Lesson 28: Learning Tips

When learning piano, it is helpful to have some or all of the following tips in mind:

1. Practice scales and arpeggios. This helps develop technique and ability to physically execute the music.

2. Use a metronome constantly in practicing. This will allow you to develop a strong rhythm and sense of the beat. Without timing, your music falls apart.

3. Learn and master the basic repertoire before moving on to more difficult material. Know the powerful yet technically less challenging pieces such as the Bach Inventions, Debussy’s Children’s Corner, and other works by Grieg, Mozart, and Beethoven. There is no need to push yourself into the more difficult repertoire until you are ready, such as some of the Beethoven Sonatas, Prokofiev Sonatas, more complex Liszt pieces, or Ravel’s virtuosic works.

4. Keep your hands, face, and body relaxed. Be careful you are not contorting your face or gathering tension in your hands. Try to play as naturally as possible. A goal is to execute even the most complicated passages as though you are hardly working at all.

5. Learn the basics of music notation. It is very important to understand notation, so that you can appropriately interpret what the composer has written. A composer painstakingly writes out each slur, fortissimo, staccato, and rest—you need to fully understand these elements so that you can play what the composer intended.

6. Learn the basics of theory. The more theory you know, the more you will be able to produce meaningful, interesting music. When you understand what makes a cadence, or why a scale was used in conjunction with a particular harmony, you are able to produce better music.

7. Practice slowly. A common learning technique is to play a piece very slowly, and with the metronome. This allows you to practice playing challenging parts of the piece, while maintaining a steady rhythm. Once you can comfortably play slowly, you will find you are better able to play faster and still maintain accuracy and rhythm.

8. Practice for as long as you are able, but take breaks. The more time you can spend practicing, the more your playing will likely improve. But remember also to take breaks every 15-30 minutes, to give your hands a chance to rest and recuperate from the activity and prevent tendonitis.

Practising Tips

Many students start piano lessons and love them, but hate the practicing. Even students who have been studying for quite some time can become dissatisfied with the results they are getting from their practicing. Here are some tips to assist you in making your practicing more fun, more successful and more productive.

1. Set small, achievable goals.
Eventually you will be able to play the entire piece on which you are working. You can learn the piece and feel frustrated along the way, or you can learn the piece and feel successful as you achieve each small goal toward your bigger goal. Either way, you've learned the piece and feeling successful is much more fun!

2. Practice for shorter periods of time.
Unless, you are working on endurance, shorter practice periods (15-20 minutes) allow you to stay focused and feel alert. Six, thirty minute sessions are better than one, hour and a half session. Don't be afraid to take a 5 or 10 minute break throughout your practicing.

3. Practice for results, not time.
Like number 1, set a goal and practice until you reach that goal before going onto another goal. Don't just practice until 20 minutes are up. You'll be too busy watching the clock and not concentrating on accomplishing your goal.

4. Know when to ask for help.
If you have honestly worked on a goal and have tried all the tricks you know to accomplish it yet are still unsatisfied with your results, ask someone who has already played the piece you are working on. It could be your teacher or a friend or your mom or dad.

5. If you feel frustrated, take a break. Often, we hear the phrase, "No pain, no gain." I prefer to say, "Know pain, no gain"! Your body sends a pain signal when you are physically hurt to stop you from what you are doing. The "pain" of frustration is your minds way of telling you to take a break Pay attention to the sign of frustration; if you don't, the mind will usually increase the level of frustration until you do!

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