a few questions

[cwjalex]

sometimes when i practice something that is approaching my limits of speed, my wrists start to get tired or a little sore.  i wouldn't call it pain but it burns a little bit and it forces me to stop. is this normal?  is it because i am just pushing myself to play too fast?  it's not like it happens after hours of practicing this sometimes occurs right in the beginning.

another question i have is i have an upcoming recital where i want to perform mozart's k310 at about 116-120 BPM (my sheet music indicates 116).  do you think it's a good idea to practice it faster like at 125-130 so that it is more comfortable for me at speed i intend to play it?  i hate how at a recital i'm always the last one and i have to sit for an hour and then immediately play something physically demanding without any warm up.  also, is there anything i can do to "warm up" while i'm waiting for my turn to play?  maybe like do air piano on my lap and play through it on my knees.  before my last recital i asked this question as well but i don't remember getting any good answers.

to summarize...

1)sore wrist?
2)should i practice faster?
3)warm up techniques while waiting to play?

[awesom_o]

 before my last recital i asked this question as well but i don't remember getting any good answers.

I don't think it is fair to expect good answers to come from strangers who know nothing about the way you play!

If there is a 'green room' that you can be in before going on stage, I recommend you warm up by doing some calisthenics (jumping jacks, burpees, push-ups, etc.... something to get the blood flow circulating). If you are stuck in the audience up until the moment you have to play, then you might have to make do with a hot water bottle.

It would be wise to be able to rehearse your piece both under performance tempo AND over, without either change in tempo affecting the quality of your concentration throughout the duration of the rehearsal.

Don't do air piano on your lap-that won't help you at all.
Knowing nothing about the way you play, I cannot give you any advice on the matter of your wrists being sore. 

[1piano4joe]

Hi cwjalex,

I have some "good answers" but they are deceptive in that they don't look/sound like good answers. They need to actually be tried out which some may or may not be willing to do. They will require some trust/faith in that they will work. Maybe another user will agree with what I am about to write which should at least lend some credibility to them.

The first two issues can be handled effectively at the same time. I am going to recommend practicing HANDS SEPARATELY one phrase/hand position at a time. The speed needs to be worked up to at least 160 BPM. 168 BPM would be better if you can manage it. 176 BPM would be even better still.

Photocopy the score. Circle each phrase to be practiced or get a piece of paper and write out something like bars 1-4 R.H. 168 BPM, 5-7 176 BPM etc. All the phrase do NOT need to be worked up to the same speed and some might not be able to. That is OKAY! This should take care of the HANDS TOGETHER  speed.

Soreness will now be addressed. Draw a line down the middle of that piece of paper. There should be 2 columns. Label the 1st one RIGHT HAND and the 2nd one LEFT HAND. There should be two phrasing/hand position lists of near equal length. If you alternate RH phrase work with LH phrase work then one hand is resting/recuperating while the other is attempting to work harder than it has before. I do this all the time. It works for me. The whole piece can be done like this.


Advantages are:

1. I know what I practiced and what I didn't.

2. I know what still needs work. Anything below 160 BPM.

3. I know what doesn't need to be practiced. Anything 176 BPM or higher. This saves times!

4. I know what's minimally acceptable and could be worked on. Anything exactly at 160 BPM.

5. Most Importantly, working like this gives me a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and I have written EVIDENCE of my before/after practice tempos. If I increase from 100 BPM to 120 BPM I know I increased 20%! This is from maybe 5 minutes of focused practiced and not much more. A short one handed phrase can be repeated many times in that short amount of time.

6. I usually have the phrase memorized and look at my movement. Are my fingers being lifted too high? Is my wrist rotating? Am I moving to the next position efficiently! etc.

7. I can now work the minimally acceptable, hand separate phrases, hands together since I know where they are. These should be done first before doing the whole piece hands together phrase by phrase work, which may now surprise you how much these phrases have improved from all the hands separate phrase work that was done.

8. I can now continue practice/study on the most troublesome spots since I know exactly what, where and why they are/were. This is so much better than just playing from beginning to end or whole sections at a time which does have it's place of course but so does this INTENSE spot practicing.


I know all these things because I keep track of things! I don't work like this all the time. It's just a tool I use when I feel it is necessary.

I have been doing this for so long that on easier pieces I don't need to write anything down. I don't sight read well but can learn a page in 1-2 hours this way. I only write things down when I am learning/attempting a challenging piece near the upper limits of my ability.

For a warm up, I would play the piece at home that morning and maybe go over/review one or two trouble spots. I have seen/heard performers do this the day of the performance on a piano that they have never played on before, just to help them get acclimated to the piano and perhaps feel a little more confident/secure about things. If it's good enough for the Pro's then it's good enough for me.

I hope I have been helpful, Joe.

P.S. This may seem extreme and/or insane to some people who have never worked/practiced like this before but there are some of us that do.

P.P.S. It may not sound like it but I learn pieces incredibly fast this way. I never, ever took something like 6 months to learn something. My motto is work smarter and not harder.

[j_menz]

they don't look/sound like good answers.

Well, that much at least we can agree on.

[cwjalex]

I am going to recommend practicing HANDS SEPARATELY one phrase/hand position at a time. The speed needs to be worked up to at least 160 BPM. 168 BPM would be better if you can manage it. 176 BPM would be even better still.

i actually found a video of glenn gould performing this piece at around 176 BPM.  it sounds absolutely ridiculous.

i guess having a goal to reach this speed would build technique and speed but in the next month before the recital there is no way i am going to be able to play this anywhere near that speed.  since my intention is to perform it at 116-120 bpm i don't feel it's necessary to reach this speed.  also, after listening to this recording i don't think i would want to play it at 176 bpm even if i were technically able.

[awesom_o]

i actually found a video of glenn gould performing this piece at around 176 BPM.

That's actually an audio recording, not a video.