I got this idea from Brent Hugh’s practice page. It’s a bit of a variation on Brent’s idea, so I’m going to outline it for my students here. This is a wonderful way to practice those difficult sections because it forces you to keep track of the times you practice correctly. I used to do this in my college practice room a lot!
1. Find a spot that you need to practice. It’s better if that spot is only 2-4 measures long or slightly longer for older students).
2. Begin by putting 3 m&ms on the left side of the piano.
3. Practice your section VERY slowly, making sure the rhythm, notes, fingering, dynamics are correct and that there are no stops in your music.
4. If you do this perfectly, you may move 1 m&m to the right side of the piano.
5. Practice the same spot again. If you do it perfectly, move an m&m to the right side of the piano. If you miss anything, you must move the candy from the right side BACK to the left side!
6. Continue practicing moving the m&ms appropriately. If you have 2 m&ms on the right side and you get something wrong the next time, you have to move them BOTH back.
7. The idea is that by the time you have practiced that section 3 times in a row perfectly, you will have actually practiced it more than 3 times and you will make much faster progress on your piece because of the time you spent on that section!
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you are having trouble playing it even 1 time correctly, you are probably playing too fast!
If you always get 2 m&ms on the left and then mess up the next time, you are probably feeling a little nervous and might be practicing too fast that last time. Try taking a deep breath and slowing down even more than before.
Happy Practicing!
