SPEED UP YOUR LEARNING: Four key points to improve your playing Carlos Bonell

Self-confidence is an essential To help you feel more confident start choose a piece well within your ability.

1. Set the stop-watchSetting a time frame quickens the pulse and does wonders for the concentration. Give yourself no less than twenty and no more than sixty minutes.

2. Scanning the music to form an overviewChoose a realistic length: the more difficult the piece the shorter the section to learn. Scan the music almost as fast as a computer scan would! Consider form, structure, texture, rhythm and tempo. Do so without playing and without going into a lot of detail. An effective scan will give you an overview and help you prioritise the next steps.

3. Concentration on three run-throughsNow begin playing through the piece slowly, the speed determined by your scanning. Keep your concentration at a peak. Don't answer the phone if it rings and don't engagein conversation, however tempting. Both will throw you off balance from your task. Besides, you will have to reset the stop-watch, although most likely you will have probably forgotten how long you have been at it already.FIRST RUN-THROUGH: try to remember where you hesitate or stall. At the end of the first run-through practise briefly those phrases.SECOND RUN-THROUGH: play at the same speed as the first run-through and try to play through the tricky passages in time. At the end practise again the difficult bits.THIRD RUN-THROUGH: speed it up, but not a lot. Concentrate and you may to your surprise sail through the piece.

4. Remember, remember...Part of your concentration should be dedicated to remembering what to do and not do next time round. At this stage of the learning process the fingering reflex memory is notreliable and keeps repeating the same errors unless your brain steps in, so to speak, and takes charge.

Take stockNow relax and switch off for a moment or two to help you refocus on how far you havecome, and to where you think you can progress in the time set. eg....

reduce the errors or

- play more smoothly or

- memorise key phrases

Enough is enoughBy the time you have reached your time deadline your brain will feel it can take no more. You may also feel exhilarated. If so, the chances are you have taken your powers of learning to a new level of speed and intensity. Congratulations.