Productivity

Improve Skills By Repetition Using This Free Web App

I wrote it for fun. No ads. No cookies. Don’t want your email address

Screenshot of App by Author

Ever tried to learn the piano, or anything that requires training muscle memory? Unless you’re incredibly gifted, there is no avoiding practice — hours of it.

Worse, the motto, “Never leave an enemy behind you,” should be printed on a card and hung on the wall in front of you. You’ve got to master, for example, the fingering of that tricky bar of music in your new favourite song.

Watch YouTube videos about learning the piano, and you’ll soon hear the advice to repeat pieces a target number of times. To be precise, repeat the piece correctly. Progress won’t result if you just keep repeating mistakes.

The Strategy

This is something I’ve learned the hard way, so I came up with a strategy that has really delivered for me.

1. Choose a piece of music and play it until you reach a part where you struggle.
2. Study the correct fingering and play the problematic part correctly a target number of times. Play as slowly as you need to get it right.
3. Every time you succeed, up the count towards your target.