Music BlogLearning a new piece of music

Whether you take piano lessons, guitar lessons, violin, ukulele, or even drums you are going to have to learn new music.  As you grow as a musician the music tends to get more challenging and it will take more time and will require you to develop new skills.  Here is a great article with a few great things you can do to help when you’re learning a new piece of music.  Written by one our amazing piano teachers Leslie Taylor.

Learning a new piece of music
Leslie Taylor

Sometimes when we are about to tackle a brand new piece of music, the notes look daunting on the page! No need to feel apprehensive about learning something new if you take a few minutes to look closely at the music.  Here are some helpful hints:

• First, look for note and rhythmic patterns. Are there groups of notes repeated throughout the piece?  Perhaps the left hand begins with a note passage and then it is repeated in the treble clef by the right hand?  Are complete lines of music repeated later in the piece?
• Do the same with any rhythmic patterns – are rhythms repeated throughout the piece?  Perhaps there are patterns which are very similar?
• Practice clapping these rhythmic patterns while you count the beats out loud.
• Spend a day or two (or longer for more difficult repertoire) practicing each hand separately. Once the notes are secure, try playing both hands together.
• Only practice two or three bars at a time (either hands separately, or hands together). Once the notes are secure, you can then look at the next two or three bars of music.
• Finally, start piecing these bars together until you can play the entire piece.
• Remember, “Rome was Not Built in a Day!”. Tackle a bit every day and soon you will have mastered the notes and timing and will then be able to begin looking at dynamics, phrasings and tempo requirements.