Many people enjoy practicing the piano, but there are a few who loathe it. It’s because of this hatred of practice that they find it difficult to grow as a musician and learn new things. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a virtuoso or a beginner – practice is always important!
Here we’re going to give you a few tips to help you get the most out of your practice session and hopefully, in time, become a better player!
Schedule
Set a time each day to sit down at the piano. It’s all about the commitment you’re giving the instrument. Even if you really don’t want to play today, just run through a few scales or a song. It doesn’t matter how long you sit there for, at least you’re playing.
By regularly playing you’ll achieve far more than you would playing a lot one day, and then very little for the rest of the week. Pick a time in the day when you’re least busy. No excuses!
Problem areas
One of the most frustrating parts of practicing any instrument is of course, your problem areas. To you, they’re a hindrance and sometimes they can ruin your commitment to the instrument. These ‘problem areas’ could be anything from your posture, to struggling with certain parts of a piece.
Pick out these issues and put extra time into working on them. Overcoming them will be a great achievement and allow you to concentrate on growing even further. You should never ignore problem areas. Not addressing them could end up meaning that they become a part of your regular playing.
Take it slow
If you’re working on a new piece then it’s all too tempting to jump straight in and trying to learn it all at once. The best way to learn is to go slow with everything. Start small and learn just the start. Sit with this part of the piece for a week mastering it. Once you’ve got that part down, move to the next. Trying to learn it all very quickly could mean that you pick up a few bad habits in your playing. Not good.
Set goals
The most important part of getting the most out of your practice sessions is to set goals. It can be hard to stay motivated to learn, especially when you have other stuff on your plate. If you have goals though, you’re aiming towards something. Those goals could be learning a new piece, ironing out your problem areas or mastering your posture.
When you achieve these goals, set another. It’ll help you climb the ladder towards being an expert pianist.
Don’t give up
As I said, it can be hard to remain motivated when learning and bettering your piano playing skills. You should always mix things up to keep your practice sessions fresh. It’s all too easy to reach a level you’re comfortable with and stay there. But if you want to really enjoy your instrument you should always be looking to better yourself.