Speed limit: 25 mph

One day, a friend of my family, and a genius Cuban pianist stayed at our house the night before her performance at Carnegie Hall. She sat on the sofa and read her concerto as if she were reading a novel. She started to practice and my dad called me down to listen to her practice her warm-up exercises. "Do you hear how she is practicing? She is one of the most incredible concert pianists. Listen to how slowly she is practicing." I'm 99% sure I rolled my eyes, but the truth is, this is something that stuck with me ever since. This is a story I tell my students, and even though they usually roll their eyes like I did, they know it's true; slow practice is the best kind of practice. 

When I teach my students a new piece, I always make them count as they play and make sure they know the notes before playing. I count aloud and make sure they play slowly. Playing slowly is so important because it gives you time to look ahead and prepare for the next note. Usually students want to play fast. I say "Trust me, if you want to play this piece a tempo, you NEED to practice slowly. Master this piece at a slow pace and when you do, playing it faster will be easy peasy lemon squeezy!" I teach a lot of kids, in case you couldn't tell. 

So just remember, speed limit is 25 mph (or slow enough to be able to look ahead and prepare for the next note.).

Happy slow practicing!

🎹 Alejandra