Graceful piano practice

My Yamaha digital piano

During our last piano lesson my teacher Alison showed me how she sits down to learn a new piece of music. Her technique was so much simpler and more graceful than mine; I sat and watched with growing respect and optimism that perhaps I could learn to do the same.

What I've tended to do up to now is apply brute force and repetition to my learning. I figure that if I practice the left hand enough times, then practice the right hand enough times, then practice hands together enough times, eventually a piece of music will appear, worn into my brain and hands by repetition, like water carving a channel through stone. And it does work, pieces do get into my head but the process isn't graceful nor does it make me feel like a much of musician.

Alison also practices hands separately, musical phrase by phrase. She finds the fingering for a left hand phrase, listens as she produces the notes and adjusts her hand position, timing and dynamics to shape the sound. Then she does the same with the right hand part, concentrating on the sound of the phrase. After a small number of repetitions and necessary adjustments, she's able to begin playing both hands together. The process appears simple, graceful and musical compared to my grinding repetitive alternative.

I'm going to try learning new pieces and revising my current pieces just as Alison showed me and see if it adds some much-needed gracefulness to my playing. Learning to play the piano is a slow process but one full of interest and challenges.