Trying to learn piano could be a bit disheartening if you focus on your playing for weeks on end only to discover that you don't appear to be getting anywhere. A lack of improvement is the single most common reason that folk quit learning to play the piano, this is above all true in youngsters. In order to improve at playing the piano here are a few ideas for your practice sessions.
Structure your practice sessions - Make a little routine for your practice sessions. This will be rather different for every person based on the kind of music they are learning and the style they are intending to play in.
The very first move to make when you sit down to practice is to warm up. This can be done really effectively by playing scales and arpeggios which apart from warming up the fingers also serves in becoming comfortable at playing in all keys.
Once you have done the warmup you may then go on to playing your pieces. You'll know where the tricky passages are in the pieces that you're learning. Go to these sections at the start of your practice sessions. Separate the hands and spend a few moments playing each hand by itself. First the right hand and then the other but do keep swapping over in order not to allow the other hand get cold. As soon as you have done that for some time you must then attempt to play the section with both hands together. Now you can go onto playing the entire piece and feel more comfortble when it comes to that difficult part you have just practiced.
Try and employ a metronome if you can, both for your scales and for any pieces that you are learning to play too if they allow it. At first set the metronome at a reduced speed so you can practice the piece more in the correct way. After you've the piece roughly in hand then you can over a period of a few days start to bit by bit rack up the tempo till you are practicing the piece at its correct speed. You could even try setting the metronome at a quicker speed than required simply to get your fingers really used to the piece.
You want to learn how to relax at the same time as you are playing. Relax your fingers, your back and in fact your full posture. If you are tense while you play then you will find it much trickier to control your fingers and for your playing to flow. Doing this is a bit like learning how to ride a bike. In the beginning there are such a lot of things to remember and coordinate but at some specific point it all of a sudden clicks and it all slides into place.
Structure your practice sessions - Make a little routine for your practice sessions. This will be rather different for every person based on the kind of music they are learning and the style they are intending to play in.
The very first move to make when you sit down to practice is to warm up. This can be done really effectively by playing scales and arpeggios which apart from warming up the fingers also serves in becoming comfortable at playing in all keys.
Once you have done the warmup you may then go on to playing your pieces. You'll know where the tricky passages are in the pieces that you're learning. Go to these sections at the start of your practice sessions. Separate the hands and spend a few moments playing each hand by itself. First the right hand and then the other but do keep swapping over in order not to allow the other hand get cold. As soon as you have done that for some time you must then attempt to play the section with both hands together. Now you can go onto playing the entire piece and feel more comfortble when it comes to that difficult part you have just practiced.
Try and employ a metronome if you can, both for your scales and for any pieces that you are learning to play too if they allow it. At first set the metronome at a reduced speed so you can practice the piece more in the correct way. After you've the piece roughly in hand then you can over a period of a few days start to bit by bit rack up the tempo till you are practicing the piece at its correct speed. You could even try setting the metronome at a quicker speed than required simply to get your fingers really used to the piece.
You want to learn how to relax at the same time as you are playing. Relax your fingers, your back and in fact your full posture. If you are tense while you play then you will find it much trickier to control your fingers and for your playing to flow. Doing this is a bit like learning how to ride a bike. In the beginning there are such a lot of things to remember and coordinate but at some specific point it all of a sudden clicks and it all slides into place.
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To learn piano effectively, the key to becoming a good player isn't just daily practice but a structured daily practice routine that is right for you - try the piano lessons for beginners page of the internet site.
