Okay, so you’ve got a brand new piece that you’re going to learn at the piano. You’re psyched up and ready to go! But what should you do first? Just play it a bunch of times until it sort of sticks? Or is there a better plan?
Today’s post is about the five preliminary steps to take when you are in the early stages of learning a new piece at the piano. Taking these steps will set you up for success and prepare you to learn your new piece efficiently, quickly and effectively.
Watch the video here!
Step 1: Read it all the way through
The first step to preparing to learn a new piece is to sit down at the piano and read it all the way through.
The point of reading it through is to get an overview of the piece. You want to have at least touched the whole piece from beginning to end.
Be sure to play through it under tempo. Parts of it will feel basically doable, and there will also be parts that are technically beyond where you are at the moment.
If you’re unable to make any coherence out of a piece in the first read-through, the it’s probably too hard for you. Your starting point for a new piece should NOT be that it’s literally unplayable for you and that it will be a huge effort to just learn the notes.
If that’s the case, then just find an easier piece for now, with the plan to work up to the more challenging piece in the future.
Step 2: Listen to recordings of your new piece
The second step is to listen to at least 3 recordings of your piece.
When you listen to recordings, try to identify the tempo the performer is taking by checking it against the metronome. You can check the metronome marking of several different performers and see what the fastest and the slowest tempos are. That will give you a sense for the range of possible tempi for your own performance.
Make sure that you listen to recordings by established professionals. Some performers are really well known for playing certain types of music. For example, Andras Schiff, Rosalyn Tureck, and Angela Hewitt are highly-regarded Bach performers. So, if you are playing something by Bach it will be most helpful to listen to recordings by them and other well-known Bach interpreters.
As you’re listening, also notice the overall sections of the piece, the moods or character of the different sections of the piece, and notice what the main melodies are. Look for when the melodies come back.
At this stage, you’re trying to get an overview of what the music is about, and what the composer is trying to say.
Step 3: Identify the hardest spots
The third step is to identify the hardest spots in the piece, because they will require extra practice.
Find the hardest spots, with the knowledge that you will have to spend extra time and care looking at them and figuring out how to best navigate them. But: don’t stress out about them just yet – you’ll have plenty of time to work on them as you delve into the piece. Remember, this is just the preparatory stage!
Step 4: Look for patterns
Step 4 is to look for patterns in the music.
Music is built on patterns, and they become easy to spot, once you start noticing them. Look for the main themes, and mark them in your music. Also, look for places where the same music is repeated but in a different key. This is where the listening work you did earlier will help you.
Step 5: Analyze your new piece
Step 5 is to analyze the piece. You need to spend time early in the process analyzing the piece, because this will help you get an overview at this stage.
How you analyze the piece is going to depend on how much music theory you have had at this point.
The important things to look for are the following: the underlying form, the main cadences, the different themes, unusual harmonic progressions, sequences, and places where you are modulating to a key that is far from the home key.
Taking the time to do these 5 steps before jumping in and starting your piece will be SO helpful to you and give you a strong foundation for learning. You will understand your piece, you will be in a position to create a plan of action, and you will start to have the piece in your ear. You will be able to see the patterns and have some kind of analysis that will help form the basis of your interpretation.
What will YOU do?
So, now you know what to do first when you learn a new piece at the piano. Which of these five steps are you most eager to try the next time you start a new piece? Put your answer in the comments!
I’ve red many pieces before but had no idea like this, your piece of content really helped me. I’ll use these step for now on. Thanks alot Kate!