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Topic: TUTORIAL: How Do you approach a new piece? - Nocturne Op.9 No.1  (Read 2508 times)

Offline adodd81802

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I took some time away from the piano for the last couple of weeks, I still occasionally practiced a few pieces that I already know but for the most part wouldn't consider them practice sessions.

Neverthless I, for a while wanted to learn a new Nocturne and settled on Chopin's Op.9 No.1, having always known the 2nd, I decided i'm going to learn the set.

So, I'm well acquainted with how this piece sounds, the potential difficulties, so although i'm officially studying the score for the first time, it's not like i'm reading something that I don't have any idea for interpretation.

That aside, it got me thinking how you guys - mostly newbies and hobbyists approach new pieces. I attached the small section I learnt last night, in around 20-30 minutes or so. I hope that my thought process below may help out those that struggle with practice sessions in general or maybe on this piece.

Now i'm not a planner as such I don't study the harmony, or notate the specific fingering im going to use (on paper anyway) and so I thought I would share from start to finish how I got this nailed in the time period. BTW I hadn't set the time limit of 30 minutes, it was just I considered this a section of the piece and I wanted to completed it on my practice session.

I am particularly confident with Nocturnes of this style e.g free flowing notes and rhythm.

SO
1 - Took a look at this section, quick read over the notes, checking the key, finding patterns e.g. left hand repeating bars 2-3 are the same as 4-5, bar 4 right hand is a chromatic ending on a turn, so I essentially know before even consciously learning the notes what I am expecting of myself. At this stage I am probably hearing it as I read it, with a mindfulness of detail to how I would want it to sound.

2-Now I may just give a quick run through on those little sections that highlight in my mind, eg bar 1 into bar 2 right hand alone, bar 5 the repeating Bb's right hand alone and a very early attempt at the fiortura bars 3-4, to get a feel in my hands where they're likely to position, and very initial thoughts on fingering, whether I will follow score indicated or adapt in any-way. Nothing is set in stone here, and fingering is usually very different from the end of practice.

3- See the phrasing and slurs, pedal indications in more detail, while repeating those little sections just a little at a moderate, but slower than tempo-speed, so that I am understanding how to approach, when I take breaths in the piece, and further practice a couple little sections with those things in mind, eg playing this left hand repeating pattern in a slurred manner and starting to establish, for the left hand a more set fingering.

4- a run through hands together as far as I can take it, most likely up to bar 3. This will not necessarily be at full speed and there will be some improvised fingerings, I will repeat this a number of times to slowly estbalish solid fingering while checking the dynamics. I will then continue to repeat pushing for full speed on that section (Let your skill level determine the repetitions required and whether you are ready for full speed in your first session)

5- I will start fumbling through bars 3 and 4, at this stage ensuring I have a good understanding on the notes, and a rough idea of how I want to play it so that it fits within the left hand. This section is rather difficult and approach is key. You are not aiming for mathematical correctness here, but it to sound free and yet organized, play through a variety of ways until you get it to sound how you like it.

6-This section will take more work, and so I am trying different fingerings, and on occasion having a quick run through right hand alone until I fully set the fingers. I add the left hand in, and initially struggle to put the 2 together. Breaking down to sub-sections will help more organize the notes and slower practice helps understand where each note comes in the queue. I start by repeating bar 3 pausing as soon a I hit bar 4 and continue to repeat until that bar is smooth, and I have a basic idea of how to perform it at slightly than slower tempo to start.

7-I treat bar 4 as I treated bar 3, as essentially it's just double the idea (bar 3 is 11 notes over 6, bar 4 is 22 over 12) With that In mind I'm not focussing on the 22 notes here, but simple check points of hitting the first note on the right hand with the first note on the left hand, and then when the left hand repeats again (starting on Bb) I line it up with the right hand which happens to be Eb, so I know how flexible I can be with the notes, and although it doesn't have to line up exactly, It has to have some degree of evenness, so that we're not trying to drag out notes at the end, because we started too quick. This section will take most of the practice time as expected, but the foundations applied are the best for me to ensure it will be nailed in the session. As a general rule with the style in how you would play this bar, I usually find that you will start off slow, speed up in the middle of the bar and taper off slowly at the end of the bar, this is right hand only, left hand should stay pretty much in check the whole time. I will run through this section many times at different tempos, and fully establishing the fingering, which will be key to making this feel effortless.

8- work on joining bars 3 and 4 and finishing off with bar 5 which is relatively simple in notation, but the repeating Bbs do have to be focused on as the leading into the next section, I pause on the first note of the next bar ready to start that section in my next session. (Bar 6 Ab right hand)

Summary
2 Points I would like to end with.
1-All of this happens very quickly, As I said 20-30 minutes, The initial steps 1-3, I am not sitting studying note by note, rhythm by rhythm, I am scanning over, diving in and then continuously reminding myself of these little things throughout the whole session and revising the section each time I run through it.

2-None of this required any particular hand strength or dexterity, this is a mental approach and understanding of what you want to do. You don't have to be grade 7-8, mastered scales, played 5 nocturnes previously, before thinking you can comprehend what this piece asks of you. You have to have a mature and logical understanding of what you want to achieve and actually when you apply the correct way of learning something, the bulk is done in no time, and after fully learnt is where you will really spend the time refining the performance.

People's feedback appreciated, I hope this may be helpful for some that need a little guidance on approaching new things.
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