How to Use Tempo as a Practicing Tool

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to tell you how you can use tempo as a practicing tool. This is incredibly valuable for you! It could save you a vast amount of time by making your practicing more efficient.

You all know that practicing slowly is incredibly valuable.

For example, I’m working on this Liszt Sonata in B minor. There’s a section in there that goes quite fast. Practicing slowly can help you get each note absolutely secure. But sometimes, you’re working on all these different passages, and you wonder where you should focus your attention. Maybe you can already play most of it pretty well, but you don’t know where the trouble spots or potential trouble spots will be in a performance. During a performance, you might be a little bit nervous. Maybe your hands are a little sweaty. Maybe you’re playing on a piano that’s unfamiliar. Maybe you’re taking a tempo slightly faster than you realize because of the excitement of the moment.

Try to play your piece faster than usual and see how much of it you can get through securely.

Take a faster tempo, and wherever you can’t play up to that tempo, that’s where you focus your attention. See how much of it you can play accurately and cleanly, and then take it from there. This helps you figure out which parts are weaker than the rest. Then, once you find the areas that need attention, flip it and go back to that slow practice. Slow practice is one of the most valuable tools you can use in your daily work at the piano. Even with something you can already play up to tempo, going very, very slowly with the score, and using the metronome, and without the pedal, is one of the best ways to secure your piano playing. Then, as a test, take things fast. Take things too fast, so you can see which parts are weaker than the rest! This way, you can maximize the effectiveness of your practicing at the piano. Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com