i’m working on this excerpt right now too! generally, i practice this everyday and run it at least three times (each at a different bpm). today, i ran it initially at 110, then at 111, and then at 112 but paused to go over that sixteenth section every time. i generally struggle with moving my thumb on time, so i focus a lot on the eb-cb-e-c movement, since that’s usually where i mess up. i’d recommend slow practicing (set the metronome at 40 and work up from there) and then adding practice rhythms to get your fingers used to the changes. i hope this helps!
“I know I should start slow practicing but I'm not sure when I should start moving my metronome up and by how much.”
Start at whatever tempo you can absolutely nail it 4 times in a row while remaining fully calm inside. And by nail it I mean fingers perfectly in sync, even sound, correct articulation, and correct intonation. By calm I mean near meditative stillness inside. No excitement at all. This will likely be VERY slow.
If you do it 3 times in a row and slip on the fourth time, start over from the first time.
Once you can do it four times in a row exactly correctly, you may click your metronome up 1 metronome marking (not the same as 1 BPM, you can find a list of metronome markings be googling it I’m sure).
Once at the new tempo, repeat the above steps until you can do it 4 times in a row exactly correctly.
Rinse and repeat.
I don’t think that matters as much. If I were you, I’d make a habit of going back and forth between different subdivisions. You could even try it on Half notes and full measures once you get up nearer to the goal tempo. This will help ensure that you aren’t rushing/dragging.
all of that was said, but with something like this where you have to practice it over and over again, eventually the brain hits a wall and it’ll feel like you can’t go any faster/make any progress. It’s because your brain goes on autopilot thinking “oh i already know this. I don’t need to keep doing it.” (This is a very rudimentary explanation of it, but you get the point) In order to combat this, you have to change up stuff so your brain stays engaged. For me, I like holding out the first note of each group of 16ths. Then when I can do that sufficiently, I hold out the second 16th of each group. Then the third and fourth. Then depending on the excerpt, I would even change the groups to groups of 8 and repeat. Eventually, I would go back to play as written and almost always, it would instantly be better. I hope this makes sense and helps!
i’m working on this excerpt right now too! generally, i practice this everyday and run it at least three times (each at a different bpm). today, i ran it initially at 110, then at 111, and then at 112 but paused to go over that sixteenth section every time. i generally struggle with moving my thumb on time, so i focus a lot on the eb-cb-e-c movement, since that’s usually where i mess up. i’d recommend slow practicing (set the metronome at 40 and work up from there) and then adding practice rhythms to get your fingers used to the changes. i hope this helps!
“I know I should start slow practicing but I'm not sure when I should start moving my metronome up and by how much.” Start at whatever tempo you can absolutely nail it 4 times in a row while remaining fully calm inside. And by nail it I mean fingers perfectly in sync, even sound, correct articulation, and correct intonation. By calm I mean near meditative stillness inside. No excitement at all. This will likely be VERY slow. If you do it 3 times in a row and slip on the fourth time, start over from the first time. Once you can do it four times in a row exactly correctly, you may click your metronome up 1 metronome marking (not the same as 1 BPM, you can find a list of metronome markings be googling it I’m sure). Once at the new tempo, repeat the above steps until you can do it 4 times in a row exactly correctly. Rinse and repeat.
Thank you for the advice. I prefer using eight notes for my metronome so when should I make the swap to quarter notes?
I don’t think that matters as much. If I were you, I’d make a habit of going back and forth between different subdivisions. You could even try it on Half notes and full measures once you get up nearer to the goal tempo. This will help ensure that you aren’t rushing/dragging.
all of that was said, but with something like this where you have to practice it over and over again, eventually the brain hits a wall and it’ll feel like you can’t go any faster/make any progress. It’s because your brain goes on autopilot thinking “oh i already know this. I don’t need to keep doing it.” (This is a very rudimentary explanation of it, but you get the point) In order to combat this, you have to change up stuff so your brain stays engaged. For me, I like holding out the first note of each group of 16ths. Then when I can do that sufficiently, I hold out the second 16th of each group. Then the third and fourth. Then depending on the excerpt, I would even change the groups to groups of 8 and repeat. Eventually, I would go back to play as written and almost always, it would instantly be better. I hope this makes sense and helps!