How Tiny Changes Can Produce Amazing Results in Piano Performance – Part 7
This article continues the subject of how tiny changes can produce amazing results in piano performance. We’re getting ready to enter a new area next week so this topic will wrap up this series.
You can review the last entry about fingering, using the damper pedal, and note recognition with the link at the end below.
Fluid Playing – not pausing on the bar lines
This is a skill that surely takes time and effort, but separates the beginner from the experienced pianist. It’s like the fluid sentence-reading skill that requires the recognition of the next word before the actual verbalization of it in order to have fluid reading, though the reader may not even be aware that is happening.
To do this, the pianist should play slowly at first; slow enough to not have to pause at a bar line. Play in two-measure “chunks” and repeat four or five times. This allows the brain time to process reading ahead to the next note. If not comfortable, repeat until it is fluid, even if at a slow tempo (rate of speed).
Continue with the next two measures; then the next, until the first line is played. Go back to the beginning and repeat the process, but a bit faster, making sure the playing is truly fluid and there are no pauses at the bar lines. Continue the process with the next line – until the end of the piece.
In thinking of the term “fluid playing” – consider how water flows in a steady stream. That is the goal. Be patient, it takes time. The brain is multitasking: note recognition, key location, timing, some attention to fingering, possibly pedaling, and looking forward to the next note to be played. That’s a lot! Allow time to process it all and adjust speed accordingly. If frustrated, slow down. Gradually build up to the speed desired.
Some beginner students may want to play to the metronome speed indicated, but that surely will just cause frustration. Use the metronome setting to hear what the ideal tempo speed should be, but practice much slower, with the goal of coming close to that ideal speed – eventually. That time might come after the book is finished, and you’re in the next level. That’s totally OK, common, and expected! After all, the student is learning the language of music (note reading, key location, timing, etc.) – not focusing on playing at a particular speed.
However, a good site to review for the student who is ready to be more precise in playing is this one. Different types of metronomes are compared, with pros and cons.
The metronome does come in handy sometimes when I want to make sure my concept of a tempo is correct. So, what’s that M.M. on the metronome along with a number, such as M.M.♩ = 100? This setting means the quarter note is played to 100 beats per minute, making a moderately fast tempo. In order to change the setting, the pendulum (pictured below) is vertically slid up or down manually to the desired numerical setting.
The metronomes helps musicians play to a certain tempo by clicking to a preset speed. It is attributed to Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, and the M.M. on the metronome settings means “Maelzel metronome.”
Over time – or rather quickly – tiny changes can produce amazing results in piano performance!
“If you can get 1% better each day for one year,
you’ll end up 37 times better by the time you’re done.”
Excerpt from Atomic Habits by James Clear
Improvements in the environment and the body
Details on these first four can be examined here:
Room Temperature
Shoe Heel Height
Piano Bench
Seat Cushion
Two more, that you can reread:
Dehydration
Healthy Snacks
Added category about hands – nails, strength, and exercises – that you can reread.
Distractions – hair, clothing, shoes, corrective eyewear, eye-to-page distance. For details read here.
Note recognition; Using the damper pedal; and Fingering – reread here.
I invite you readers to offer more areas that are not covered here, with your own suggestions about what has worked for you and/or your students.
Leslie Young is the author/composer of the Revolutionary Piano Method. She co-founded a K-12th grade charter school in Texas and has been a piano teacher for about 40 years. She has had experience teaching a variety of students tackling piano for the first time or as returning student
She states: “In teaching piano to students of varying ages, what also varies is a commitment of time and the amount of dedication. Children of certain ages may do very well with a parent as teacher; others may need someone who is not family to instruct them. Some older children and adults prefer to make progress on their own, and this method is designed to act as a meticulous guide through new material. Some adults and teens insist on professional teachers, which also encourages continuity. Because these books are self-explanatory, a new or experienced professional teacher will have no trouble using the Revolutionary Piano Method with students. It is an easy way to learn piano.”
Leslie believes that “learning to play the piano is more about diligence and perseverance” – but would add that just as critical to success is the method that is used, the encouragement of critical thinking, and the instructional principles that promote immediate success.
What Would the First Lesson for a Young Student Look Like?
What Would the First Lesson for a 6 to Teen Look Like (video)?
View sample pages of all the books for students
ages 6 to teen:
View sample pages of all the books for students
4 to 5 years old:
View sample pages of all the books for older
teens and adults:
View the books on Amazon:
