Building Firm Foundations
Tools & techniques for deep learning and memorisation
A piece can feel secure in the practice room, yet become unexpectedly shaky in a lesson or performance. You may have put in plenty of hours, but still find weak spots appearing out of nowhere, memory slips catching you by surprise, or too much of your practice time disappearing into note-learning.
Building Firm Foundations is a guided short course with Graham Fitch devoted to the early stages of learning a new piece – the stage where security, confidence and a deep understanding of the music are either built in or left to chance.
Through an extensive collection of video lessons, musical examples and practical activities, Graham will show you how to approach a piece from the outset in a way that helps you learn more efficiently, remember more effectively and focus on music making sooner. You can apply the course to a piece of your own choice, or select one from the free score bundle included with the course.
What you will learn
In this course, Graham explores practical ways to build a piece on solid foundations from the very beginning. Topics include:
- How different memory systems work, including aural and analytic memory
- First steps away from the keyboard that can save time and strengthen learning
- Accessible, personally meaningful analysis using Personalised Pattern Recognition
- Tried and tested tools for deep learning and memorisation
- Ways to apply these ideas clearly and systematically within your chosen piece
Rather than simply playing through and hoping things settle, you will learn a more deliberate process that helps you understand the music on a deeper level, remember it more reliably and practise with greater purpose.
Is this course for you?
This course is for pianists who want a more reliable and effective way to learn new pieces. It will be especially valuable if you:
- Have experienced slips or weak spots that seem to appear out of nowhere
- Want your playing in lessons or performance to reflect what you can do at home
- Spend too long learning notes and not enough time making music
- Would like your practice to lead to more dependable results
- Would like to enjoy performing more, with less fear of unpleasant surprises
The skills you learn here are not tied to one piece alone, but form a reusable approach you can apply to future repertoire again and again.
How the course works
This is an asynchronous version of the course we ran in May 2026 which allows you to sign-up at anytime. On sign-up the full set of materials will be available to you and you can work through these at your own pace. You'll also receive a sequence of useful emails to guide you through the materials and provide easy access to resources (you can opt out of these emails at any time).
There is no time limit on the course and you are free to revisit any of the materials at any stage after completion, this providing you with an invaluable reference library for subsequent pieces.
Join us and discover a more secure, efficient way to learn your next piece!
