Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum finishing a piece

How do you know when you are done "learning" a piece of music. I'm just getting back into this and don't have a piano teacher currently. I realize there is more to "finishing" a piece than simply being able to play the notes. So when do you consider a piece complete?

I sort of map out what I think finished is to me...
I myself am working with a teacher and discussed my method/idea with her as well so we're on the same page.

So for an example: I am working with Suzuki Book 2 pieces right now and I see these as "learning pieces"; I'm not looking to get them concert ready, but rather play them to the point where I believe I have gotten what I've needed out of the piece. This is sometimes obvious/sometimes not obvious with gradated books: AKA obviously here they want me to practice scales am I doing that well enough? After I "pass" on a piece in the Suzuki book I make sure until I am done with that book to play the piece in review to make sure I still "got it"; and if not review it more.

While I am working with my Suzuki Book 2 "practice/learning" pieces I am also working on Linus and Lucy which I want to be a "concert ready" piece. Here I will polish up and try to work as close to 100% on tonality, feeling and memorization as I can.

Just IMO take what works for you!
-BB

Of course none of us are ever really done learning a piece, but for me the best test of "done-ness" is in the performance which can lead to a few functional definitions of doneness:

1) You know the piece pretty well and can play it usually without too many mistakes.
2) You can now play it well enough to perform it for mom.
3) You play it well enough to perform it for your significant other.
4) You know it well enough to feel comfortable playing it in front of a few friends.
5) You know it well enough to feel comfortable playing it on a stage in front of a hundred or so people.

Try recording yourself! If you can get a good recording of it that you're not ashamed to show your friends or family, (or if you play it live and unabashed, better yet!) then you've you've got it under your fingers.

When the pressure is on, there is no doubt whether you know it or not.

But, there is plenty of room to use pieces to learn from without any added pressure of performance. Do what you gotta do to get those fingers cooperating and get to the place where you want to be.

I endorse Petes1's comments.

Keep an eye on how much progress is made.

If the progress falls below the threshold you're done with it.

The threshold depends on how self critical you are (and maybe your teacher)

If I can play the passage or piece in question entirely through using the metronome at a reasonable speed. If I can't, it means that I still don't have the notes and/or fingering and/or rhythm completely mastered.

+1

I think it's always good to have the attitude that you are going to turn a "Piece" of music into a performance. So make sure you are more or less 100% confident of what you are playing, and then work on adding expression and dynamics into your music, so an audience can feel your connection with the song.

Listen to some live performances of the music, and use this to inspire you.

I just want to point out that while it's great to polish pieces until they are "performance-ready", you don't have to do this with every piece that you work on. Some you may want to just get to the "play it for mom" level. (Nice list, petes1. )

petes1 I too like your list of doneness. that's good lol I don't "finish" every piece to the level that I'd play it on stage in front of hundreds of people cause some pieces I play that I don't really like for the technique or learning a new style etc. there's only certain ones I really like (and right now I'm talking years ago when I played regularly) that I would learn to that level "performance" level - IMO anyways haha

And sometimes you just don't 'love' it enough to put in the work. Often with my lesson pieces we 'leave' a piece before it is polished. If I love the piece i'll continue with it on my own and bring it back for critique later.......sometimes I'm sorry that I did! :-)))!!

There is no single answer, but most people would recognize several stages:

1. First stage is investigating: listening to a recording, playing through slowly HS, HT if possible, figuring out where the hard parts are.

2. What I call "learning" is getting to the point where I can play the piece through, usually from memory, but if not memory, then at least with minimal help from the score. I will have practiced the hard parts already and the piece will flow, though I will still make (a bunch of) errors.

3. When a piece gets to the point where it looks and feels easy, it is at the polished stage. You can play it in front of people and they will say, damn, that looks and sounds like real piano playing.

I work from a method book and "learn" a lot of pieces. Most of them are not pieces I choose to have in my repertoire, so I learn whatever technique or lesson the piece features and then move along to the next piece. Getting to the polished stage takes (for me at least) a lot of time and practice, so I choose carefully.

We're really talking about repertoire building here aren't we? I've found that difficult because I've kept moving on to other pieces and nothing is really maintained as play-able for a guest who happens in my house. So...the goal for this year is to create a repertoire (i.e. finished pieces) from music I've played over the last few years. I'm amazed at how little retention I seem to have. Each one has been starting over...I think I relearn a bit quicker than learn. Here are a few I'm finishing:

Beethoven sonata 49#1
Chopin Albumleaf
Schumann Reverie
Gurlitt Sonatina
Grieg Waltz
Webber All I ask of you
Rocherolle Late Train

They don't make a credible recital but I've liked each one enough to work on it to the level of polish. Who knows I may get close to correct tempo this time around.
Maroney Addie