to play the song hands together a faster-than-normal speed so that when it comes time to play it at normal speed, it will be a LOT easier!
Once I can play the song fast without mistakes and with a metronome, I incorporate the dynamic elements and begin to use the foot pedal. After that I step away from the piece for a few days and come back to it to see how well I can perform it.
This whole process usually takes 1 - 3 months depending on the length and difficulty of the piece. This is the BEST way I have found to learn a piece.
Let me know if you have any questions and please visit my site at http://www.pierrecohenpiano.com or e-mail me at pierre@pierrecohenmusic.com. I will be setting up a small impromptu group recital at my home in Irving TX, 75063. Let me know if you're interested.
More lesson overhauls coming soon!
Pierre
