Sussanna Lin's MusicWave prac tips

Student: This bar is impossible!! I just cannot do it hands together!!!!

Miss Lin: Everything is possible if you practise 'beat by beat'! Practise hands together 'beat by beat'. Imaging there is a bar line between each beat, you only have to practise one beat hands together until you are comfortable with it before moving to the second beat. (Remember one beat does not mean one note!! For example you might have 2 quavers on the right hand and only 1 crotchet on the left. So you need to practice the Right Hand (2 quavers) and the left hand together. ) Then, join the first and second beat together after you have done the second beat pretty well. (HINT: Do NOT try hands together until you can do hands separately very well!! )

Student: B section (middle section) always seems so hard, why is that?

Miss Lin: It is because you are not familiar with the B section yet. You usually hear and practise a piece of music from the very first bar so you would have heard/practised the beginning bits for more than 100 times before you move on to practise the B section (middle section).

Also composers want to show 'contrast' between the sections so he/she makes B section sound very different from A section. That means notes/articulation/ techniques can be so different from A section. Composers introduce new set of techniques in the B section and therefore it usually creates difficulties.

Student: I do piano exam every year already. Why do I still need to perform in a concert?

Miss Lin: Doing exam helps you (and other people) to know how good you are. Performing in a concert is a learning experience: learning how to walk to the stage, how to bow, how to start your music, how to continue your playing even you make mistakes and how to smile and walk off the stage even you feel you don't play well. Most importantly, Watching you playing on a stage can make your family so proud of you!!!

Student: How long should I practise?

Miss Lin: If you are 2nd grade standard or above, you should practise at least 4 sessions (30-45 mins each session) each week. You should also try spending 10 mins on scales every day!! ( yeah... I know... 10 mins on scales everyday is nearly impossible but we, teachers, always hope at least one of our students can do that!)

Student: I practise nearly everyday but my teacher still thinks I haven't been practising at home... :(

Miss Lin: Asking yourself: are you really 'practising' when you sit at the piano? or are you just playing through the pieces 3 times. There is no point playing the whole piece 3 times while thinking of your favourite 'Australian Idol'.

Practise ONLY the difficult bits and those bits that your teacher corrected you in the last lesson. try to think this way: If you can do 1+1= 2 why do you do that everyday over and over again, right?

Always remember to have your lesson notebook in front of you while practising. Your teacher writes down the notes for YOU to read at home, not for him/herself.

Student: my sightreading is bad, what to do?

Miss Lin: Sightreading is an important area of music learning. A good sightreader learns new pieces faster. If you are below third grade standard, you can make/buy a pack of flash cards to help yourself. You should also practise listening to different intervals too when you are of third grade standard or higher.

Choosing materials to sightread is important. You should not 'sightread' your current pieces. Normally, it will be wiser to choose something that is two grades lower than your current grade.

When you practise sightreading materials at home, Remember ... give yourself at least 30 seconds to read the music. during the 30 secs, you need to

1) check the clefs (sometimes they are both treble clefs!!)

2) check the Key/Key signature/flats and sharps and look for any accidentals

3) look for any repetitive phrases or patterns

4) look for the main melody (sometimes it is on the Bass (left hand)!!

5) clip the rhythm of the melody

6) sing the melody line with correct rhythm quietly

7) work out your own fingerings if there is none on the page. If a melody line goes higher, it is likely that you need to start with your right hand thumb. What about left hand? well, the same thing: If you see the bass line goes down, it is likely that you need to start with your left hand thumb.

8) after you have done the above, you should be ready to go!

9) play slowly, For grade 1-3, examiners are not so picky on the tempo (how fast you play) so always do it slowly. For grade 4- 8, examiners are looking for more expressive stuff so you need to take the tempo marking into considerations!!

10) ONCE YOU START, DO NOT STOP!!! if you make mistakes, do not stop!! imagining you are playing with an orchestra or in an ensemble performance.