Does Metronome Practice Work for Everyone?
I love to answer readers’ questions! A few years back, I wrote an article for Grand Piano Passion, When Your Piano Teacher Doesn’t Fit. Recently a reader reached out through them to ask me a question about the metronome system that was required practice when I was studying for my Masters. I thought this might be of interest to all Piano Addicts so, here is an edited version.
He asked: Did he (your teacher) have you practice longer sections tempo by tempo? Ever whole piece at each tempo? Every piece learned this way? Did it work for certain pieces? Just curious! Thanks!
Great questions! Actually we divided every single piece into 4 measure sections. After we learned a large section of the piece then we combined four measures into 8 and then 12 etc. until we had the larger sections in the form all together. Those were then combined into the whole piece. When learning this way it is important to begin and end at least one note before and beyond a section. That way there are no hard transitions- aka hiccups. You begin 30 tempos under your final goal and begin with the first 10. When you have accomplished the first 10 you move to the second 10 and so on. ( We are talking traditional markings- 80,84,88,92,96 -not every actual number on a digital readout) It’s interesting that there are some tempos where you hit the wall and just fail. But, the tempos beyond it are just peachy. Must be neurological and possibly unique to everyone. For me, this system definitely does not work for every piece. The rigidity of the metronome becomes too ingrained and I need to make music even at slow tempos or I am an unhappy camper. That said, I do use the system at least the first 20 tempos to maintain areas that are prone to falling apart technically and to learn passages that are complicated. I also always divide pieces into sections and learn and combine them as mentioned even when not using a metronome. I use the metronome often to check my rubato and make sure it serves the music and not my technical shortcomings. Using the larger architectural sections, I also practice every other one of the original approximate 4 bar sections (play 1, imagine 2, play 3, imagine 4 etc. then reverse). I sing, ghost, or imagine the skipped ones to ensure continuity in performance whether by memory or with the score. In other words, so I can keep going no matter what. Thanks so much for reading and reaching out.
I have put together a practice resource (available from my Fistful of Notes store on TPT) that contains lots of ways to practice at and away from the keyboard. You need to make smart choices when you practice and these Tools for Positive Practice are designed to help you do just that. They aren’t listed in any particular order. Remember, they are just tools. You need to find the right ones for the right job. Discover Block Towers, Playdough, Save the Orphans, The Ants Go Marching One By One, Micro-Bites, Tilt-A-Whirl, and more. Which tools will you need today?
