The Modern Musician Show with Colin Thomson

034: "But I Can Play it Perfectly At Home!" Efficient and Effective Musical Practice with Graham Fitch

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Graham Fitch, based in London, maintains an international career not only as a pianist, but also as a teacher, adjudicator, examiner, lecturer, writer and commentator on piano playing and musical subjects. His workshops and classes, which he gives all over the world, have received high praise for their creative and illuminating approach to the subject. During much of the 1990s, Graham Fitch’s career straddled the Atlantic with solo and chamber performances in England, Europe and North America. The New York Times spoke of his playing as “unalloyed pleasure.” An international tour of Bach’s Goldberg Variations elicited rapturous reviews on four continents, and invitations to return to Australia, New Zealand and the USA. More recently he has given a recital, a masterclass and a keynote address at the 7th Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, and been in residence at London’s Royal Academy of Music. A published author, Graham has written several articles on aspects of piano playing and musical style. He has also produced a generation of teachers through his influence as a teacher, and through his pedagogy programmes. He is currently a principal tutor on The Piano Teachers' Course (EPTA) UK and the author of a popular series of ebooks Practising the Piano, available via his blog www.practisingthepiano.com

 

Key Take Aways:
  • There are so many more ways to build a musical career, where you don't not end up being a concert musician, or even performing on a regular basis
  • Practicing is something that must be taught. Some teachers make the mistake of assuming that their students already know. This is an essential step that teachers must not skip
  • Endlessly repeating mistakes will not improve your ability to play it. Take a moment to step back, and consider what you can do to actually improve
  • Mindless repetitive practicing is a very poor use of practice time
  • Make sure that you take time to step back from what you are practicing, and really understand what is going wrong, and ways that you can fix it
  • If you are going to give a performance, your grasp of the piece must be well above proficiency, as you will be dealing with all kinds of distractions and stresses that you do not encounter when practicing
  • Try playing your music at 1/4 tempo - this will reveal to you how well you really know the piece
  • Showing up every day is one of the best ways to see progress over time. Commitment is where the magic happens
  • Have a plan for each practice section. Have an idea of what you want to achieve, and how you are going to achieve it
    •  
    Special Offer for The Modern Musician Show Listeners:

    Use the coupon code PTPOFFER2 for 20% off any publication in the Practising The Piano Catalogue

     

    Recommended Books:

    "The Art of Piano Playing" by Heinrich Neuhaus

    "Speaking of Pianists" by Abram Chasins

    "Practising the Piano" by Frank Merrick

    "Music Studies in German" by Amy Fay

     

    Learn more about Graham Fitch:

    PractisingThePiano.com

    FaceBook

    Twitter: @PractisingPiano

    Pianist Magazine YouTube Channel

     

     

    If you would like to be considered for featured artist, email music submissions [email protected]

     

    Shownotes: modernmusician.co/034

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    The Modern Musician Show with Colin ThomsonBy Colin Thomson interviews musicians and entertainers like Bryan Callen and Bobby Owsinski , to get advice on what musicians should be doing today. Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, and Justin Timberlake should also come on the show, as well as Taylor Swift, Justin