Best way to learn piano pieces??

[smithmiller6]

I've been attempting some pretty long, difficult pieces lately, and I wanted to know the best way to learn them. Like memories them.

I read somewhere that learning away from the piano, helps you memories music allot.... better/quirkier? This idea seems very strange to me, because.. I've always done all my piano practice at the piano. Anyway.
Going slow and learning the pieces bit-by-bit, well that seems to be the way to go, and what allot of people recommend.

Anyone have any idea, which is the best, most efficient way to learn pieces?

[MOD258: Moved to General Music since I believe it can sort of fit there.]

[The Origonal Head Hunter]

Never played, and probably never will play, the piano, but I post to ask why this is in general anime?

[Pas]

why this is in general anime?

Because clearly this fine young gentleman wishes to advance his skills in the piano so he may perform songs from anime shows. A commendable effort indeed.

[Vivaldi]

My brother's the pianist and the one getting a music degree, so I'm going to let him write this post:



Hey,
I'm a music theory major and piano principle at college, so I might be able to help. I have been playing for 11 years though, so some of the stuff I do is just so natural that it is hard for me to explain it. . . but hey, I'll give it a try Anyway, the first thing to remember is that it does take LOTS of patience, some people have more skill at memorizing than others but if you are willing to put enough time into it you can memorize almost anything. The next important thing is to realize that what you are actually doing is creating "muscle memory" that is to say, you aren't actually going to be consciously thinking about every note, or remembering the page of music and reading it in your mind (I've had some friends of mine try and do that, it was funny), what is actually happening is more like developing reflexes. It becomes almost automatic, so that when you start playing your hands just know where to go. Now, I say "almost" automatic because you still have to be consciously aware of the piece enough to fix any mistakes that might happen during performance, but don't worry too much. I think this balance between the automatic and the conscious is something that just kind of naturally happens.
Now, about the actual process of memorizing. The key is SMALL chunks! When I am trying to memorize a piece I take a small section (anywhere from a line to just two measures, depending on how complicated it is) and play it as best as I can with the the music first (about 5 to 10 times) then I start to work without the music, again in small chunks, and as slow as I need to go to make it perfect (remember, you can always learn to speed it up later, it is more important to learn it correctly first). Once I can do this small section without music perfectly 15 times (that means NO mistakes) I stop and take a break . . . anymore than this gets really boring really quickly, at least for me, I have some friends that spend more time on a section, but hey. . . Now, as you start to memorize more and more bits of the music you can begin to string them together. Once again this takes time, but if you have memorized it in chucks it is like working with pieces of a puzzle that you already know, instead of doing the whole thing from scratch. Oh, and I don't know if this would help you, but some people learn each hand separately and then put them together. I've never had much luck with that method, but it is a good way to make sure that you know both parts backward and forward. I guess the bottom line is don't just try and play the whole piece over and over again in order to memorize it. I used to do that, and while you will learn it eventually, it is a really ineffective method. Smaller sections really are the key. I know it is tedious, but if you have patience and take it slow in the end it really pays off! Anyway, I hope this was helpful, it was all kind of off the top of my head so, I don't know if it makes much sense. But either way, good luck and I hope your music learning goes well!

[Vivaldi]

My brother's the pianist and the one getting a music degree, so I'm going to let him write this post:



Hey,
I'm a music theory major and piano principle at college, so I might be able to help. I have been playing for 11 years though, so some of the stuff I do is just so natural that it is hard for me to explain it. . . but hey, I'll give it a try Anyway, the first thing to remember is that it does take LOTS of patience, some people have more skill at memorizing than others but if you are willing to put enough time into it you can memorize almost anything. The next important thing is to realize that what you are actually doing is creating "muscle memory" that is to say, you aren't actually going to be consciously thinking about every note, or remembering the page of music and reading it in your mind (I've had some friends of mine try and do that, it was funny), what is actually happening is more like developing reflexes. It becomes almost automatic, so that when you start playing your hands just know where to go. Now, I say "almost" automatic because you still have to be consciously aware of the piece enough to fix any mistakes that might happen during performance, but don't worry too much. I think this balance between the automatic and the conscious is something that just kind of naturally happens.
Now, about the actual process of memorizing. The key is SMALL chunks! When I am trying to memorize a piece I take a small section (anywhere from a line to just two measures, depending on how complicated it is) and play it as best as I can with the the music first (about 5 to 10 times) then I start to work without the music, again in small chunks, and as slow as I need to go to make it perfect (remember, you can always learn to speed it up later, it is more important to learn it correctly first). Once I can do this small section without music perfectly 15 times (that means NO mistakes) I stop and take a break . . . anymore than this gets really boring really quickly, at least for me, I have some friends that spend more time on a section, but hey. . . Now, as you start to memorize more and more bits of the music you can begin to string them together. Once again this takes time, but if you have memorized it in chucks it is like working with pieces of a puzzle that you already know, instead of doing the whole thing from scratch. Oh, and I don't know if this would help you, but some people learn each hand separately and then put them together. I've never had much luck with that method, but it is a good way to make sure that you know both parts backward and forward. I guess the bottom line is don't just try and play the whole piece over and over again in order to memorize it. I used to do that, and while you will learn it eventually, it is a really ineffective method. Smaller sections really are the key. I know it is tedious, but if you have patience and take it slow in the end it really pays off! Anyway, I hope this was helpful, it was all kind of off the top of my head so, I don't know if it makes much sense. But either way, good luck and I hope your music learning goes well!

I'd also like to add on, as a violinist of 11 years, (But this advice applies to all instruments) listen to the piece your learning. All the time. Have it playing on loop 24 hours a day. The key to this is that when you're first learning a part, it's much quicker to associate your finger movements to sounds you already know than to only think technically where the next key is. If you already know your way around the keyboard really well, and you know the song by heart, sheet music actually becomes more of a reference than your only tool for learning. In practical terms, this can decrease your learning time by %40-%50. Subtle things like dynamics and inflections will become ingrained in your mind, so that you play them naturally, rather than having to learn them separately.

As an extra plus, and something that's recommended, sit down with your sheet music and follow along as you listen to it. This will even further create an association between the music and the notes on the page.

[Fall_Child42]

http://www.synthesiagame.com/


(it's awesome)

[waterbender94]

I've never heard of learning away from the piano to play it better...

When it comes to learning long/complicated pieces I do it measure by measure and take my time to learn it. It might take a long time, but I think it's the best way to do it correctly.

[Shui]

learn to improvise, write your own songs.
then it'll be like 100 times more fun and you'll practice more, resulting in greater skill

I played the piano for 7 years.