the method for learning pieces?

hello everybody

I want to ask just to know , if when you are learning piano pieces you keep on learning one piece at one time until you finish it and then start another one, or learn many different pieces at one time ....

hope you have got it

 

Hey,

Well I usually learn 3 pieces at a time. I think that focusing on one piece is not too good for a few reasons:

1) well, playing only one piece can ,of course, get quite boring.
2) playing many pieces at a time can teach you many new techniques at once, so you don't get stuck reharsing the same technique and not letting your hands fell diffrent kinds of techniques.

well that's about it

 

Its not good to play TOO many pieces at once either.
2-3 is enough.

 

I tend to only concentrate on two pieces at a time. I play very slowly only adding speed once I memorize the notes (or put them to short-term memory). After I am comfortable at playing at a normal pace...I like to play as fast as possible regardless if the piece is written in a "Lento" tempo. I see it as if I can play as fast as possible and make a few mistakes along the way, I will be more comfortable slowing down the pace

....it's the same principle when lifting weights, at first a 25lbs dumbbell will be heavy, but after you push yourself and after a few weeks of hard training you will be able to lift a 50lbs dumbbell. As soon as you lift a 25lbs dumbbell it will seem very light and managable.

 

At any given moment, I'm learning at least 15 pieces. This takes a considerable amount of daily practice time (about 6 hours). If I worked on one piece at a time, my progress would be stifled. I keep track by journaling and planning each week's practice in advance. This way I can usually add 20-30 pieces per year to my repertoire. Another thing I like about working on lots of music is the fact that one is less likely to suffer an overuse injury, due to a cross-training effect. Another good thing is monotony will be avoided by being constantly challenged by new music.

I like to plan my practice on a big wall calendar, like a marathon runner plans his training routine.

Pete

 

As I SEE and I SAW. Your cross trainning effect is very effective indeed. You are very talent piano player not like us such a dumb....one piece at a time.

 

That is pretty amazing!! You are an excellent musician as well. I am curious do you mostly memorize your music or do you play by sight reading? If you do both do you have a preference? Memorizing 15 pieces at once seems like a challenege at least for me. Or do you memorize 15 pieces over the span of a few weeks, and then work on technique seperately? Again you are an amazing pianist and I would like to get a few hints on what you do.