Comments on: How to Practice Piano

on 6/26/2008 Keep your eyes on the music?? It's memorization and keeping focus on the hands that takes real effort

on 8/8/2006 Always practice first what you don't know, while your mind is fresh and you are alert.

on 8/8/2006 Playing the piano is all or nothing. If you aren't willing enough to give 120%, then just forget about being a musician!

on 8/8/2006 Promise yourself that you will practice for the same amount of time every day for two weeks or a month. This kind of goal should keep you motivated, since there is a sense of achievement and completion at the end. This kind of goal may also help you to practice more than usual for the duration of your practice period. Fulfilling your promise may involve a certain amount of sacrifice, such as watching less television.

In North India, classical musicians have what is called a cilla (pronounced chill-AH), a period of forty days in which one practices every day for the same amount of time in the same place at the same time of day. These chilla can be observed as often as possible. Such devotion and discipline is what enables the best musicians to attain great heights.

on 8/8/2006 About 5 years ago, I despised practicing the piano. I was so angered that I started thinking about quitting. However, I didn't want to give up because all that time that I had wasted trying to learn it would be for nothing. So I started practicing as much as I could, and to my surprise, I found interest in many different things. And if I still didn't find interest, the least I could do is started playing a different genre. So whatever you do, don't quit until you give it your best try.

on 8/8/2006 Always focus on your piece. Careless slips of the finger or misplaced notes usually stem from distractions. Calm yourself before playing. Also, while playing a piece, do not agitate yourself unnecessarily by playing faster (speeding) or tensing your shoulders.

on 8/8/2006 Listen and think during practice. Never play on automatic.

on 8/8/2006 Occasionally I find that playing blind does help with your focus on the piece; and not just with accuracy. While playing blind helps you remember how you fingers are placed and stretched among the keys, you would also be able to feel a piece better.

on 8/8/2006 Break down the music into smaller and smaller sections and practice these, adding back each section until you have conquered the piece. Teach your students this as soon as possible!

on 8/8/2006 In general, always gauge which hand (left or right) is playing the main melody. The main melody should always be brought out of a piece and should be heard over the supporting notes (in the other hand). This especially true for pieces written in the classical period, like Mozart, Clementi, Beethoven. Keep in mind that other periods, like Baroque, usually have equally important parts in both hands.

on 8/8/2006 Always judge for yourself what sounds the best to you. Your interpretations are always based on your moods. As a general guideline ornaments, running notes should be played at a softer dynamics.

on 8/8/2006 Practice every day, even if it is only for 10 minutes or so; it prevents your fingers from going to waste.

on 8/8/2006 Always block scale passages and broken chords to find the best fingering. Blocking reinforces tactile and visual memory also.

on 3/15/2006 Love the piano! That's the only way. It's hard to love it if you were stuck with it for 10 odd years (like me) and not exactly loving it. But look at it at a different light; the piano is yours, and you can play it in anyway you want. It changes the way you play it.

on 1/4/2006 When you want to memorize a song, all you need to do is to practice that song once a day and memorize about 1-4 bars at a time.