10 views on the benefits of slow practice

Debate on how best to harness slow practice from The Strad Archive
June 1, 2016

One of the most important considerations is the choice of tempo at which to practise. Teachers with
a more or less pronounced streak of sadism have forced students to practise long segments almost
exclusively at an extremely slow tempo the slower, the better. Aside from being extremely tiring
such an approach does not bring the desired results. The most appropriate policy is to take a best-fit
approach to practising divide it according to the purpose of the exercise and then assign the most
suitable tempo for it. For example, work on intonation, due to the control required, should be
attempted in small segments and at a rather slow tempo. Larger segments should be practised at a
tempo that ideally allows all the positive attributes of slow and normal tempos maximum control
with right movements. The Russian professor M.M. Beljakov named such a tempo working allegro.
Rok Klopi, The Strad, October 2006

Doing slow, analytical practice and studying orchestral scores and piano accompaniments are
essential. At the moment I am preparing for a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, where I
am performing John Taveners The Protecting Veil. When I practise, I have to concentrate on a
particular kind of long and sustained sound in the highest register of the A string. In order to prepare
I practise regular scales and arpeggios with very slow and long bows, always listening to the quality
of sound.
Raphael Wallfisch, The Strad, November 2014
Play slowly and practise short sections. If too much happens too fast, the brain cannot notice small
differences. Learning needs to happen in manageable chunks, and slowly enough for the brain to
notice critical bits of information. The greater the detail that can be noticed, the richer the feedback
loop of learning. If we cannot manage the learning process, it is simply because we have bitten off
more than we can chew. By working one step at a time, slowly enough, we ensure a successful
process of achieving outcomes.
Piet Koornhof, The Strad, September 2002
The most important reason for practising with a metronome is to keep you slow. As string players,
we are always engaged in multitasking and if you leave out any of these tasks, the music and
technique both suffer. Being able to think of as many tasks as possible is one of the main reasons
why its important to practise slowly. It is a proven fact that the more tasks you are able to perform at
the same time, the quicker you will benefit from the process of osmosis. Because we all have the
tendency to play too fast, we need an outside influence to keep us slow.
Gary Karr, The Strad, July 2010
In his excellent book Practicing for Artistic Success: The Musicians Guide to Self-Empowerment, Burton
Kaplan urges the necessity of finding the Tempo of Consistent Control. To find your Tempo of
Consistent Control, you will need a metronome. Then try this process:
*Set the metronome to the tempo at which you think you can play the passage
*Begin playing
*Stop when you make a mistake even a small one and set the metronome 5-10bpm slower
Repeat this process until you can play through the passage with no mistakes. After trying this a few
times, you will begin to recognise what a Tempo of Consistent Control feels like it is a calm,
centered feeling that is entirely devoid of anxiety. Stay with your Tempo of Consistent Control for at
least four days, before moving on to the next comfortable place you will be surprised how much
more secure you feel at the next stop on the metronome now that your foundation is strong.
Shelly Trampoosh, The Strad, October 2011

I play each section slowly, working on intonation, character and building up my tempo. I push myself
gradually. Some passages will take longer than others to play at a faster tempo, but I dont move on
the overall speed of any section of the piece until I am ready to play the whole thing at that speed.
For me, this makes the learning process much faster; it helps to make sure that there are no
sections of the piece that I fear. If I move the whole piece on, then slow down for one difficult section
until I can play it properly, I am more likely to dread that section when I have to play it up to speed in
performance.
Natalia Lomeiko, The Strad, February 2016
On breaking up the piece into short segments I can carefully address particular technical challenges,
such as intonation and coordination, without trying to be particularly musical. This might include
practising in rhythms, trying different bowings, very slow practice and so on. When I try to go through
the piece and bring it up to tempo, I record myself and put tick-marks by the spots that are still not
perfect. When I start my next session I go to those particular spots, and when I feel completely
secure I erase the ticks. When there are no more ticks I feel pretty good.
Almita Vamos, The Strad, July 2015
At the moment Im practising the Kodly Solo Sonata for a concert. In some of the perpetual motion
sections, the metronome marking is = 160. I start at = 120 and run the section through at that
tempo before breaking it down. Where there are semiquavers and four beats to the bar, I start by
holding the first note for one beat and playing the other notes as written. Then I increase the speed
to = 126 holding the second note of each group, then to = 132 holding the third, = 128 holding
the fourth, then = 144 for a group of eight. I gradually work up to = 160.
Alisa Weilerstein, The Strad, June 2015
Generally for Bach, tempo has to be built up with time. I have a week to practise the Sixth Suite, so I
start off playing the Prelude slowly, and only after three days, when my body has had a chance to
get used to each position, I start speeding up little by little. By the sixth day Im finally playing at the
correct tempo. That said, theres always a certain degree of freedom in the Bach Suites Im more
concerned with retaining the dancing mood and the colours of the piece.
Maxim Rysanov, The Strad, January 2014
In difficult passages, I find it helps to tackle a two-minute excerpt by playing it through at a moderate
pace. Then evaluate and pick several smaller sections from that same excerpt, and work on them,
as slowly as necessary, until you understand what is wrong, why, and what the solutions are. Build
up speed, phrasing, dynamics and then try the original excerpt again. You could try pretending you
are giving yourself a lesson. What would you tell the student you about the passage that isnt
working? More often than not, youll have a pretty good idea of where the answer lies.
Yevgeny Kutik, The Strad, December 2015