Want to get better at playing the piano? Practice, practice, practice.
We all know that the key to getting better at something is to work at it a little each day. But is that really all there is to it?
In reality, you can sit down and spend thirty minutes every day and never improve IF you don’t improve your practicing skills. It’s not the amount that matters. It’s the quality of every session you sit down for.
How do you ensure you’re practicing the right way?
Start by removing distractions
It’s important to place your piano that gives you a chance to play without interruption. But that doesn’t mean put it in the corner of a dark basement either. Give yourself a pleasant playing space, and avoid areas where you know you’ll be easily distracted. Put your phone in another room if the buzzing and dinging of incoming messages can turn your attention. This allows you to get more done in the time designated for practice.
Create a structure for each session
If you workout regularly, you know there are specific goals for every workout. You’ll have a warm-up, specifically targeted workout routines, and a cooling down period. Structure your piano practice the same way. Warm-up with scales. Target specific goals with each session. Then cool down by playing your favorite pieces.
Set a goal for every practice session
Spend some time structuring your piano practice sessions to accomplish different goals. Do you want to learn a specific song? Are you trying to work on finger speed? Are you having trouble with particular sections of music? You can establish short and long term goals to ensure you stay on track with what you are playing.
Vary your routines
Structure is important. Setting goals is equally important. But if you do the same things over and over and over again, it tends to get repetitious and boring. Change things up in your routine. Instead of playing your favorite song as a cool down in the same way, change it up. Speed a section up. Slow a section down. Or add in your own ideas. Even this little change can keep your interest and make you press on.
Fix habits early
One of the best reasons to hire a teacher is to have them help you work through problems before they become habits. They see things you don’t, and correct things before they become issues. They tweak your performance and make it better. Don’t stick with the same piano teacher for years. Instead, set specific goals and find new instructors that can help you reach your goals.
Reward yourself
This can be small rewards, like purchasing new sheet music, or larger rewards like working towards purchasing a new piano. Rewards are positive reinforcement, and they can help push you to take more action, and stick with your goals every day.
