Some people naturally fall in love with playing the piano. From the moment they sit down at the keyboard, they know the piano will be in their lives for life.
For some, that could be simply playing for pleasure at home, a simple way to relax after a hard day of work.
For others, it might be to see how far you can take what you learn. Play professionally? Maybe.
But before you start entertaining audiences, there are a few things you’ll have to overcome. Most pianists fall into one of these habits at some point in their piano playing career. Catch it quickly, and you can avoid the bad habits settling in and preventing you from perfecting your skill.
Wrong body posture
Humans are meant to be active. Yet in today’s society, we’re anything but. We hunch over computers hours each day. We sit on the couch, staring at the television, smart devices in our hands tapping away.
Then you sit down at the piano, and all of those habits transfer over to your posture at the keyboard.
To correct this, be conscious of how you sit. Choose the right chair or bench, and spend the first few seconds aware of how you sit. Pay attention to your body angle. Ensure your arms are relaxed, and the seat is the perfect distance to allow your hands to naturally hover over the keys. Too much tension can cause stress on your wrists.
Using the wrong fingers
One of the problems with picking up piano playing yourself is you can fall into bad habits unknowingly. Can you imagine typing on a keyboard and not putting the right fingers on the correct keys? It’ll slow you down.
The same applies to your fingers on the piano keys. Your fingers are a perfect stretch between the C-notes. If you’re singing the familiar song “Do Re Mi”, it would be Do to Do. This gives your fingers the proper spacing to play any song, and play it well.
Having the wrong touch
This follows with not being positioned correctly at the keyboard. Without proper hand placement, your fingers won’t connect delicately with the keys. You’ll swipe at them, bang them, and create a sound that is anything but pleasing. It won’t feel natural. And more importantly, it’ll create stress on your hands and arms.
It’s critical to have proper arm placement while you play. This puts your fingers in a natural position that gives them power to connect with the keys, yet a delicate touch that keeps them limber while they play.
Practicing incorrectly
Oh, the struggle of daily practice. That’s what turns a lot of people off from playing the piano regularly. They schedule daily practice in thirty-minute increments, and sit down watching the minutes tick by. 3-2-1 – I’m free!
If you started out loving the piano, and want it to be a part of your life, it’s important to keep your practice fresh and new. Skip setting a time clock, and give yourself goals instead. Realize that some days you might only choose to play for a few minutes – that’s okay. By telling yourself you’ll play one song, learn one passage, or just sit down to have fun with it, you’ll give yourself room to play and explore. And ultimately, that’s a better approach than setting a time clock.
Do you enjoy playing the piano? What habits have you had to overcome?
