Help - I Have To Learn This Piece And I Hate It!

By Anne Sullivan

Maybe this hasn’t happened to you yet, but someday it probably will. Your teacher will assign you a piece of music that you really don’t like, one that you can’t stand playing, let alone having to practice it. Yet, for whatever reason, your teacher insists that you learn it. What do you do?

First of all, understand that it’s okay not to like a piece. Music is personal and everyone has music they love and music they don’t. That’s normal. It’s also normal for musicians to be required to play music that is not music they would choose on their own, whether it’s as part of an ensemble or for a recital or a competition. We don’t always get to choose.

So what do you do when you have to practice and perform that piece that sets your teeth on edge? First, get over your “poor me” feeling. Then try one of these strategies to help make your practice bearable or even fun.

1. Pretend you’re someone else. If you were (insert famous musician name here) how would you practice and play this?
2. Practice it in crazy ways. For instance, try turning it into a cowboy ballad with a swinging accompaniment rhythm. Or tame that super perky piece by playing it in minor. Change up the tempo, the dynamics, anything you like.
3. Find one thing you like about it: one chord, one measure, the introduction, the ending, any one thing. And enjoy that moment when you get there.
4. Find one interesting fact that relates to the piece and connect with the piece that way. Maybe the composer is from a place you want to visit, or maybe there’s a picture you love that goes with the piece somehow.
5. Practice it first, so all your practice after that seems even more enjoyable.

Above all, remember that even if you don’t like the piece, someone out there does. And you’re playing it for that person, so do your best. I can see your halo glowing from here.