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Looking forward, rehearsing short portions of a song, slowing down the speed, and maintaining a constant rhythm are all crucial to performing consistently and effectively! Tip 1 - Plan ahead! This is a large part of what distinguishes good sight-readers from outstanding ones. Keeping your eyes on the note you're going to play next, rather than the note you're playing right now, requires some effort at first, but it gets easier with practice- Jack Hanson. Focusing on the note you're about to play while playing the note or measure before it increases your chances of figuring it out in time to play it without pausing to think about it. Tip 2 - Practice Phrases by Yourself! When I listen to my students perform their songs, I notice that the majority of the pauses occur at the beginning of measures and lines- Jack Hanson. An excellent technique to correct this is to practice simply the two measures before and after the pause. For example, if you're playing a song and find yourself pausing to consider the beginning of line 2, try starting with the final measure of line 1 and simply playing until the end of the first measure. By repeating this multiple times, you will become more comfortable shifting lines and will not need to halt when playing the entire piece. It is essential to break down a song into little phrases and practice them separately, rather than playing the entire piece from beginning to end every time. Tip 3- Slow Down! Those two words sum it up perfectly. Don't start a song too quickly, only to have to halt when you reach a new section or slow down as the song progresses. When we discover the most difficult portion of a song and play it perfectly at a slow pace, we practice the few measures around that part at that tempo, as well as the entire song at that tempo, before speeding up. This will allow you to play a song without hesitating since you will be familiar with the tempo when you arrive at the difficult portion, and the music will sound seamless.
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