I think Maestro Berman said it well, yet from my own experience, over-practicing is less a problem than failing to listen attentively through every phase of learning a composition. If a student does not fine tune each repetition, but considers only right notes in fast speed as the desired end, then phrasing, nuance and aesthetics, are unfortunately lost in the shuffle.
I use an example from my own practice room: a tricky 64th note passage in the Adagio movement of Mozart Sonata K. 332. Certainly one can render a fast chromatic without a second thought, but that is far below the ideal of shaping a line, and drawing the listener to what beauty the composer has created. I believe that experimentation is a big component of practicing that leads the player to new revelations in an unfolding creative process.
International Online Piano Teacher, blogger, recording artist, composer, piano finder, freelance writer, film maker, story teller: Grad of the NYC H.S. of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, NYU (Master of Arts) Studies with Lillian Freundlich and Ena Bronstein; Master classes with Murray Perahia and Oxana Yablonskaya. Studios in BERKELEY, California; Member, Music Teachers Assoc. of California, MTAC; Distance learning by Skype and Face Time with supplementary videos: SKYPE ID: shirley kirsten
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1 thought on “Boris Berman: How to connect with the music after over-practicing”
1 thought on “Boris Berman: How to connect with the music after over-practicing”