1. Learn the Notes or Master a Piece Measure by Measure

Practicing measure by measure is one of the time-honored basic procedures to learn or master a piece. It is practical and thorough. Here are the first eight measures of Sons de Carrilhões (Sounds of the Bells) by João Pernambuco (aka João Teixeira Guimarães). Example #337:

In this example, we will start with the incomplete measure at the very beginning. However, you can generally start with any measure in a piece. As I discuss later, it is often a good idea NOT to start at the beginning. We will stop on the first note of the next measure. That is not as easy to do as it might seem. Example #338:

Many guitarists want to continue into the next measure, especially if they played the first measure well. You must discipline yourself to stop on that first note of the second measure. Otherwise, you will lose focus on the measure you are trying to learn or improve. Resisting the overwhelming temptation to go beyond the first note of the second measure is particularly difficult in music by Bach and others with strong rhythmic figures, where the musical momentum is strong. But again, stopping is essential to stay focused on the measure you want to learn.

The idea, of course, is to be able to play that measure and the first note of the second measure perfectly, several times in a row. How many times? I recommend a minimum of three. Or, you can go for the gold and try the "Ten Levels of Misery."

Regardless of how many repetitions you make, you must allow enough time between each repetition to use our essential tool, the feedback loop. Mindlessly repeating a measure can do a lot of damage.

And what does "perfectly" mean? That depends on what phase of learning you are in on the piece. For example, for the first few days or the first week, where you are in the earliest phase of learning the notes, you might devise the following stages as goals:

Stage #1: The earliest stage: learn the notes

If you are in the earliest stage of learning the notes and finding them on the fretboard, "perfectly" would mean:

1. I am playing the right notes.
2. I am using the correct fingering on BOTH hands (which you should write in the music!). By the way, that fingering may be different from the printed fingering in the score.
3. I am not concerned with the rhythms. I am hesitating rather than making mistakes.

Watch me demonstrate measures 1-2 of "Sounds of the Bells," Stage #1, in Video #77.

2. PRACTICE PROCEDURES: Learn the Notes or Master a Piece Section by Section

This practice procedure is another time-honored and obvious approach to learning a new piece. But what is a section? That depends on the composition.

For example, short beginning studies such as Scottish Dance by Mauro Giuliani, Allegretto by Fernando Sor, or Waltz in G by Ferdinand Carulli are often in two, three, or four sections delineated by repeat signs.

Likewise, we find the same repeat-sign divisions plus divisions indicated by key signature changes in intermediate pieces such as Sons de Carrilhões (Sounds of the Bells) by João Pernambuco (aka João Teixeira Guimarães). Also, as I illustrate in Sounds of the Bells, we can call one phrase a section if we want to narrow our focus.

Click here to view my very cool image carousel showing these examples. This page will remain open, but the carousel will open in a new tab.

In many intermediate and advanced pieces, we can see or make divisions indicated by repeat signs, changes of key, tempo changes, and changes of texture (the vertical spacing of notes, the density of notes, the range of notes, chordal vs. linear). Josef Kaspar Mertz's "Fantasie Hongroise, Op. 65 No. 1" is an excellent example of how these elements indicate sections or divisions of the piece.

Click here to view an image carousel of my annotations showing the sections of Mertz's "Hungarian Fantasy". This page will remain open, but the carousel will open in a new tab.

In Laying the Groundwork, Step #4, we learned how important it is to "Study and Analyze the Score Without Your Guitar." We learned to find time signature and key changes, tempo markings, tempo changes, structural cues, dynamic markings, themes, parts that stand out from the rest of the piece, difficult sections and measures, and how to analyze the form of the composition. All of these elements will tell you where various sections are and where you should apply your focus.

Starting at the beginning is often not a good idea.

Starting with the first section is not always a good idea when learning section by section (or learning measure by measure). Usually, students who begin mastering the first section of their new piece and proceed section by section to the end play the beginning securely and confidently, but that security and confidence decrease as they reach the end. As piano pedagogue Graham Fitch puts it, "There is a gradual diminuendo of accomplishment for the piece, which often ends with a whimper." For that reason, in a lesson, I often ask the student to play the last or middle sections of their piece first.

Where Do I Start?

Where to begin? We discussed it here, and here are a few specific possibilities in reference to sections.

1. Learn the piece backward. In other words, learn the last section, the second-to-last section, the third-to-last section, etc.
2. Start somewhere in the middle and work forward or backward from there.
3. Begin with the most challenging section first. Next, tackle the second most difficult section.
4. Randomly choose a section to start.

I like to vary my starting point almost every day. I find it helps build my understanding and memory of the piece's structure, keeps things interesting so that I stay fresh and alert, and efficiently distributes my focus throughout the piece from day to day and week to week.

Also, remember that you will not go through every section of a piece in one practice session. If you were in the later stages of mastering the music, you might get through most of the composition or several sections. But in the early stages of learning the notes and rhythm, you may only hit one or two sections. That's the way it is supposed to be.

There are benefits to NOT practicing every section of a piece daily. Most importantly, an occasional skipped day gives your subconscious and your neuromuscular system time to process the changes and progress you made when you hit it hard the day or two before. After skipping a day or two, you will often find that you play the passage better when you return to it. Or you will find that specific points of execution are suddenly clear to you now.

How Large a Section Should I Practice?

The length of the section we practice will vary from person to person and depend upon age, level, and experience. And, if you are learning a piece from scratch, the sections will probably be smaller than if you are refining music you already know or reviving a composition you have played many times.

Remember our discussion about starting small? You will probably practice mistakes if you choose too large a section to learn. Therefore, it is best to narrow your focus to small sections you can play flawlessly with a few minutes or hours of practice. Perhaps you might practice the individual phrases of a section before attempting to play the entire section. Or half a phrase. If that doesn't work, go back to measure by measure. Once the individual measures are under control, build back up to larger units.

Number of Repetitions

Once again, we ask ourselves, "How many times should I repeat a section?" As with measure-by-measure practice, I recommend a minimum of three. But a lot depends on how long the section is. We can easily practice one 4 or 8-measure phrase six or ten times. But if a section is 32 or 64 measures long, it is a different story. On longer sections, three times is probably the max. But if you take a break and practice something else for five or ten minutes, you can come back and take another crack at three more repetitions. You can keep that up until you have done nine or even eighteen reps. The goal is to maintain your focus at all times. Too many repetitions will lead to boredom and a wandering attention span.

Regardless of how many repetitions you make, you must allow enough time between each repetition to use our essential tool, the feedback loop. Always engage your critical faculties and senses. Graham Fitch reminds us, "A vital part of the process of repeating sections happens between the repetitions. We rest between repetitions and reflect on how we did so that we have something tangible to work on during our next repetition." Remember, mindlessly repeating a section can do a lot of damage.

SUMMARY

1. We learned the two basic practice procedures to learn the notes or even master an entire piece: practice measure by measure or section by section.
2. We learned to be careful how large a section we practice at any one time.
3. We learned that the definition of playing something "perfectly" changes on the journey to mastering a piece.
4. We learned that the number of repetitions of a measure or section is crucial.
5. We learned that starting at the beginning of a piece is often not a good idea.
6. We reaffirmed the importance of the feedback loop and the dangers of mindless repetition.