Learn by fragments

Divided into 22 steps, this series of cards is specially designed to deepen your learning of a part of the new piece you are currently working on.

It is recommended to start by carefully reading the description of each card before performing the requested exercise. During your practice, keep the card in sight to focus on the instructions. Place your smartphone on the music stand and move to the next card when you feel you have completed the previous step by swiping your finger on the screen.

However, depending on your progress, you are free to spend more time on a card or skip it. For example, if you find it unnecessary to mark the beat bars, you can skip that card. Likewise, if another card presents difficulties, you can skip it without getting stuck and continue with the following exercises.

Here is an overview of the cards you will encounter:

1. Meet the Requirements

2. Choose a fragment

3. Mark the bar numbers

4. Indicate the pule

5. Hum with the Beat

6. Posture

7. Play and sing the right hand

8. Play the right hand while walking the beat

9. Play the left hand and write the fingerings

10. Play and sing the left hand

11. Play the left hand while walking the beat

12. Hands together while walking the beat

13. Hands together while counting the beats

14. Hands together while singing the left hand

15. Left hand while singing the right hand

16. Right hand while singing the left hand

17. Hands together walking the measure

18. Hands together while counting the measures

19. Play on the piano lid

20. Focus on dynamics

21. Translate the markings

Before starting your practice session, make sure that all conditions for focus are in place.

• Trim your nails
• Put your phone on silent
• Let those around you know you need quiet
• Prepare all the materials you will need – the sheet music (tape the pages if necessary), pencils, metronome, etc.

It can be challenging to maintain focus on an entire new piece. That’s why we suggest thinking of it as a series of short musical sections. We will call these sections fragments, each spanning 2 to 4 measures.

• Choose a fragment to work on.

• When applying the exercises that follow to your chosen fragment, stop at the first note of the next fragment (on the downbeat).

• Avoid going beyond the fragment you have decided to work on.

To better understand the uniqueness (or cohesion) of the fragment you have chosen, write the number of each bar above the bar line.

Suppose your fragment has 4 bars. In this case, write the bar numbers in reverse order, as follows:

“4” for bar 1;
“3” for bar 2;
“2” for bar 3;
“1” for bar 4.

This reverse numbering is very useful, as it shows the number of bars remaining before the next fragment.

This notation will be helpful when you perform an exercise in which you play while saying the bar numbers aloud.

Like a heartbeat, the pulse is a musical pulse that serves as a reference when we listen to music. When we play, it is important to communicate this pulse clearly; otherwise, the listener will not be able to "understand" the musical content. The first step is to identify this pulse. Place the “pulse bars” by drawing lines that cross both staves (this approach is useful because it highlights the coordination between the hands). The space between two bars must correspond to one “beat.” The time that elapses between the two pulse bars is always the same.

BACH – Little Prelude No. 1, BWV 939 (mm. 9)

Humming = Singing softly

Before playing, softly sing the melody of the section as if it were a lullaby, while keeping the pulse or conducting. This “song” will serve as a model that you will later detail and embellish using your instrument. Remember that dynamics¹, articulations², and progressions³ are part of the music.

• Conducting in 2/4
• Conducting in 3/4
• Conducting in 4/4

Writing fingerings on the sheet music is helpful for remembering hand positions on the keyboard. By repeating a passage with the same fingering, you will save a lot of time during practice.

Start by trying the fingerings already indicated on the sheet music. If they work well for you, keep them and fill in any missing fingerings for the remaining notes. If they don’t suit you, cross them out and replace them with your own fingerings.

If no fingerings are indicated, write down the first fingering that comes to mind for each note. Try it out, and adjust as needed.

Keep in mind that fingerings may change during the learning process. As you become more familiar with the piece, you might find yourself changing fingerings without realizing it. It is essential to rewrite them on the sheet music each time you discover a better solution.

Before placing your hands on the keyboard, make sure you are seated in a way that allows a comfortable and optimal posture for playing the piano.

Here are some tips to follow:

• Choose a stool that is firm enough (but not too hard) so your pelvis is well supported. Avoid sitting in a chair or on a sofa.
• Adjust the height of the stool and its distance from the piano so that your elbows are open at an angle of 100° to 120°.
• Imagine that the white keys extend infinitely behind you, forming a plane. Then place your elbows on this imaginary plane.
• In your mind, visualize a horizontal division of your stool and sit on the half closest to the instrument.
• Make sure your feet touch the floor. If not, use a pedal riser or a support such as a wooden box to fill the gap.
• Maintain a connection with the floor so you can stand up at any time.
• Orient your head so that it “leads” you toward the ceiling.
• Be mindful of the space between the piano and your torso. To better sense it, imagine you are holding a large ball.

