How to practise isn't something a teacher hands over — it's something a student discovers while practising.
In this activity the teacher only asks questions and never supplies answers. The student chooses the piece, investigates it, and writes their own prescription.
When to use it: the lesson where a student starts a new piece
Time: 15–20 minutes, inside the lesson
You'll need: 3–4 pieces of similar level in different styles
A
For the teacher · five stages of questions
The whole activity has one rule: ask, don't tell. Only what the student says out loud stays in the student's head.
① Choosing
3–5 min
Spread the pieces out. Let them flip through, look, hear a fragment. No recommending, no hinting, no meaningful looks.
You could ask:
"Which one would you like to get to know first?"
"What was it that made you pick that one?"
The fine print: if they choose the one you think is wrong for them, let them. The moment they hit the difficulty is the real entry point into learning. If it turns out badly off, just ask next week: "Was this piece what you expected?"
② Scanning the score
5 min
No playing — only looking. Hunt for structure together: repeated sections, key and time signature, the least familiar spot.
You could ask:
"Is there anywhere in this piece that looks the same as somewhere else?"
"How many lines are genuinely new material?"
The fine print: most students discover that "a four-page piece is really only a page and a half of new material." Let that sentence come out of their mouth, not yours.
③ Predicting the hard parts
3 min
Have them point out "I think I'll get stuck here" — and say why.
You could ask:
"Where do you think will take the longest? Why that bit?"
"Is it hard for your hands, or hard for your head?"
The fine print: guessing wrong is completely fine. Check the answers next week — that loop of predicting and verifying is how they build their own diagnostic sense.
④ Writing their own prescription
5 min
For the difficulty they identified, let them propose the practice method. The teacher fills gaps, never overrules.
You could ask:
"So how would you want to practise it?"
"Shall we try your method right now?"
The fine print: when a student answers vaguely — "play it more times" — don't reject it, push on it: "More times of what? The whole piece? Or those two bars?" Make them write a more specific prescription.
⑤ Writing it down
2 min
The student states this week's practice plan in one sentence — written or spoken.
You could ask:
"When you get home, what's the first thing you'll practise?"
The fine print: write it on the detective sheet below, and pull it out at the start of next week's lesson to check the answers.
B
For the student · new-piece detective sheet
Fill it in during the lesson as you ask, then send it home taped to the music. It prints on its own page.
🔍 New-Piece Detective Sheet
Detective: ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ Date: ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
1. The piece I chose:
2. Why did I choose it?
3. What I found
🔁 Which sections look the same?
✨ How many lines are really new? Where are they?
4. I predict the hardest part will be (and why):
5. My practice prescription (which spot, using what method, how many times or how long):
6. When I get home, the first thing I'll practise:
C
Variations for group classes and older-adult classes
Stage
How it works in a group
Choosing
Everyone picks a different piece, then introduces to the others "the most interesting thing about mine."
Scanning
In pairs, each acts as detective for the other and hunts down the repeated sections.
Prescription
Collect the whole class's methods on the whiteboard — it becomes "our class prescription pad."
＋
Follow-up · the same three questions to open next week
"Did your method work?"
"What turned out differently from your prediction?"
"How will you adjust it this week?"
Do this for four to six weeks running and the student gradually installs the whole self-questioning routine. The ability isn't taught — it's discovered along the way.
The question cards, the detective sheet and the group version each print on their own page, so you can use them separately.