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TEN PRACTICE TIPS WITH JONATHAN PLOWRIGHT
TEN PRACTICE TIPS WITH JONATHAN PLOWRIGHT
Jonathan Plowright is considered “one of the finest living pianists” of his generation, according to Gramophone magazine. A veteran classical pianist who has recorded numerous CDs and toured around the world, Plowright shares his wealth of knowledge in this succinct article. Plowright shares his top ten tips for getting the best results out of home practice. Enjoy!Article sourced from Limelight Magazine
DURATIONMy first tip, of course, being:
1. DON’T PRACTISE FOR TOO LONG!Everyone is different and we all have limitations when it comes to concentration. Some can concentrate for longer periods than others, and you should be able to find out your own limit, and realise when your concentration is dipping. That is the time to stop, have a break, go for a walk etc. The best practice is highly concentrated, where you are constantly thinking about everything you are doing, and there is no daydreaming whatsoever. Personally I find 45-60 minutes to be an ideal length of time for each session and I will do 4 – 5 sessions a day depending on my workload of pieces.
2. STICK TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF PRACTICE EVERY DAYIf you feel the day’s practice is going well, don’t do any longer than you would normally or go on any later in the day – you will only tire yourself. Save your energies so you will have plenty left to begin the next day. It is sometimes useful to set yourself a time limit in which to achieve your goal, as you will not always have the luxury of endless practise time.
EXERCISESSometimes I find the first half-hour of the day is slow, as I have not fully got into the swing of things, and so for me this is the best time to do some finger exercises and scales.
3. KEEP THEM SIMPLEMany students develop their own routine of exercises, which may include written exercises by Czerny, Hanon etc and a few scales and arpeggios. The only exercises I have ever done were given to me by my teacher Alexander Kelly when I was a teenager, and I still do them now. Created by Oscar Berenger, they follow a simple premise – a shifting harmonic progression (C- D- E- F- G, C-D-Eb-F-G, C-Db-Eb-F-Gb, etc) that slowly and simply moves you up through all the keys. If an exercise is simple to remember, you then spend more time concentrating on what your hands and fingers are doing. You should not be worrying about what the next note is.
4. EXERCISE ON AND AWAY FROM THE PIANO You can’t always guarantee access to a piano when you need to, so here is an exercise you can also do on a table top or even your knee – with either hand. Place your right hand on the surface (or between C and G on the piano). Keeping your thumb (1) pressed down on C, play D with your second (2) and F with your fourth finger (4). Now alternate your fingers to play E (3) and G (5) all the time keeping your thumb down on C. Continue these alternating thirds until you are in control of this movement.And finally….
10. A QUIRKY ONETry practising with the radio on! Especially with spoken dialogue about a subject you are interested in. Trying to block this out of your mind will heighten your concentration.
DURATIONMy first tip, of course, being:
1. DON’T PRACTISE FOR TOO LONG!Everyone is different and we all have limitations when it comes to concentration. Some can concentrate for longer periods than others, and you should be able to find out your own limit, and realise when your concentration is dipping. That is the time to stop, have a break, go for a walk etc. The best practice is highly concentrated, where you are constantly thinking about everything you are doing, and there is no daydreaming whatsoever. Personally I find 45-60 minutes to be an ideal length of time for each session and I will do 4 – 5 sessions a day depending on my workload of pieces.
2. STICK TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF PRACTICE EVERY DAYIf you feel the day’s practice is going well, don’t do any longer than you would normally or go on any later in the day – you will only tire yourself. Save your energies so you will have plenty left to begin the next day. It is sometimes useful to set yourself a time limit in which to achieve your goal, as you will not always have the luxury of endless practise time.
EXERCISESSometimes I find the first half-hour of the day is slow, as I have not fully got into the swing of things, and so for me this is the best time to do some finger exercises and scales.
3. KEEP THEM SIMPLEMany students develop their own routine of exercises, which may include written exercises by Czerny, Hanon etc and a few scales and arpeggios. The only exercises I have ever done were given to me by my teacher Alexander Kelly when I was a teenager, and I still do them now. Created by Oscar Berenger, they follow a simple premise – a shifting harmonic progression (C- D- E- F- G, C-D-Eb-F-G, C-Db-Eb-F-Gb, etc) that slowly and simply moves you up through all the keys. If an exercise is simple to remember, you then spend more time concentrating on what your hands and fingers are doing. You should not be worrying about what the next note is.
4. EXERCISE ON AND AWAY FROM THE PIANO You can’t always guarantee access to a piano when you need to, so here is an exercise you can also do on a table top or even your knee – with either hand. Place your right hand on the surface (or between C and G on the piano). Keeping your thumb (1) pressed down on C, play D with your second (2) and F with your fourth finger (4). Now alternate your fingers to play E (3) and G (5) all the time keeping your thumb down on C. Continue these alternating thirds until you are in control of this movement.And finally….
10. A QUIRKY ONETry practising with the radio on! Especially with spoken dialogue about a subject you are interested in. Trying to block this out of your mind will heighten your concentration.
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