Why isn't more practice always better?
Because how you practice decides what you keep. In a 2009 study of 17 graduate and advanced undergraduate piano majors, each pianist practiced a difficult passage until they felt ready and played it again the next day. Practice time and the number of repetitions did not predict how well they played. The share of attempts they played correctly during practice did, and so did how few wrong attempts they made.
In other words, every wrong repetition is practice too — of the wrong version.
Should you start with run-throughs?
No. Early in learning a piece, a run-through mostly repeats the mistakes you already have, across the whole piece. Work passage by passage instead, and keep asking two questions as you go: is this the sound I want, and is this the expression I want? Save run-throughs for when the sections are secure.
How do you use slow practice?
Start at the slowest tempo at which you can play the passage with the sound and expression you want. When that holds reliably, raise the tempo one step and check again. If it falls apart, go back one step.
What to avoid is fast practice without thinking: playing at full speed and hoping it improves. It rarely does, and it builds the uneven version into your hands.
Why split a piece into sections?
Because finishing one part at a time is more efficient than touching everything every day. Compare two ways to spend five days:
| Plan | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole piece every day | All | All | All | All | All |
| One section per day | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 |
With the second plan, each day has one clear goal — finish that section to the standard you set — and you move on only when it is done. The first plan spreads your attention thin and leaves every section half-finished.
The same approach works on any instrument, including guitar: position shifts and right-hand patterns improve fastest when practiced slowly and correctly, one passage at a time.
How do you know a session worked?
Test it the next day. The first time you play yesterday's section, before warming it up, tells you what you kept. That is the same test the 2009 study used.
Write down which section you finished and what method worked, so the next piece goes faster. A short practice journal is enough, and MU:note fills in the minutes for you. For how long each day should be, see how long to practice each day.
