how long do you take to master a piece?

[ryanyee]

well i've been playing several preludes and fugues over the past few months and it has been going well until just 2 days ago i literally just screwed up every single damned note and i cant explain why i dont even know why it happened myself but anyway im finding it very hard to move my fingers with ease they just dont wanna move and sometimes i even mess up the sequencing of a few notes. and i've been practicing the 22nd fugue from the WTCII for about 3 months now and im getting no where i've memorised the notes but i just cant hit the notes properly and no matter how many times i repeat it i cant do it im feeling like a bloody failure right now and im messing up practically anything i try now even the slow pieces im close to wanting to tie up my hands real tight until they go limp and wont move anymore. anw how long does the regular person with at least 10 yrs of training take to master a piece of the b flat minor fugue's difficulty?

[trish89]

Hi,
I have exactly the same problem, especially with pieces which are technicaly harder. So how do I solve (or try to solve this problem)?
I usually try to focus on every note, every finger and I play it very slowly usually in piano (I find this practising very good in pieces by Bach). After a few days it is always better, but you should not play it quick until you will feel you are more sure about your fugue and other pieces.

[javacisnotrecognized]

Are you sure that the room you're in isn't colder or hotter than usual? And is your bench at your normal distance/height from the piano?

[ryanyee]

Hi,
I have exactly the same problem, especially with pieces which are technicaly harder. So how do I solve (or try to solve this problem)?
I usually try to focus on every note, every finger and I play it very slowly usually in piano (I find this practising very good in pieces by Bach). After a few days it is always better, but you should not play it quick until you will feel you are more sure about your fugue and other pieces.

yeah but i've never messed up b4 and now i do at every single piece i once played wonderfully isnt this stupid? and yeah i've pretty much familiarised myself with the fugue but i keep missing notes here and there and no matter how many times i try to correct the problem still persists

[ryanyee]

Are you sure that the room you're in isn't colder or hotter than usual? And is your bench at your normal distance/height from the piano?

no temperatures the same and yeah im sitting lower than the keys but i found it easier than sitting at the same height or even higher but this messing up isnt a position problem or anything its my control i just dont seem to be able to control my hands and they've weakened alot over the months

[ryanyee]

im playing at this speed

[trish89]

and aren't you too stressed these days? maybe you are practising too much or you are getting ill....but I don't know. maybe a small break would help?

[ryanyee]

and aren't you too stressed these days? maybe you are practising too much or you are getting ill....but I don't know. maybe a small break would help?

ahhh well skl just started but my playing's been horrible since july and it got worse over the weeks and months. i've no idea whats happening to me now. and yeah i did take a long 2 month break and that only helped worsen everything i think that's where it all really started cant believe i've lost familiarity with my hands in just 2 months but i dunno what to do now

[javacisnotrecognized]

ahhh well skl just started but my playing's been horrible since july and it got worse over the weeks and months. i've no idea whats happening to me now. and yeah i did take a long 2 month break and that only helped worsen everything i think that's where it all really started cant believe i've lost familiarity with my hands in just 2 months but i dunno what to do now

No matter how you look at it there has to be something you're doing different that changed 2 months ago. I still think it's the bench. You said you've been sitting lower, right? Try moving your bench back a few inches.

[ryanyee]

but how's sitting further back while im sitting lower supposed to help?  well i was already sitting lower 2 months back

[go12_3]

It all depends upon the piece.  I say that Beethoven's Sonatas are a killer for me.  As well as Bach's Prelude and Fugues.  However, after a while, mastering any one of Bach's Prelude and Fugues---then it becomes easier.  Practice a section at a time because there is a lot of busy fingering going on.  I have almost got a Bach Prelude and Fugue mastered which I have begun to learn since last Summer.  And I don't have the luxury to practice as much these days due to students and other activities throughout the day. I'm lucky if I can get two hours in!   Plus, I have another instrument I practice on, the violin.  However, I am now learning the Chopin's Etudes and have two to work on.  Once you learn the style of the composer, then mastering the piece will not be as overwhelming and time consuming.  Eva 

