Students " Speeding" how to stop it

[sonjamcgiboney]

I know this is an old thread but I can't help but add to it.  Break out the old music class rhythm techniques. Go away from the piano.  Feel the pulse in the feet and sing or say the rhytm of the melody or passage.  I've even waltzed with students.  Record their out of control playing and then have them try to walk to it.  I can't emphasize enough how feeling the beet in the body will help with piano skills.  (I am not talking about bobbing at the bench, I am talking about getting away from the piano entirely to feel the rhythm. )

Put words to the melody.  Using some Orf or Kodayi methods, have the student then clap the beat and say the rhytm using the words.  ie.  a rhythm could be broken down to:  quarter = dog, eigth = eating  sixteen = all of my food.    The entire page then will be read using these words.  It's fun to do, they are internalizing the beat and the rhytms which will make it easier to control when they perform.  The end product sounds as silly as all get out, but that's what makes it fun.  The student can personalize using names, or events or favorite foods.   

Oh, and if they are singing, humming or saying note name when they play, they will naturally slow down because they can't sing so quickly.

[guendola]

Being a teacher you probably know how to teach the idea of tempo. Speeding up during easy parts seems to be quite natural to humans. Get done with it asap and see what comes next - even if we know that it sounds better at a slower tempo.

My suggestion: Slow them down the moment they speed up, take a mental note and tell them later where they sped up. Then have them play it again until they realise that they get faster and can start to struggle against that. The big trouble is that nobody can control something that he doesn't see happen. I guess that eventually during a piece most students will realise that they got too fast but they don't know when and why. This is where you come in

And I like the Rachmaninoff story! There is no need to practise fast when your fingers can move fast enough (well, keeping them fast is a different story). It needs quite some disciplin but practising slowly - note by note, phrase by phrase, part by part reveals so much information and it makes learning so much faster.

[tsagari]

but practising slowly - note by note, phrase by phrase, part by part reveals so much information and it makes learning so much faster.

I am wodering for how long we should practice this way. I am currently practicing Chopin's Waltz op. 64 no. 2. Every time I am trying to play fast I made so many mistakes - and I do not mean accurency - my notes are ok but my left hand jumps, is very loud and where I should play legato it comes out stacato and at the beginning where is a grace note I am not counting correctly, I play faster. I am wondering if practing slow, slow, slow is the solution to the problem that when I speed up I lose control of my fingers and the dynamics

[johnk]

To help students play rhythmically and keep in time, I play accompaniments. See this very breif video i made with a student last weekend.
https://au.youtube.com/watch?v=DedS71-JtpU

We also make up words to tunes to get the gist of a piece. And I use the built in drum machine on keyboards, rather than a metronome. It is much easer to keep in sync with.

[celebration1]

I've had many students with the same problem.  I find it most effective if you ask them to repeat the song after they have sped through it, but this time slow it down.  If they still play it too fast ask them to repeat it again.  Point to notes they aren't holding out long enough while they're playing as well so they can see what they're doing wrong.  Also, recording it on a piano and asking them to play along will help too.

Juli, https://pianomorning.com