How to Practice Piano
Learning music is like learning a language. It requires continual support, encouragement, and practice. For this reason, I recommend both children and adults practice the length of one's lesson each day. It is also best to practice at a regular time (every day before work, every day after school, every day after dinner, etc), as a daily habit is easier to enforce, and it ultimately becomes part of one's routine (like teeth brushing). For younger beginners, I strongly recommend parents sit with their children during practice time to ensure good practicing habits are established.
If you practice consistently and follow the helpful tips below, you are sure to see results. When you are practicing a difficult song...
1. Clap (or tap) and Count
2. Play Hands Separately and Count
3. Play Hands Together and Count
4. Practice SLOWLY
5. Focus On Difficult Spots
6. Don’t Ignore Missed Notes
7. Split the Piece Up
8. Do Line by Line Practicing
9. Take Your Time
10. Find Patterns
11. Take Breaks!
12. HAVE FUN!!!
And for older/more advanced students, I highly recommend incorporating the following into your practice sessions as well:
Correct Mistakes When They Happen During Practice Time
1. Focus on the difficult passage (figure out the notes, rhythm, details, etc).
2. Play slowly until the error has been fixed.
3. Repeat the section until it can be played three times perfectly (at a slower tempo).
4. Build speed using the "Tempo Timeline."
5. Reintroduce the once challenging passage back into the song by utilizing "Line-By-Line Practicing."
More details about the above 5 tips can be found in my blog post, "Getting the Most Out of Your Practice Time: Correct Mistakes When They Happen!"
If you practice consistently and follow the helpful tips below, you are sure to see results. When you are practicing a difficult song...
1. Clap (or tap) and Count
2. Play Hands Separately and Count
3. Play Hands Together and Count
4. Practice SLOWLY
5. Focus On Difficult Spots
6. Don’t Ignore Missed Notes
7. Split the Piece Up
8. Do Line by Line Practicing
9. Take Your Time
10. Find Patterns
11. Take Breaks!
12. HAVE FUN!!!
And for older/more advanced students, I highly recommend incorporating the following into your practice sessions as well:
Correct Mistakes When They Happen During Practice Time
1. Focus on the difficult passage (figure out the notes, rhythm, details, etc).
2. Play slowly until the error has been fixed.
3. Repeat the section until it can be played three times perfectly (at a slower tempo).
4. Build speed using the "Tempo Timeline."
5. Reintroduce the once challenging passage back into the song by utilizing "Line-By-Line Practicing."
More details about the above 5 tips can be found in my blog post, "Getting the Most Out of Your Practice Time: Correct Mistakes When They Happen!"
How to Choose a Piano
Regardless of the level of the student, learning to play on an acoustic piano is highly recommended, as many aspects of musicality can only exist on an acoustic piano (varying dynamics, articulations, etc).
That said, if you or your child is just at the beginning stages of learning and are in the first year of study focusing on music/note reading and posture, it is possible to learn the absolute basics on a full size keyboard with weighted keys. For more information about buying a digital piano, please read this blog post.
When you are ready to buy an acoustic piano, there are many options to choose from. You can buy a new piano, a used piano, or rent-to-own. Here are some good articles with tips to buying a piano:
http://www.ptg.org/userfiles/file/Piano_Buying_Tips.pdf
http://www.allthingspiano.com/buyers-guide.htm
http://www.pianoworld.com/buypiano.htm
That said, if you or your child is just at the beginning stages of learning and are in the first year of study focusing on music/note reading and posture, it is possible to learn the absolute basics on a full size keyboard with weighted keys. For more information about buying a digital piano, please read this blog post.
When you are ready to buy an acoustic piano, there are many options to choose from. You can buy a new piano, a used piano, or rent-to-own. Here are some good articles with tips to buying a piano:
http://www.ptg.org/userfiles/file/Piano_Buying_Tips.pdf
http://www.allthingspiano.com/buyers-guide.htm
http://www.pianoworld.com/buypiano.htm