[ryanyee]

It all depends upon the piece.  I say that Beethoven's Sonatas are a killer for me.  As well as Bach's Prelude and Fugues.  However, after a while, mastering any one of Bach's Prelude and Fugues---then it becomes easier.  Practice a section at a time because there is a lot of busy fingering going on.  I have almost got a Bach Prelude and Fugue mastered which I have begun to learn since last Summer.  And I don't have the luxury to practice as much these days due to students and other activities throughout the day. I'm lucky if I can get two hours in!   Plus, I have another instrument I practice on, the violin.  However, I am now learning the Chopin's Etudes and have two to work on.  Once you learn the style of the composer, then mastering the piece will not be as overwhelming and time consuming.  Eva 

ic ok well yeah i did try focusing on one section but it just doesnt get into my damned head thats just ridiculous isnt it? which prelude and fugue are u doing anw?

[go12_3]

I have worked on C Minor, and F Minor Prelude and Fugues.  Now I'm working on Bb Minor and G Minor.  Just work on the right hand to get the melody. The fingering is tricky.  Work on the fingering for the right and left hand alone.  Then the piece will make sense.  You need to understand Bach's style.  He is  a bit complicated! 

[ryanyee]

I have worked on C Minor, and F Minor Prelude and Fugues.  Now I'm working on Bb Minor and G Minor.  Just work on the right hand to get the melody. The fingering is tricky.  Work on the fingering for the right and left hand alone.  Then the piece will make sense.  You need to understand Bach's style.  He is  a bit complicated! 

ok thanks but the problem now's that my fingerings fine but its my hands thats not they dont move properly anymore it feels like a muscular or nerve problem.

[go12_3]

The hands have to give them time to work properly. Practice slowly.....Bach isn't something that you can dive into in a week!  I stumble a lot as I practice Bach.  But once thefingering is mastered, everything comes into place.  I just love Bach I suppose. 

[ryanyee]

The hands have to give them time to work properly. Practice slowly.....Bach isn't something that you can dive into in a week!  I stumble a lot as I practice Bach.  But once thefingering is mastered, everything comes into place.  I just love Bach I suppose. 

well its a few months we're talking about here so yeah. ridiculous!!!!!!! i mean i thought the WTCs were that difficult to have to spend like a whole year on one of them. yeah me too but unfortunately, problems problems problems.

[go12_3]

Take a breather from the piece and work on something else.  We can get into a rut whenever we get stuck in a piece.  Work on a section that is easier to play instead.  See how that goes....Eva

[ryanyee]

Take a breather from the piece and work on something else.  We can get into a rut whenever we get stuck in a piece.  Work on a section that is easier to play instead.  See how that goes....Eva

 

ok thanks for the advice

[general disarray]

im playing at this speed

Well, THIS is your problem.  This tempo, obviously, is too fast for you.  Why?  Because you claim you can't hit the right notes  Slow the piece down to a tempo where you absolutely CANNOT miss one note.  Keep it there for a few days.  Increase the speed only gradually.

Practicing too fast is almost always the source of this problem.  Sounds like you don't want to hear this advice.  Would you prefer to hear that you have a rare neurological disorder that has suddenly, out of nowhere, afflicted your fingers?

Slow down.  Way down.  Get back to us when you've mastered this discipline.  This is what playing any instrument is all about.  A leap forward, then a leap back.  Your job as a musician is to figure out why.  The first step -- ALWAYS -- is to practice incredibly slowly and watch your hands and monitor your body.  No one can do this for you.   

[aslanov]

when i was practicing rachmaninoff 3/2 prelude i practiced the agitato section very slow and staccato with the inner notes, try slow and staccato at first, and i mean VERY slow, when practicing staccato play it very slow.

[ryanyee]

ok thanks i'll try that