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5
I. Jumps
Mentally scan your fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders. Be aware of their positions.
(2) Once those positions are clear to your mind, play the same chord again, but this
time, by dropping your hands on the keys from a height of around three inches.
Make sure you are dropping your hands and not intentionally moving them - let
gravity do the work. Play the chord several times in a row without a mistake.
Each time you play the chord, again, mentally scan your fingers, hands, arms, and
shoulders. Be aware of their positions.
(3) Next, play the chords of the jump this way:
When moving from the second to the third chord, move your hands through the air
in an arc-like path. (The arc should be low.) The third chord should be played by
dropping your hands, as in the previous step.
Again, be aware of how your fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders feel. Do this at a
slow, relaxed speed several times, until you can consistently play the third chord
accurately and comfortably.
(4) Once you can do that, start playing the passage in the previous step faster and
faster, accelerating in small increments. Always make sure your hands follow an arclike path, and the third chord is played by dropping your hand.
Note that the faster you play the passage, the less visible the arc and the drop will
be.
Continue accelerating until you sense that your body is not ready to go any faster.
Tip: Between repetitions of the passage, stop and breathe. This helps
keep your mind relaxed and focused.
Tip: If you start missing the third chord, slow down to a speed where you
can consistently hit that chord. Repeat the passage several times at this
slower speed.
(5) Repeat step three. This helps your mind review in slow-motion how the jump
feels.
Go through these steps every day. Lasting improvement rarely comes from a single
day of practice.
The same steps can be applied to all similar jumps throughout the whole piece,
such as these:
June
21
June
22
June
23
June
24
June
25
June
26
June
27
June
28
June
29
June
30
July 1
July 2
July 3
July 4
July 5
Practiced
Jumps on Page
1
Practiced
Jumps on Page
2
Practiced
Jumps on Page
4
Practiced
Jumps on Page
5
Practiced
Jumps on Page
6
Practiced
Jumps on Page
1
Practiced
Jumps on Page
2
Practiced
Jumps on Page
4
Practiced
Jumps on Page
5
Practiced
Jumps on Page
6
Make sure that you use the correct fingering and that your fingers, hands, wrists,
and arms are relaxed. Your wrists need to be especially loose and relaxed here. Play
this several times in a row without any mistakes.
(2) Next, play the arpeggio in this rhythm:
Keep repeating the pattern until you can play it several times without any mistakes.
Go through these three steps every day. Again, lasting improvement rarely comes
from a single day of practice.
These steps can be applied to the arpeggios on page three and four. Feel free to
modify the practice patterns to suit the arpeggios on the score.
Finally, fill in the following table to keep track of your progress.
June
20
Practiced
Arpeggios on
June
21
June
22
June
23
June
24
June
25
June
26
June
27
Page 3
Practiced
Arpeggios on
Page 4
June
28
June
29
June
30
July 1
July 2
July 3
July 4
July 5
Practiced
Arpeggios on
Page 3
Practiced
Arpeggios on
Page 4