# Methods for learning music



## Lukecash12

Today, I thought I'd share a method written by my friend: Dr. Stephen Thomas, of Stan State.

It goes as follows:

*The Practice steps,
Or,
How To Practice

By Stephen Thomas
California State University, Stanislaus*

The following steps work best with pieces that are in a moderate to allegro tempo with mostly quick note values. Some modifications may be necessary with pieces in a slow tempo.

*Score Preparation: What to do before you start practicing.*

*1. Fingering First.*

You must determine fingerings, write them in, and stay with them before practicing anything else. Always.

*2. Divide Piece Into Sections.*

Choose logical units about 8-16 bars long (or fewer), and number them on the score. _(As a sidenote here, friends, I would suggest that he meant we divide a piece into cadences, or similar reoccurring structures)_

Practice the steps below in these sections rather than practicing through the whole piece. Start a little before the section break, and practice a little beyond the section break to ensure strength in the seams between sections.

Sometimes, you might want to consider beginning with the last section of the piece. Go through all the steps, and then move back one section at a time toward the beginning of the piece. It can give you the psychological advantage of more toward more and more familiar material as you play the piece.

*3. Determine Practice Tempos.*

They will fall into four categories:
i. 1 slow tempo
ii. 5 transitional tempos
iii. 5 medium tempos, and
iv. 1 goal tempo

You must know your _goal tempo_ first. _Write the tempos at the top of the score so you always have them for reference._

Next, move the metronome 10 notches down from the goal tempo (if using a non-notched metronome, reduce the goal tempo by about 40%). Move up two notches at a time to determine each of the five _medium tempos_ (or about 10%). For example, if the goal tempo is 120, the five medium tempos would be 80, 88, 96, 104, & 112. Write the five medium tempos under the goal tempo at the top of your score.

Next, move the metronome back 10 notches (or about 40%) from the first medium tempo to determine the _five transitional tempos_. Move up two notches at a time (about 10%) for until you reach the first medium tempo. For example, if the first medium tempo is 80, the transitional tempos would be 52, 56, 60, 66, & 72. Write the five transitional tempos under the medium tempos at the top of your score. (You may find it easier to double the slower tempos and change the pulse value- for example from quarters to eighths.)

Finally, write down a _slow tempo_ which ranges somewhere between 100-160 per fastest note value. Write the slow tempo under the transitional tempos.

Here is a sample grid of how your tempos should look at the top of your score:

Goal tempo- 120=Quarter.
Med. tempo- 80, 88, 96, 104, & 112=Quarter
Trans. tempo- 52, 56, 60, 66, & 72=Quarter
Slow tempo- 120=Sixteenth

*As you start practicing, set your standards high. Remember to:*

Practice in sections, rather than through the whole piece (you can put sections together later as you know it better).

Ask yourself the following questions before you move to the next tempo or the next step:

Is it perfect? (Right notes, rhythms, fingerings, balance, articulation, tone, hand position, etc.?)
Is it easy? (Is it automatic, or do you have to think hard to make it happen?)
If both answers are "yes", then it okay to move on. If the answer to one of them is "no", the you must repeat the step until the answer is "yes" to both questions.

This method works best for works such as Beethoven and Mozart's sonatas. So:

What do you think are the concepts that motivate this method? Do you find it useful? What method(s) do you use?


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## PetrB

1. Fingering First. You must determine fingerings, write them in, and stay with them before practicing anything else. Always.
_*I completely disagree. One or two key places (piano, I assume, but true of many another instrument) should be all that get marked. When we write things down, we no longer have to 'think' about them. The danger too, with a fixed fingering is: one flub in performance and you can completely blow one or more bars from being thrown off set practiced patterns.
*__*
I advocate as few marks in the score as possible, and immediate memorization, if possible.*_

2. Divide Piece Into Sections.
_*Good enough. Always play through, though. 
If you cannot read it through at minimum 65% of the actual tempo, you have no business working on it in the first place. 
You should go back to where sight-reading and technical ability are commensurate, then go forward. (There is all too frequently a huge discrepancy between reading ability and technical playing ability.) You're pretty much 'screwed' as far as real career if you cannot sight read very well - the concert professional standard is sight-reading at about 90% of the actual tempo - to see what needs further working upon, and to get your initial thoughts as to your idea of the piece as a piece.*_

Sometimes, you might want to consider beginning with the last section of the piece. Go through all the steps, and then move back one section at a time toward the beginning of the piece.

