Here’s a common situation. You have a piano piece that you’ve been working on. You’re playing it pretty well — except there are a few rough spots that you just can’t polish.

It’s pretty frustrating, isn’t it? Nearly all piano students have this problem. It’s all part of being a pianist, or any musician, really. But in this series, Piano Practice That Pays Off, I will show you how how to polish piano rough spots — once and for all.

When a rough spot just won’t polish up — even after lots of practice — then it’s time to take a good look at how the rough spot is being practiced. And if the practice routine doesn’t include lots of repetitions, then the routine itself needs an update.

In this video, you will see how to fix those problem spots in any of the pieces you are working on. With techniques honed over four decades of teaching, both privately and in public schools and universities, you’ll be playing your pieces better and with greater confidence knowing that when a problem arises, you’ll have the skills to fix it.

The teaching piece for this video is Clementi’s Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1.