Divide and Conquer

Divide your piece into small sections and work on each section by itself. Choose musically logical divisions. A natural tendency is to choose sections that are too large. Choose a section that seems reasonable and cut it in half. If the music is difficult make the sections smaller. Practice each section until it is good. If you are having difficulty slow the tempo or practice hands separately. When you have made progress try repeating the section three or four times correctly rather then once. Next, combine the sections to form larger ones until you can play the whole piece.

You are overloading your mind by working on sections that are too large. This disrupts the natural learning process. Through repetitions you are transferring information from the short-term to long-term memory. Dividing the music into logical and small packages presents the information to your mind in a friendly way. Fewer repetitions are needed to form permanent memories, your accuracy is enhanced and you will have better focus and fewer technical problems.

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