(7) Difficult Sections First, Segmental Practice, Continuity Rule

Practice the most difficult sections first because you must spend the most time there. If the easy sections are practiced first, the difficult sections will never be learned sufficiently well because time will run out; that's not just human nature, but also a time management flaw. Technique acquisition also suffers because practicing the difficult sections is what advances technique. Practice the easy sections first only if that simplifies the learning of other sections, as we shall see for Chopin [(55) Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66, Polyrhythms].

Segmental practice: Choose two short segments to practice, one each for the right (RH) and left hand (LH). The segments can be any length, down to just one or two notes, but are generally about one bar. The shorter the segment, the easier it is to play, the more times you can practice it in a given time, and the faster you can play it without forming bad habits. Segmental practice, combined with HS practice, enables experimentation with new hand motions, etc., that results in a powerful method for acquiring technique.

Continuity Rule: When choosing a segment, include the beginning of the next segment. This overlap of segments, called a conjunction [(9) Parallel Sets (PSs), Conjunctions, Cycling], facilitates the joining of segments later on. The continuity rule applies to segments of any length; for example, at the end of the first movement, include the beginning of the second movement. A related rule is the

Contiguity Rule: finish each project before moving on to the next, and finish related projects first. This means do not start on a second Beethoven Sonata until the first one is completely finished; otherwise, you may never complete either of them.

Our Für Elise example has two sections that are more difficult than the rest. They are bars 45 (24, short version) to 56 (35), and 82 (61) to 105 (84). The first section might be more difficult, so start with that: bar 53: practice the RH, including the first four notes of bar 54 (continuity rule); similarly, practice the LH, including the first chord of bar 54. The RH fingering is 251515151525,1254. Repeat this procedure with bar 54. When satisfactory, connect the two (bars 53, 54), HS only.

HS and segmental practice are the most efficient practice methods for acquiring technique quickly.