*Good advice - leads you musically to knowing where, from the very first note, you are going and where it will end up.
*
3. Determine Practice Tempi.

They will fall into four categories:
i. 1 slow tempo
_*Slow practice, as really effective, is a sort of global myth: it is only of any real use if you can initially read-through at near actual tempo. The physics of negotiating any given configuration at tempo and 'slow practice' are at odds with each other. Imagine imitating running in slow motion without any notion of the actual sense-memory of what running is really like 
*_
ii. 5 transitional tempos
iii. 5 medium tempos, and
iv. 1 goal tempo
You must know your goal tempo first. Write the tempos at the top of the score so you always have them for reference.

*Which leaves the remaining three tempo guides and the last caution more than moot.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next, move the metronome 10 notches down from the goal tempo (if using a non-notched metronome, reduce the goal tempo by about 40%). Move up two notches at a time to determine each of the five medium tempos (or about 10%). For example, if the goal tempo is 120, the five medium tempos would be 80, 88, 96, 104, & 112. Write the five medium tempos under the goal tempo at the top of your score.

Next, move the metronome back 10 notches (or about 40%) from the first medium tempo to determine the five transitional tempos. Move up two notches at a time (about 10%) for until you reach the first medium tempo. For example, if the first medium tempo is 80, the transitional tempos would be 52, 56, 60, 66, & 72. Write the five transitional tempos under the medium tempos at the top of your score. (You may find it easier to double the slower tempos and change the pulse value- for example from quarters to eighths.)

Finally, write down a slow tempo which ranges somewhere between 100-160 per fastest note value. Write the slow tempo under the transitional tempos.

Here is a sample grid of how your tempos should look at the top of your score:

Goal tempo- 120=Quarter.
Med. tempo- 80, 88, 96, 104, & 112=Quarter
Trans. tempo- 52, 56, 60, 66, & 72=Quarter
Slow tempo- 120=Sixteenth

_*Seriously bad advice - set your inner clock, use the metronome only as a reference to learn to set your inner clock, and to only once in a blue moon check a passage.
*_
_*As to practicing in sections, I'll one better this: Go bar to bar, stopping on 'one' of the following. Play it at tempo, the rule being it must be played four times in sequence without error - error? Go back to 1, then again until you have played it through perfectly four times, only then may you move on to the next measure. Repeat the process. After several measures are worked this way, to the accumulated length of a phrase or cadence, play the cumulative measure / phrase and practice with the same rigor - four times in a row, perfectly. Then start working the next section in like manner, after which you put it all together with the 'four times perfect' rule. That advice about starting at the end of the piece and moving from back to front works very well with this, too.

*__*A lot of the advice in this teacher's set-up sounds very 'chop-shop' piano lesson to me. Repetition, and perfect repetition, are what win the day in securing a piece.
He forgot to mention that all musical elements, contouring, balance, phrasing, articulation must ALWAYS be present, or you are 
'practicing out' what should be being 'practiced in.'
*__*
I hate the metronome advice. The slow practice myth I hope I've debunked a bit, and no one should be that dependent upon a metronome. I'm appalled that advice is being given to, what, college students? to take a piece section by section until they've become familiar with the whole piece. It speaks of a very low standard in a university level music program, even for piano or other instrumental minors. Students at that level should be at that level of sight-reading and playing somewhat at tempo as stated above, if they are not, some remedial work should be the first order of the day.*_


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## Lukecash12

I see that we have fairly different views, then, friend.



> I completely disagree. One or two key places (piano, I assume, but true of many another instrument) should be all that get marked. When we write things down, we no longer have to 'think' about them. The danger too, with a fixed fingering is: one flub in performance and you can completely blow one or more bars from being thrown off set practiced patterns.
> 
> I advocate as few marks in the score as possible, and immediate memorization, if possible.


