Picking up Speed

Hello,

One of the recurring themes in lessons this week is ways to increase tempo in difficult passages.

First things first: check your body balance and hand position. Often, adjusting these things can be a miracle cure for the problem. Even if it does not solve the difficulty, at least you will not be practicing more problems!

In my own practice, I use a variety of exercises, juxtaposing and combining them.

In music (as in life), it is good to have a lot of different ways to work on a problem.

Here are some of my tried and true approaches:

SLOW practice (I mean 10 times slower than the tempo!)
"Butterfingers"
"Fingers Ahead"
"Unevens and Double Unevens"
"Add-a-note" and "Reverse Add-a-Note"
Bursts of Notes
Pyramid form

There are video lessons on "Fingers Ahead" and "Unevens and Double Unevens" posted in the LeGrand Virtual Studio.

SLOW practice should not require explanation, but we all need to be reminded to do it!

"Butterfingers" (on the list of future videos) is a slow practice technique for improving legato and efficiency of fingerings. Touch the surface of all keys all of the time. The key is either closed, or you allow the key to push your finger up, experiencing the resistance of the springs. This results is "gooey" sounding notes, but really helps us get acquainted with our instruments. (This exercise is modified for wind players with ringed keys, ie.oboe or clarinet.)

"Add-a-note" and "Reverse Add-a-Note": Play the first 2 notes of a passage. Play again, adding the third note, Play again adding the 4th note, etc. To reverse, play the last 2 notes of the passage, then the last 3, last 4, etc.

"Bursts of Notes" (on the list of future videos) are small groups of notes--3, 4, 5, 6--whatever units you can play very well up to tempo. In this exercise, play the selected number of notes beginning, in turn, on each note of the passage.
"Reverse Add-a-Note" and "Bursts of Notes" encourage even rhythm and build in confidence and ability to start on any note in a passage--very useful if you lose your concentration in a performance!

"Pyramid form" (on the list of future videos) is an exercise for passages that change direction. Play the 3 notes of the passage where the direction changes, then add one note on each side of the direction changes until you have mastered the passage. Example--C arpeggio:

GCG
EGCGE
CEGCGEC
GCEGCGECG
EGCEGCGECGE
CEGCEGCGECGEC

Hope your practicing is productive! Let me hear from you!

Catherine