LMD Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 For reasons that I would rather not get into, I need to learn 2 pieces in 2 weeks to accompany a violinist. I'm a fairly rusty intermediate level pianist. I can, in theory, learn them. It's getting them smooth and up to tempo and to a level of proficiency to provide accompaniment that is giving me a panic attack! I have learned the easier of the two and am working on getting it smooth. Hopefully I'll have it to tempo by the weekend. The harder one... well I've learned 1 of 4 pages and it's still quite stilted. So, do you have any tips for me? What is the most efficient way to learn these pieces well and quickly? I'll also thankfully take any prayers and good thoughts! There are other high stress events happening and I am not exactly a picture of grace right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) Listen, listen, listen. Get quality audio for each piece and listen to it so much it just becomes a part of you. Practice in short bursts many times a day. Memorize the harder parts. Check YouTube. There might be a video of someone playing it to give you ideas of how to improve. Edited October 26, 2017 by Guinevere 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Thank you very much Guinevere! It helps so much to be heard and to know I'm on the right track. I have been trying to sit down and practice many times throughout the day, I'm averaging about 2 hours total in 3 bursts. I'm checking YouTube because there is some complicated fingering but not many people post videos detailing the accompaniment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Can you simplify any of the chords or the left hand? Unless people in the audience know the piece really well, they probably wouldn't notice a simplified version. Also, make sure you have plenty of rehearsals together with the violinist to make sure the timing is smooth between you. All the best! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I would also recommend listening over and over, try humming or whistling it so you can memorize it faster. Even if you can read the music, knowing it first will help your speed and fluency. Good luck!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Can you simplify any of the chords or the left hand? Unless people in the audience know the piece really well, they probably wouldn't notice a simplified version. Also, make sure you have plenty of rehearsals together with the violinist to make sure the timing is smooth between you. All the best! Thank you! I had thought about simplifying some of it, I may try that. We'll have plenty of opportunity to practice together. Once I actually learn the pieces and get over my imposter syndrome fears... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 I would also recommend listening over and over, try humming or whistling it so you can memorize it faster. Even if you can read the music, knowing it first will help your speed and fluency. Good luck!! Thank you, the accompaniment is quite different to the piece so this is part of the difficulty. I will put in some good listening time. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Listening is big! The other thing is mark out the difficult passages and do something we call speed drills. Play painfully slow with 100% accuracy. Slowly up the speed repeating the same passage upping the speed slightly every time you are successful. Split your practices to 3 times a day is good - short bursts if necessary. When you're getting close, you could try playing with a recording. The last thing I would say is since you're accompanying, look for places you can modify and simplify the accompaniment (i.e. simplify large chords, simplify pick ups, drop parts of the bass line, etc) Professional accompanists are especially good at just keeping moving. They make little mistakes all the time but most people can't pick them out. Only after listening to piano for 12 years can I pick them out now. LOL. (Long time parent of advanced pianist looking at college music programs) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Yes, thanks WoolySocks, I remember reading about speed drills. I try to use it as a general principle in learning a new piece. Slow and accurate. I can pretty well do one piece this way, just have to smooth over some of the joining passages etc. Thanks for your reply! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Use a metronome and force yourself to keep with the beat no matter what. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Also study the piece to see what parts are repeats of the theme. You may not really have 3 more new pages to learn, because there may be variations of the same theme. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammfried Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Agreed with listening to audio when not actively practicing piano. When you memorize the song by ear you can correct your playing faster. Listen over and over and over again. Also, do you know the keys of the pieces you are playing? If you know what scale is used you can just focus on playing the chord progressions and inversions to warm up your fingers and build muscle recall of the chords for each song. Is the violinist in your family or someone you can practice together with? It is one thing to learn the pieces, another to accompany. Practice at least once or twice together if you can arrange it. Good luck! You’re phenomenal to step up to play like this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Thank you so much! Some great ideas. I'll be playing for my daughter so we'll be able to rehearse as much as possible. I'm really not an accomplished accompanist so I'm struggling with nerves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammfried Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 You can do it LMD! And it’s a great way for you to bond with your daughter. She will be cheering you on too. Simplify chords and melody if you’re comfortable changing arrangements. This way, you’re not overtaking your daughter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Thank you Hammfried! I'm pretty terrified that I can't do it and will ruin things for dd. It's kind of put up or shut up time though, and I plan to do my best to put up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) Some tips that I use to learn a piece fast: 1. Start at the very end of the piece. Start learning the last 2 lines. Then, learn the 2 lines before the last 2 lines. When you have finished learning the 2 sets of 2 lines, you will now know 4 lines. At the end of the practice session, play all the 4 lines once, accurately, really slowly (at a tempo that is about a quarter of the speed marked and then stop looking at those 4 lines). Your brain will consolidate those 4 lines into better shape for the practice session the next day because of the slow speed at which you now played. 2. At your next practice session, learn 2 more lines that are adjacent to the lines that you already know. This way, you will start moving towards the beginning of the piece 2 lines at a time. You can learn 4 lines in one day or in one session. End the session by again playing all the lines you have learned so far once, slowly, accurately and then stop looking at those lines. move on to another piece or take a break. 3. Try to learn lines like you would assemble legos - learn 2 lines plus the last notes of the last measure of the previous line. An example to make this clear: if your piece has 30 lines totally, learn lines 29 and 30 in your first session. Also learn the last notes of the last measure of line 28. So, start from the last note of line 28, learn line 29 and line 30 in your first session. Session 2: Learn lines 27, 28 and the last notes of line 26. Once you are done, play lines 27 to 30 once, accurately and stop. Session 3: Learn lines 25, 26 and the last notes of line 24. Review 25 to 30 once and stop. and so on until you have covered all the lines in the piece. Ofcourse, you can modify this method to learn more than 2 lines at a time if you can handle that. If you practice twice a day, you can learn a 30 line piece in a week or so. The reasoning behind this practice method: Most people start learning the piece from the first line onwards and never really play through to the end every time. So, many people will end up knowing the first few lines very well and get shaky towards the end. So, start the practice from the end and stack up the newly learned lines on top of the older lines. Your brain remembers the last repetition best when you are memorizing. So, some teachers ask the students to do the last repetition for the day really slowly and accurately so that the information can be retained by the brain better. Sleeping on it reinforces the memory. Hence the advise to stop looking at the notes for the day after the final slow repetition. Learning the last note of the previous line makes the connection between the pieces of music that you are learning easier - like a bridge between 2 sections. Edited October 25, 2017 by mathnerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Thank you Mathnerd, I will definitely try that! I will give it a go tonight. You're right, I usually start at the beginning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.