Do you sometimes find it difficult to get fast pieces of music up to tempo? Do you notice that as you increase the speed inaccuracies start to creep into or you find you are playing with tension?
These three tips will help you to play fluently and with ease at faster tempi.
Tip 1 – Practise with a metronome
Find a speed at which you can play the piece accurately with a metronome. It doesn’t matter at this stage if this is much slower than the final performance tempo. Gradually increase the metronome speed over a period of a few days or weeks. If at any point you find inaccuracies start to appear or you can sense tension as you play then slow the speed back down.
Tip 2 – Use different rhythms
Practising with various rhythms, especially dotted rhythms, can be extremely useful in getting pieces up to tempo. Different rhythm patterns result in pairs of notes or small groups of notes being played at a faster tempo. This is also very useful for developing fluency and evenness in passagework.
Tip 3 – Practise in very small sections
Practise playing very small one or two beat sections up to tempo, leaving a pause before going on to the next part of the music. This gives you time to think about how the next section goes and prepare your hand positions. Later you can try playing slightly longer sections up to speed, until eventually you can play whole passages at tempo fluently.
To view my YouTube video demonstrating these techniques, click here.
For more great piano playing advice, go to patreon.com/JonathanDelbridgeMusic where you can access all my video tutorials and articles from just £5 a month with no contract!
