A common problem for aspiring pianists and other musicians is learning how to practice their instrument. This article will give you some pointers to help you practice piano more efficiently and effectively. You will learn how to make the best use of your time, how to "warm up," how to learn new pieces, and how to deal with difficult passages.
Consistent Practice Schedule
Adult piano students have many demands on their time, and beginners often put their practice time at the bottom of their priorities list. To be successful as an aspiring pianist, it is important to have a consistent practice schedule. Set aside a particular time of day that will be religiously devoted to piano practice. I reserve my mornings for practice. Beginners should set aside at least a half hour daily, five days a week. If you can't get the full half hour, do what you can, and make up lost time on another day. Remember, the more you practice, the faster you will improve!
Review Previous Lesson Material
A good way to get "warmed up" when you first sit down to practice is to review previous lesson pieces, especially the pieces that you may play well. Be careful not to spend an inordinate amount of your practice time on review. If you only have a half hour to practice, 5 or 10 minutes reviewing should suffice. After you've played the review pieces, start working on new material.
Play Hands Separately
Start learning a new piece by playing hands separately first, and working out any fingering or counting difficulties before playing hands together. Play the piece slowly with a steady, even tempo. When you have mastered the finger "moves," try playing hands together, but at a slower tempo than you played hands separately.
Count Out Loud
This is the hardest thing for beginner students to get comfortable with. Counting out loud helps you focus on the music, and keep steady time. Many students think "I'll just count in my head." What invariably happens is that you will start counting, but within a few measures you stop and quickly lose focus and tempo. If you learn to count correctly out loud, you'll be able to learn any piece of music! With counting, you will also always know where you are in the measure. When counting eighth notes, count all of the "ands." For example in a piece with eighth notes written in 3/4, count "one-and, two-and, three-and" for every measure. This will help you keep the proper note rhythm placement.
Difficult Passages
There is a common tendency to play through difficult passages, without fixing any difficulties or problems. Often we just want to get through that part to the next section, which may be easier. We hope that as we play through the whole piece, that the tough sections will get better. Sometimes this works, but usually we just continue playing the difficult part poorly. Often the problem may be trouble with the counting or the fingering. Difficult passages need to be practiced separately, slowly, until the section is mastered. Sometimes the problem is only in one measure. If so, practice that one measure until you have worked the problem through. Then play the whole piece only as fast as you can play that difficult passage.
Listen Carefully to Yourself
As you learn a new piece of music, listen carefully to yourself to see if you are keeping steady time, playing the correct notes, and counting the rhythm correctly. If possible try to listen to a recording of the music that you are trying to play, so you can hear what you may soon sound like.
Have Fun!
Playing piano is about enjoyment. Unfortunately, beginners can get frustrated because it can be difficult to sound "musical" when you first start playing. Know that with steady, consistent practice you will sound musical before you know it. Keep it simple and play "easy" material. As you get better, the definition of "easy" starts to include what you once considered "difficult." Reward yourself as you hit milestones on your piano journey. Most of all have fun!
Consistent Practice Schedule
Adult piano students have many demands on their time, and beginners often put their practice time at the bottom of their priorities list. To be successful as an aspiring pianist, it is important to have a consistent practice schedule. Set aside a particular time of day that will be religiously devoted to piano practice. I reserve my mornings for practice. Beginners should set aside at least a half hour daily, five days a week. If you can't get the full half hour, do what you can, and make up lost time on another day. Remember, the more you practice, the faster you will improve!
Review Previous Lesson Material
A good way to get "warmed up" when you first sit down to practice is to review previous lesson pieces, especially the pieces that you may play well. Be careful not to spend an inordinate amount of your practice time on review. If you only have a half hour to practice, 5 or 10 minutes reviewing should suffice. After you've played the review pieces, start working on new material.
Play Hands Separately
Start learning a new piece by playing hands separately first, and working out any fingering or counting difficulties before playing hands together. Play the piece slowly with a steady, even tempo. When you have mastered the finger "moves," try playing hands together, but at a slower tempo than you played hands separately.
Count Out Loud
This is the hardest thing for beginner students to get comfortable with. Counting out loud helps you focus on the music, and keep steady time. Many students think "I'll just count in my head." What invariably happens is that you will start counting, but within a few measures you stop and quickly lose focus and tempo. If you learn to count correctly out loud, you'll be able to learn any piece of music! With counting, you will also always know where you are in the measure. When counting eighth notes, count all of the "ands." For example in a piece with eighth notes written in 3/4, count "one-and, two-and, three-and" for every measure. This will help you keep the proper note rhythm placement.
Difficult Passages
There is a common tendency to play through difficult passages, without fixing any difficulties or problems. Often we just want to get through that part to the next section, which may be easier. We hope that as we play through the whole piece, that the tough sections will get better. Sometimes this works, but usually we just continue playing the difficult part poorly. Often the problem may be trouble with the counting or the fingering. Difficult passages need to be practiced separately, slowly, until the section is mastered. Sometimes the problem is only in one measure. If so, practice that one measure until you have worked the problem through. Then play the whole piece only as fast as you can play that difficult passage.
Listen Carefully to Yourself
As you learn a new piece of music, listen carefully to yourself to see if you are keeping steady time, playing the correct notes, and counting the rhythm correctly. If possible try to listen to a recording of the music that you are trying to play, so you can hear what you may soon sound like.
Have Fun!
Playing piano is about enjoyment. Unfortunately, beginners can get frustrated because it can be difficult to sound "musical" when you first start playing. Know that with steady, consistent practice you will sound musical before you know it. Keep it simple and play "easy" material. As you get better, the definition of "easy" starts to include what you once considered "difficult." Reward yourself as you hit milestones on your piano journey. Most of all have fun!
Copyright 2009 - Peter Hostage. You may freely republish this article provided the text, author credit, active links and copyright notice remain intact.
Peter Hostage, editor of http://www.teach-me-piano.com is a professional jazz/blues pianist, owner/director of a music academy and author of The Piano Guide Book Series, a piano method developed for the busy adult lifestyle. To learn more, sign up for the free Piano Guide E-zine.
http://teach-me-piano.com/
Peter Hostage, editor of http://www.teach-me-piano.com is a professional jazz/blues pianist, owner/director of a music academy and author of The Piano Guide Book Series, a piano method developed for the busy adult lifestyle. To learn more, sign up for the free Piano Guide E-zine.
http://teach-me-piano.com/
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