Want to be a better piano player? Get better with your piano practice. 

Piano practice is the foundation of piano playing. With regular and consistent practice, it is possible to become a skilled pianist. However, it’s not about keeping a strict schedule and adhering to it. It’s equally essential to perfect the way you practice. How much practice is truly enough?  

Let’s explore some useful tips for optimizing your piano practice sessions.

Practice Time

The time you spend practicing the piano largely depends on your goals and experience level. If you are a beginner, you might start with 30-45 minutes of daily practice, gradually increasing it to an hour or more as you become more comfortable with the instrument.

Intermediate and advanced players might aim for at least an hour of daily practice, with more time dedicated to specific areas of weakness or pieces that require more attention.

It is important to note that the quality of practice is more important than the quantity. A focused and productive 30-minute practice session can be more beneficial than a distracted and unfocused hour-long session.

Practice Frequency

Consistency is key when it comes to piano practice. It is better to practice each day for a shorter amount of time than to have one long practice session every week. Aim to practice daily, even if it is only for a short period of time.

Practice Routine

A structured practice routine can make your sessions more efficient and productive. Start with warm-up exercises to get your fingers and hands ready to play. Then, work on specific pieces or techniques that need improvement. End your practice session with some sight-reading or playing for fun to keep your motivation high.

Practice Techniques

Effective practice techniques can help you make the most of your practice time. One method is to break down a piece into smaller sections and work on each section separately before putting it all together. Another technique is to practice slowly and gradually increase the tempo until you can play the piece at the desired speed. Recording and listening to yourself play can also help you identify areas that need improvement.

Practice Mindset

Having a positive mindset can significantly impact the effectiveness of your practice sessions. It is critical to approach practice with a growth mindset, acknowledging that improvement takes time and effort. Celebrate small victories and be patient with yourself as you work towards your goals.

Conclusion

How much piano practice is enough? It depends on your goals and level of experience. 

Aim for daily practice, even if it is only for a short period of time, and prioritize quality over quantity. A structured practice routine and effective practice techniques can help you make the most of your practice time. 

This is something you do for enjoyment. Stop making it a chore. Approach practice with positivity and celebrate small victories along the way. With dedication and consistency, you can make significant progress in your piano playing.

Think playing the piano is only for kids? Think again. Studies show piano practice can be equally beneficial for adults of every age. 

The results are especially encouraging for elderly. Playing the piano has positive effects on a variety of things, including cognitive function and overall quality of life. 

If you’re considering the piano, no matter what your age, here are a few reasons to give it a go. 

Increases brain power

Just listening to music has been shown to activate your brain. It can help improve memory, attention, motor function, language processing, and emotion. But when you play an instrument, it enhances each of those functions even more. Brain scans of musicians and non-musicians have been shown to have significant differences. Playing can keep you more involved, and increase brain plasticity throughout your lifetime.  

It makes you smarter

One of the reasons piano practice is recommended for children is because it increases IQ. Studies show that adding music lessons to your daily routine can improve your test scores. But what happens as a child can also occur throughout your lifetime. If you want to keep your brain active and functioning well, sit down at the piano regularly and practice the music you love. 

It makes you happier

Studies show that when people have more to do in their leisure time, they are happier, healthier adults. Whether it’s reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, or having a book talk with friends, staying active can make a difference in how much you enjoy life. Practicing the piano takes that to another level. It involves using many different skill sets, including visual scanning, attention, and motor function. It requires you to think on a different level. And that can bring contentment to your life. It allows you to escape other things that may be happening, and just enjoy yourself for a while. 

If you’re looking for something you can carry on into every stage of life, give the piano another look. Piano practice is both meditative and therapeutic, and can be a refreshing challenge every time you sit down. 

Why do we need to practice? The most obvious answer is: to get better. 

But it really goes beyond that. 

Piano practice gives you the ability to dive into the music and perform it to the best of your ability. Whether your performance is only for yourself, or you have dreams of playing in Carnegie Hall, our desire to get better stems from the ability to perform. 

Practice might seem like an easy thing to do. Just sit down at the piano and play. But it’s more complicated than that. With only a few strategies in place, your piano practice will improve, and you’ll enjoy playing and performing even more. 

Listen

Playing the piano isn’t just about touching the keys and making a sound. It’s also about hearing what you’re playing. To improve the music that you make, you have to listen to what you do. It’s also important to listen to others that play too. 

Are you trying to improve the way you play classical music? Listen to it. Pull it up on your Spotify and listen on your way to work or school. Feel the way a classically trained musician puts it all together. You’ll be surprised at how much listening can improve the way you play. 

Focus

There’s so much more to playing music than focusing on the notes. It’s also about the tiny details that change a piece of music from good to great. The more complex music you work with, the more the direction they’ll have written in the music. Are you taking all of those details into account while you play? It might not come easily, but focus in on every detail. Play sections over and over again, paying attention to a different detail each time. Slowly, you’ll see progress in the way you play, and hear it in the final melody. 

Beat

Consider the last difficult piece of music you worked on. Certain parts flowed while others were more difficult to carry through. You played to tempo in some areas where others dragged. One of the best ways to overcome that is to set the beat. Use a metronome to create a workable rhythm, and then play the entire piece up to speed. Work on the difficult parts until you can play them well. You’ll see improvement every time you sit down to play. 

What tips do you have to make your practice better?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … 

It’s also one of the busiest times of the year. 

If you’re having trouble finding the time to fit everything in between parties and activities and dinners, don’t let piano practice be the one activity that takes the hit. It’s easy to push piano practice aside, figuring it can wait until the new year when things return to normal. 

And while kids need a break from the same old routine, stepping away from the piano means a lot of the work they’ve done up until this point will be forgotten and disappear. 

Instead of taking a breather from playing the piano, change up the routine over the holidays instead. You can change the way your child practices the piano by doing these four things instead. 

Encourage mini recitals and sing-a-longs

Have you ever noticed you do more singing around the holidays? That’s because the most well-loved songs come out and become a part of our daily lives. Have your child work up a selection of music appropriate for their skill level. Then have them either play it in mini recital format, or create a family sing-a-long. Either way, it’s a great way to have your child show off their skills. 

Surprise your piano teacher

While you might want to give your piano teacher a special gift for the holidays, what they’d like even more is if you surprise them with a new song on the day of the first lesson after the holidays. Work ahead in your practice book, or find sheet music of a song you love. 

Download a new app

When was the last time you looked in the app store for piano apps? You might be surprised at the number of new apps that have been added. Help your child select a new app – find a game that helps them practice, or an app that lets them create their own music. You’re sure to find something that keeps their creative juices flowing. 

Go shopping for new music together

It’s easy to stick with the piano lesson books assigned by your piano teacher. But when was the last time you browsed through the available sheet music at your favorite music store? Let your child select a few songs appropriate for their skill level, and let them work on something new during the holidays.