When you start learning a new piece, you will be eager to play it, but you need to have a good understanding of it first. Most of the time, when people are keen to learn something new, they tend to make mistakes. So it is better to take things slowly but steadily.
Slow practice – so what is this all about? Deliberate practice in piano learning is something people do when they are trying to learn a new piece or a scale. There is a multitude of components relating to slow practice that can be helpful for you beyond your expectations. First of all, you don’t need to worry about achieving perfection the very first day. Practicing at a slower pace might not seem fruitful in the beginning, but you will realize it is once you make it an essential part of your daily practice. This way, you will gain the upper hand or expertise on different aspects of the piano.
You can even use a metronome for further assistance. Also, you will start to realize the effects of slow practice and will feel that you have accomplished something. Additionally, even if you have a perfectly polished piece, you will benefit from the augmentation of going slowly with music to solidify your finger’s muscle memory.
What Is The Significance Of Slow Practicing?
Slow practice might not succeed in pleasing a lot of beginners who have just started to learn piano. In this fast-paced world, everyone is keen on getting quick, high quality results. However, as nature and ancient techniques have shown, things developed at a slower speed come out more efficiently. Practicing fast can also prevent you from keeping track of your progress.
Fast-playing sometimes interferes with concentration and skill development. However, you need to define how slow things should work for you. Some people are better at grasping new things while others need to take their time. Regardless which type of person you are, there is no need to rush things. However, make sure you keep a proper track record of the progress you have made from day one.
Slow practice does not mean that you are lazy and inconsistent. If you keep your practice session daily, then by no means is slow practice affecting your daily practice load. You can break the parts of your song into various pieces and then proceed with the practice.
Be Patient
When you start to practice a piece, you will find some parts of the song easy, while other sections will require a little more practice before you accomplish the more difficult parts. To make a song sound the way you imagine it in your mind or the way you heard it the first time, there is a need for consistent practice.
This will be seamless when you are on the easier part and going slowly will start to become irritating when you reach the problematic parts. People always want to play the more manageable sections, and this makes the difficult parts more complicated.
When you become more familiar with the easy parts, you will be able to play them faster too and get the best possible results. After a while, you will have to get your hands on the complicated part, and you are bound stumble over them. A lack of practice can even make you suffer and put you in a situation where you might begin to doubt yourself.
You should try to anticipate the other parts and not let your subconscious create obstacles. Nevertheless, you will make a couple of mistakes in your practice hours, but this is where you can make mistakes. Once your subconscious gets over those mistakes, then it will be possible to unlearn them.
Becoming an Expert
Suppose you sit to learn a piece, but it doesn’t sound the way you wanted it to. Maybe it’s not on the level you expected it to be. This is precisely where slow learning comes into play. Initially, start out at a slow speed until you feel that you have gained total confidence in that section. Sometimes you will feel exhausted because of the effort needed. You might begin to think that you have wasted so much time in a small section and nothing major has happened as a result.
You are going to be tempted to leave it sooner than you should. Again, the thing that you need to remember is, if you stay with that section until you are well versed with it, then sooner or later you are bound to become an expert. Sometimes you will worry about the time that needs to be put into learning each of the smaller sections. You might even ask yourself how you will complete the piece at this rate.
Here’s the catch: when you go through the piece and observe critically, you will find that most of the sections do not require an intense amount of practice. It is only a few parts that need a rigorous amount of exercise and focus. So, plan your training critically, see that you do not waste time; instead, invest it in each musical section. You will begin to see that your training will become incredibly productive.
Invest Time In Each Section
Many people overlook a few aspects like sight-reading and keynote reading and assign an enormous amount of time to fingering. However, even senior pianists suggest giving somewhat equal importance to these points as well. Sight-reading comes in handy when you only have a theoretical sheet with musical notes, and there is no one else to guide you. Do not allow yourself to indulge in non-musical playing because people tend to pick it up faster, owing to the fact that they focus more on fingering.
Without any second thoughts, fingering is necessary but connectivity to what you are playing is more important. You have to give enough time and effort to building this connectivity. You cannot create mesmerizing music by merely hitting the keys of the piano; it has to have that mental synchrony with you. Indulge in the physical exercise of your fingers, arms, and the rest of your body as well.
You will have to sit and face the piano for long hours, and this can strain your neck and back area. The majority of the work is done by your fingers. Make this exercising drill a part of your piano routine. You might be worried that this will further increase the duration of practice. However, rest assured that the results will be worth the invested time.
Conclusion
Slow and steady wins the race. This is true for almost all new activities. You can always develop speed later; initially, the important thing is to learn the intricacies and relevant skills.
