Time Management

Hi, I'm a student pursuing a Bachelor's in Music Theory at Ithaca College. So, naturally, I'm already playing piano quite a bit. I really want to work through the book, but I want to do it in a time-effective manner that will work in conjunction with the repertoire I'm studying instead of on its own path. My biggest concern is that I feel, when I skip around, that the book builds throughout and that I've missed something important when I read a later section. Let me give a few details: First, my repertoire this semester: Bach Italian Concerto (3rd movement) Chopin Etudes Op. 10 No. 9, Op. 25 No. 1, Op. 25 No. 2 Mendelssohn Songs Without Words (Op. 19 No. 5, "Duetto", Op. 53 No. 3, "Spinnerlied") Chopin Mazurkas Op. 24 Selected Shostakovich Preludes (still solidifying my choices) Now, I do not need to have all of these prepared for my jury, only ten minutes' worth, so I'm focusing on the Bach, the first two of the Etudes, and the Songs Without Words. My teacher and I got to talk about the Mazurkas and the Shostakovich last semester, and since they're not my favorites she'll probably be willing to replace them (I need a classical sonata...). Second, the technical routine she requires: Stretching exercises, one from Adele Marcus and one from Rachmaninov Dohnanyi Nos. 2, 3-6 for examining the fingers and looking for collapsed knuckles, even tone and rhythm, 8 for activating the wrist Hanon Nos. 1-31 for exploring the use of the wrist and not the fingers Scales and Arpeggios: 3 keys a day, at the octave, third, sixth, and tenth, and all forms of the minor. Arpeggios include the major and minor and also dominant seventh and diminished seventh. End by sight-reading two Moszkowski Etudes (Op. 91, not 72) at the fastest tempo which allows for all the technical issues addressed in the routine to be reviewed So, would you recommend working out of your book before my teacher's routine, or after? By the way, I'm willing to listen to any arguments concerning the routine, but I still have to do it. She has a magical way of knowing when you haven't been working on it... I'd like to make the best of it, which leads me to think I should do your exercises first so that they're in my mind when I do the routine. I find that what she wants in the routine is generally what most people want at the piano (solid hand structure, appropriate use of the muscles in proportion, etc.) but she has a more brute-force way of achieving it than the Feldenkrais method (which I'm taking a class of this semester). Her way is more of a "this is the correct way to play without hurting yourself" rather than a sort of "self-discovery" way of arriving at the same result. Any ideas would be helpful. My technique needs an overhaul (hence the etudes. I'm not studying them for performance, but rather to see what I can discover through playing them) and I'm not a fan of the brute force method and definitely a follower of Feldenkrais. I just feel like I need a map sometimes (a little more self-discipline wouldn't hurt either). Thanks, Jason

Hello Jason, Welcome to the forum! Interesting question and one the likes of which I haven't had before. If you do my exercises after your warmup, they risk functioning more as a repair job than as an exploration, but they could still be effective. If you do them before, you risk wrecking their good effect by using the brute force method immediately afterwards - BUT you could still do some good work, have some real learning and make some real progress. Feldenkrais tends to be long on the "deconstruction-relaxation" part and short on the "integration" part. So by doing my exercises and immediately going back to your other regime, you do open up the possibity of a more immediate integration process which, though it might be more superficial, could also be more immediately useful to you. It's tough really to give you advice on this from afar, but the main thing is, be sensitive to yourself! And do let us know how things develop. If you're worried about jumping around then I would recommend approaching the book systematically - try to figure out which exercises relate best and most specifically to each technical aspect of the repertoire you're currently digesting... AFF