Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to discuss the incredible value of extreme repetition in your piano practice. This type of practicing can be really annoying to listen to, but it’s incredibly valuable. Anybody who’s lived with me knows that I do a lot of this kind of practice. I find it to be one of the most helpful ways of practicing. So I thought I’d share it with you!
Take a very small chunk of music and play it over and over again.
I practice this way much of the time. Focus on just a few notes. Sometimes even one or two notes! Try to play those notes with absolute security. Even more importantly, play them with total relaxation. Feel that your fingers are simply falling on the right keys with minimal effort. Play tiny note groups. Don’t push to articulate each finger. Instead, just play as relaxed as possible.
Don’t be afraid of taking very small chunks of music.
It could be just two notes! You want to be able to play them with security and relaxation. Don’t be afraid of repeating something again and again and again. This is a very effective way of working through your music. I spend an incredible amount of my practice time working this way. So play small groups of notes up to speed as relaxed as possible. Don’t be afraid to repeat something until, like I say, you feel like you’re just falling on the right notes.
Use the weight of the arms.
After some time, your fingers just know where to go. Don’t push your fingers into the right keys. Let the weight of your arms allow your fingers to just fall into the right keys, keeping everything relaxed, instead of punctuating each note with your fingers more than necessary. You can get so much accomplished if you’re not afraid to spend an inordinate amount of time on very small groups of notes. Try it in your practice! Let me know how it works for you. Leave your comments here at LivingPianos.com and YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
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6 thoughts on “Magical Practicing Tool: Extreme Repetition”
Excellent advice, thank you so much!
Hope it works well for you!
Maestro – Gee, sounds like our lessons! Annette
You see, it’s not just you!
Would you recommend using a digital with headphones for this? It would be easier on others, and save wear and tear on your good piano.
Of course you’d also want to do some of it on the real one…..
I suppose you could avoid wear on your piano by practicing on another instrument. However, ideally it should be an acoustic piano, and a grand is really what is best. The difference in actions is substantial between grands and uprights, and certainly between acoustic and digital pianos.