I don't know very many pianists who use sets of alternative fingerings and choose between them when playing. It actually seems to be more common to stick with the same fingerings. Care to share why your system would be better? Different principles of fingering can contradict, so I would tend to argue that each pedagogy is served well by writing down fingering markings and sticking to them, considering that each pedagogy has it's own principles.



> Good enough. Always play through, though.
> If you cannot read it through at minimum 65% of the actual tempo, you have no business working on it in the first place.
> You should go back to where sight-reading and technical ability are commensurate, then go forward. (There is all too frequently a huge discrepancy between reading ability and technical playing ability.) You're pretty much 'screwed' as far as real career if you cannot sight read very well - the concert professional standard is sight-reading at about 90% of the actual tempo - to see what needs further working upon, and to get your initial thoughts as to your idea of the piece as a piece.


Ah, but this is just one method for learning music. One is certainly welcome to sight read a piece in order to glean things about technical difficulties, interpretation, etc. to start with, but this method is more tailored to a different approach.



> Slow practice, as really effective, is a sort of global myth: it is only of any real use if you can initially read-through at near actual tempo. The physics of negotiating any given configuration at tempo and 'slow practice' are at odds with each other. Imagine imitating running in slow motion without any notion of the actual sense-memory of what running is really like


1. This depends on a pianist's understanding and relationship with speed walls.

2. I'd be interested to see you debunk the slow learning method, using concrete terms and examples. It's not very often that I find someone who criticizes it as strongly as you, so I'd take some pleasure in hearing more of your thoughts on this issue.

3. Playing a piano is not like running. Part of the advantage in slowing down is recognizing the fundamental tasks and difficulties presented by the score. There are a variety of movements that can be asked for, e.g. the cartwheel motion, so choreographing the motion perfectly and slowly, and getting used to that motion while playing the notes written, can be helpful. We can't learn how to ride a bike by just jumping on and pedaling madly, can we?



> Seriously bad advice - set your inner clock, use the metronome only as a reference to learn to set your inner clock, and to only once in a blue moon check a passage.


Care to delineate why? Or do you just dissent in opinion? Developing one's inner clock very well, can take some time for a lot of pianists, which is why so many have been told to constantly use a metronome in their earlier developing stages.



> A lot of the advice in this teacher's set-up sounds very 'chop-shop' piano lesson to me. Repetition, and perfect repetition, are what win the day in securing a piece.
> He forgot to mention that all musical elements, contouring, balance, phrasing, articulation must ALWAYS be present, or you are
> 'practicing out' what should be being 'practiced in.'


I'm not sure a "forgot to mention" is much of a valid critique. He neglected to mention all sorts of things. We all neglect to mention all sorts of things all the time. I don't imagine his lectures and lessons are as dry and restricted as a two page article.



> I hate the metronome advice. The slow practice myth I hope I've debunked a bit, and no one should be that dependent upon a metronome. I'm appalled that advice is being given to, what, college students? to take a piece section by section until they've become familiar with the whole piece. It speaks of a very low standard in a university level music program, even for piano or other instrumental minors. Students at that level should be at that level of sight-reading and playing somewhat at tempo as stated above, if they are not, some remedial work should be the first order of the day.


I think you've mistaken the nature of the work. It's *a* method for learning, not *the* method. It is, of course, better suited to different students at different stages. Moreover, it was intended for younger pianists, in part in order to familiarize them with increment tempi in learning, and the use of the metronome.

Thanks for the critique. So, how is it that you learn pieces yourself?

As for me, I mostly just sightread, and break down difficult passages slowly so that I can choreograph and repeat perfectly each motion. Memory isn't as much of a problem for me.


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## Sofronitsky

I seriously only read 10% of this thread, and for that I apologize. But I just wanted to share the outlines of my process.

(Prestep, if possible: Study composer's biography, and then the way this music was played in it's original period)
1. Survey the piece, dividing sections based on difficulty
2. Start with the most difficult sections, fingering and memorizing them
3. Slowly bring the piece together
4. Use metronome ONLY after the entire piece has been memorized
5. Taking careful pains to respect the composer, determine your own artistic interpretation of the music.


Of course, most pianists will eventually come to the same process. It helps to be reminded sometimes!
5


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