HOW TO STUDY A NEW PIECE

FOR MARIMBA / VIBRAPHONE

1. PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES

Read the title.

Listen to the piece.
Understand the meaning.
Structural analysis.
Harmonic analysis.
Warm up with some tehcnique exercises appropriate for that piece (use L. H. Stevens book for some
ideas!)

2. PLAYING THE NOTES

Sight read the piece.

Turn on the metronome - very slow tempo.
Focus on a short musical phrase and star learning the correct rhythms, notes, dynamics, nuances etc.
Increase the metronome speed of 10 BPM and repeat.
Move to the following phrase and repeat the same steps.
Connect the different phrases giving them a sense of musical continuity.
When you know a good portion of the piece and you have been able to maintain the correct tempo,
then you can turn the metronome off and have fun.
Next day start with the parts you dont know, dont start from the beginning.

3. PRE-STAGE OPERATIONS

When you think you know all the notes go over the part and read it again playing it slowly, checking
note by note.
Record yourself and check againg for wrong notes. And what about your musicality?
Give your own interpretation to the music.
Dont leave out the theatrical aspect of your performance.
Even when you are playing alone in the room and no one is listening, imaging that you are actually
performing the most important piece in your career, in front of the largest audience in your career, on
the most beautiful stage in your career.
Give 100% in all of your performances. Admit to your mistakes only if you have actually made them,
not before.
Have fun.

This cheat sheet is a summary of the 3 blog post series you can find at:
http://paoloparolini.com/practicing-marimba/