Study Technique: Seperate Hands Study

[torandrekongelf]

Usually when I study a piece I go 1 and 2 bars a time untill I get it somewhat perfected. I do one hand each couple of times, then I start very slowly hands together and do the 1 or 2 bars over and over. Seems to be a pretty straight forward approach.

However I wonder if it would work to play first hand and do the bars like 100 times, then the other hand 100 times and then but them together and play at full speed?

Any one study this way? Or found it to work? Or is it somewhat impossible?

I was thinking of trying, but there is not point if its borderline impossible.

[coherence]

It probably depends on the musician. Some people can operate their hands independently very well, and I can imagine them having a little more success this way than other people. I doubt it'll ever be as effective as doing most of the learning hands together (or as good for your development as a pianist, not to mention sight-reading).

But it's easy to try yourself, though, right? So why not try it, and tell us how it goes?

[outin]

If your present way works for you perfectly, then why change? But if not then it's better to incorporate MANY different learning methods to your study instead of just sticking to one. I see little benefit in 100 times hands separate first, but a few times wouldn't hurt. For me there's little benefit in that approach because I analyze fingerings and do other stuff as I go and it's best to do hands together for most pieces. But I know many people think HS first works better for them so it depends on the person. But of course if I study something like a multi part Baroque piece I will have to do separate work also at some point. I just don't often start with it.

The fact is that for an average person playing hands together does not happen by just putting two perfectly learned hand parts together. One must still learn to coordinate the hands. For some people this is easier when the separate hands are well rehearsed. For me it's not. I find it easier to mentally crasp and hear the parts AFTER I can play them together than as separate entities without the connection to the whole.

[bronnestam]

Actually I did an interesting experiment a few days ago, which turned out fine. My problem when I learn a piece is not the first learning, but ... the un-learning of mistakes. If I'm not dead sure of the fingering, I will make a lot of mistakes, and then I have to un-learn these mistakes rather than "practising" them. Difficult equation, right? My standard solution is, of course, to play HS in order to concentrate betterm after having made the first away-from-the-piano-studies. However, if it is already crystal clear, then I play HT at once. (I work in short segments at first anyway.)

When I tried to work out which keys to press, and when, without "ruining" my fingering by fumbling around, I played with the other hand. That is, the RH line with my left hand and vice versa - with some octave transpositions of course, in order to get a comfortable position and not make a knot of myself.
It worked! When I had figured the keys out, I could play the same thing with my "correct" hand and all of a sudden I did not hesitate as much as before. Once you know exactly where to go, you can safely work out the fingering without fiddling around and introduce mistakes that you later have to get rid of.