Music tips

Sometimes the hardest part about practicing the piano is getting started. It’s easy to get swept up in a busy schedule and not make time to practice the piano.

Make your piano practice be a very deliberate part of your day. Schedule it in just like you would schedule other important activities and appointments.

Find an optimal time of your day for piano practice. Some people feel the most mentally alert and clear in the morning and make piano practice a morning routine. Others might find morning to be too rushed and hectic, but enjoy using piano practice as a way to wind down in the evenings. Think through your day and find what works for you. Short frequent practice sessions are often more productive than longer infrequent sessions. You can’t cram to learn the piano. Just 10-15 minutes of daily practice will take you much further than one hour-long session each week.

Pianists are notorious for fudging tempo and rhythm in music. Since we spend most of our time alone at our piano, it’s easy to have some give and take in the tempo, play rhythms inconsistently and go back to fix tiny mistakes. All of these bad habits can add up to big rhythm problems over time. If you find yourself struggling to play with even rhythms and a consistent tempo, consider one of these techniques:

• Play with a metronome. If the metronome is a frustrating or intimidating thing for you, don’t worry, you’re not alone! Many people have to practice how to practice with a metronome. Back up a few steps to an older piece or an easy scale and do some metronome work to get used to how to use it.
• Play with a drum track. Some people are more successful playing along with a rhythm track on a digital piano or on an app. These tracks feel a little more musical than a metronome. You can hear the emphasis on different beats and it might be easier to stick with it.
• Find backing tracks to accompany your music. Depending on what music you’re learning, you may be able to find instrumental accompaniment tracks that go with your music. If your music came with a CD or has the option to download audio files, be sure to check it out and see if it’s something you can play along. Or, check YouTube and see if there’s a backing track for your song available there.

Practicing slowly is probably the very most important skill to employ at the piano. It’s tempting to want to always play music up to tempo, but the magic happens in slow practice. This is where you gain accuracy, hone your technical skills and train your hands to achieve perfection. Some people claim that they can’t play their music slowly. They say that when they slow down, they make more mistakes. This is a sure sign that slow practice is crucial! If you can’t play your music slowly, then you’re not playing it well when you play fast. However, if you’re playing it correctly slowly, it will speed up over time and you’ll maintain the same level of accuracy that you had at your slower tempo.