• Sing the right-hand part using the note names while playing. Be sure to sing with attention to dynamics¹, articulations², and progressions³.

• Without saying the note names out loud, play the part and try to listen internally to how the note names resonate within you.

Play the right hand, sing, and “walk” the pulse while following the pulse bars you wrote earlier. Walking the pulse means lifting your feet alternately (one, then the other) so that each foot completely leaves the floor and then comes back into contact with the floor at the same time as the note is played and sung.

Writing down fingerings in the score is helpful to remember the hand positions on the keyboard. By repeating a passage with the same fingering, you will save a lot of time during the learning process.

Start by trying the fingerings already written in the score. If you find them suitable, you can keep them and complete them by writing a fingering for each missing note. On the other hand, if they don’t work for you, cross them out and replace them with your own fingerings.

If there are no fingerings written in the score, write down the first fingering that comes to mind for each note. Try it, and then adjust if necessary.

Keep in mind that the fingering will evolve throughout the learning process. As you become more familiar with the piece, you may sometimes change your fingering without realizing it. It is essential to rewrite it in the score each time you find a better solution.

The left hand is itself a broad melody, very different from that of the right hand. It is essential to be able to sing it clearly and memorize it so that it can fully support the right hand.

• Sing the left-hand part while playing, naming the notes as you go. Be sure to sing with attention to the dynamics¹, articulations², and progressions³.

• Without saying the note names aloud, play again and try to hear the note names resonating internally as you play.

Play the left hand, sing, and “walk” the beat while following the beat lines you wrote earlier. Walking the beat means lifting your feet alternately (one, then the other) so that each foot comes fully off the ground and returns to the floor exactly in time with the note being played and sung.

Play the left hand, sing, and “walk” the beat while following the beat lines you wrote earlier. Walking the beat means lifting your feet alternately (one, then the other) so that each foot comes fully off the ground and returns to the floor exactly in time with the note being played and sung.

Play all the notes hands together while counting. You can continue to "walk."

Play with both hands together while singing the left-hand part aloud.

The left hand is often the one that performs the "harmonic rhythm" (the frequency of chord changes).

It is important to learn it by heart fairly early when approaching the new piece. Treat it as if it were a piece on its own. A piece, perhaps, a little unusual. Enjoy this strangeness as part of the charm of the piece.

Play the left hand alone while singing the right-hand part. If the right hand represents the melody of your piece, you will feel like you are accompanying yourself, which is a very pleasant sensation!

This exercise helps to develop coordination and the ability to listen to two voices simultaneously. At first, it may seem a bit difficult until you get used to it. However, persevere, because you will reap great benefits and enjoy very satisfying fluency!

Now reverse the approach: play the right hand alone while singing the left hand. If there are double notes, choose a "path": either the upper voice of the left hand or the lower voice, then switch. Turn the left-hand part (the bass) into a true melody that dialogues with and accompanies the right hand.

Now play all the notes with both hands together while “walking the pulse”. Walking the pulse means lifting your feet alternately (one, then the other) so that each foot leaves the floor completely and then returns to the floor at the same time as the note is played and sung.

To develop a sense of unity in the fragment, play hands together while counting aloud the number of each measure you noted earlier.

If performed with great attention, this exercise offers many benefits. It allows you to memorize your fingerings, become aware of the pads of your fingers, and learn the distances between the keys. It also trains you to imagine the sounds and project yourself into the "sound image" of your piece, thus creating a "narrative."

For this exercise, play your piece on the piano lid or on a table while singing. Then, try it without singing.

It is true that this exercise can be difficult and unsettling. At first, you might find yourself forgetting your fingerings, for example, and struggling to "play." Don’t worry, as it requires an unusual kind of dissociation. If this happens, calmly return to your score and focus on a part of the fragment you are working on. Play it slowly on the piano, then repeat it again on the lid.

The most challenging passages on the lid are precisely those that need to be clarified.

Now focus on the details of the dynamics¹.

 Download the sheet dynamics

→ Are all the indications on the score clear to me?

• If there are words you don’t understand, look up the translation of all these indications and write them on your score.

• Think about how these words can influence your playing and incorporate them into your interpretation.

  Download the list of the most common musical terms (in Italian)

Bravo on completing this session! You’ve done a great job that will soon pay off.

Now, take a short break. After a learning session, our brain needs time to “digest” the information. Use this moment to get a glass of water, stretch, or simply look out the window.

Afterwards, move on to another fragment of your piece and return later to the one you just learned. This approach will help you better absorb the information and strengthen the skills you’ve acquired.

Restart

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