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Saturday, March 23, 2019

Practicing Tips from MTNA Conference 2019, Compositional Technical ideas, Web resources and product ideas, Cell phone ideas

Practice Like a Pro
Robert Henry, Kennesaw State University, Georgia


Repetitions

  1. As written
  2. Vary the dynamics
  3. Work on articulation
  4. Add accents
  5. Focus on rhythm
  6. Play chords blocked or broken

Mistakes:  Some mistakes are o.k. (\/=good, x=mistakes)
\/ x \/ x \/ \/ \/ x

Really dumb to practice like this:
xxxxxxxxx\/  "o.k. I learned it.  On to the next part."

If this happens, you're asking for too much.  You need to practice hands separately, slower, or with a smaller chunk.

We can remember SEVEN things at a time.  So, chunk groups to memorize instead of thinking of 546 individual notes.  Think of harmonic analysis and chords or cadences to make the chunks a little bigger and more manageable in your memory.

Ideal hour:
Don't skip scales.  Do them every day! (He said at least 15 minutes)

Warm up with something relevant to what you'll be playing.  If your piece is in dm, do your warm-ups with dm.  If there are lots of arpeggios, warm up with those.

Simulate the performance experience at tempo as soon as possible. Final tempo sooner!

Write fingerings from day 1

Attend symphonies and live concerts to internalize artistry.

Memorize immediately.

Choose Hanon or Czerny to support piece:  i.e. 2 note slurs, alberti bass etc.

Extra practice time:  old repertoire, sight-reading, analysis, etudes
Score study: away from instrument


Various Ways to Practice Scales 

Kate Acone NCTM Faber and Michael Clark NCTM Rice University

  1. Beginners:  add one note at a time beyond five-finger pattern.  Add la or ti.
  2. Tetrachord, no thumbs.  Go through circle of 5th.  LH takes over from RH.
  3. Hands separately 1 or 2 octaves.
  4. Block groups of fingerings:  thumb alone and chunk other fingers
  5. Announce your scale with the tonic note, # of sharps or flats, where #4 finger goes
  6. Stop on a particular finger---especially #4.
  7. Isolate the shift or crossing over (is thumb or #3 preparing ahead of time?)
  8. Patterns:  
    1. Contrary (out going in, or in going out)
    2. 3rds, 10ths, 6ths
  9. Mirror patterns.  Start on Ab or D and play contrary.  Black and white keys will match up.
  10. Rhythm patterns:
    1. Accents:  every 2, every 3, every 5
    2. Doubles:  each note is played twice
    3. Tap and Hold:  one tap, 2 taps, 3 or 4 taps
    4. On fallboard:  hear what fingertips are playing (contrast pads vs. tips sounds)
    5. Long note on tonic:  one gesture on rest of note
    6. Additively:  1, 12, 123, 1234, 12345
  11. Descending first
  12. Different rhythms in LH and RH
  13. Every scale with CM fingering????
  14. Chromatic
  15. Blues Scales
  16. Whole Tone Scales
  17. Modes
  18. Musicianship:
    1. Harmonize every scale with a LH chor
    2. Alberti bass
    3. Improvise for good ear training
    4. MM practice---do scale on off beats
    5. Sing note names, harmonize with your voice
    6. Legato using one finger for scale and pedal.  Use pencil eraser instead of finger along with pedal for legato.
  19. Pischna etudes, Hanon, Dohnanyi, excerpts from literature

List of Technical Demands that need to be taught (from "Brazilian Dance Music for Young Pinists: Francisca Gonzaga's Tangos and Waltzes for Piano by Ana Paula Machado Simoes)


1.  Parallel thirds
2.  Scales in one hand, diatonic or chromatic
3.  Scales in parallel motion
4.  Varied accompaniment patterns
5.  Parallel blocked octaves, separate hands or hands together
6.  RH playing accompaniment + melody
7.  Big leaps in the RH
8.  Dotted Rhythms
9.  Arpeggios (separate hands)
10.  Arpeggios in contrary or parallel motion
11. Repeated notes
12.  Scale in broken thirds/sixths or blocked + broken thirds
13.  Tuplets
14.  Parallel sixths (blocked or broken)
15.  Repeated Octaves or chords/ double notes
16.  Tremolo
17.  Cadenza-like passage
18.  Parallel blocked/broken octaves
19.  RH with chordal melody
20.  Repeated chords/double notes (not in the accompaniment)
21. Running notes in the RH melody
22. Varied accompaniment patterns
23.  Parallel broken octaves
24.  Repeated notes
25. Parallel thirds
26. Triplets

Web Resources



Products recommended by Christina L. Whitlock in her presentation on 21 Tactics for Successful Supplemental Group Classes:

Note Speed (card game) available from cntcreations.com
Rhythm Cups and Rhythm Menagerie available from composecreate.com
TCW Resources (Kreative Keyboard, Card Games, etc.) available from Kjos.
http://pianopantry.com/manipulatives-games-master-list


The Cell Phone as a Teaching Tool:  Dr. Terrie Manno and Dr. Michael Dean


Metronome apps---alter the tempo while you play, accentuate the meter (preprogram meter changes, provide style assistance, use visual clues

Recording Audio (retain lesson material and teacher modeling, immediate feedback during practice, send practice sample to teacher, rehearse with others, or even yourself

Altering playback--play with a model at any tempo, more flexibility in ensemble practice, careful performance analysis of any passage

Using the Camera--sharing basic information, noting practice spots, ask and answer questions

Recording video--lessons and assignments, live remote communication, students demonstrate practice strategies








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