GOING IT ALONE THE VALUE OF HANDS SEPARATE PRACTICE

hile ultimately the challenge for pianists is often to do with hand assembly, it certainly makes sense for us to divide up the specific difficulties posed by a piece of music at regular stages along the learning journey. In fact, it’s never too late to be working hands separately, however long you’ve been learning a piece – even in the hours leading up to a performance or exam. Hands separate practising sharpens the focus and often gives us a salutary reminder of what isn’t yet sounding quite as accurate or evenly controlled as we’d like it to. While it may be tempting to leap intrepidly into the more problematic areas of a piece hands together, delayed gratification is a key element