Correct Piano Playing Habits

Playing the piano, like any art form, requires proper technique and skill. Developing good piano playing habits will fine-tune your performance, no pun intended. You won't get much out of this experience if you don't approach it systematically. Habits must be formed, a regular schedule must be drawn up and applied, and once your playing takes off, you will see great results.

1. Proper posture and form. You should not have to strain or "get used to" an uncomfortable position while playing the piano. Sit straight, erect and comfortably on the piano stool, keep your feet flat on the ground and have your hands resting gently but firmly on the keyboard. If your legs are too short to be flat on the ground, make yourself more comfortable by using a stool for your feet, like Suzuki students do. When playing, it is important to remember that part of your skill will depend upon finger strength. You must develop all of the little muscles in your fingers, hands and wrists, in addition to keeping your shoulders relaxed and not slouching. Use a hand squeeze ball in your spare time to build the muscles in your fingers, and remember that a lot of those muscles can be built by playing the piano properly. Curl your fingers to where the end knuckles of all of your fingers are perpendicular to the keys. Never play with your fingers flat on the keys, for it is awkward, debilitating and lazy. Practice all of the time with your fingers curled perpendicular to the keys, and this will build your muscle strength immensely.

2. Scales. Even professional piano players practice their scales, so don't think that this exercise is limited to beginners. As with any instrument, practicing (and knowing) your scales can dramatically increase your sightreading ability. Sightreading is playing directly from the sheet music without looking down at your fingers. Being able to sightread well is essential for you to be able to play pieces which you have never played before, without practice first. Practice running scales and primary chords in every key. This will enable you to play a piece without being nervous about all of the sharps and flats in the key signature!

3. Keys and Theory. Learning all of the keys and music theory required may seem a little redundant to you. After all, why should you have to learn keys separately rather than just learning them as you come across them in new music? Well, remember what I said above about sightreading. If you don't know a key well, then you will be constantly looking down at the piano to see where that sharp or flat is that you're looking for. Sightreading is very important, and anything you can do to develop that is also important. Music theory is the study of the language of music and how it all fits together. In music theory, you will learn all of your key signatures, your circle of fifths, your major and minor pairings, and why key change is important to the progression of a song. You will also learn how to transcribe one piece of music into a different key. Chord progressions, music composition and different composers will also be covered.

4. Technique. Technique is the ability to sit down with a brand new sheet of music which you have never played, and to play it perfectly all the way through. In other words, it's the combination of sightreading well and lots of key signature and scale practicing. Most proficient piano players have good technique, so don't think that the ability to do this is out of your reach. Practice every day for an hour, at least, and remember to take breaks when you need them.

5. Memorization. You are talking to an expert on piano music memorization. I used to be such a huge procrastinator that I would wait until the night before a piano recital to memorize a five-page piece of music. Sometimes, I would not have been playing the piece well all of the way through yet before I had to start memorizing! Fortunately, I didn't always do this. The key to memorization of a particular piece is your muscle memory in your fingers. If you practice a piece over and over again by heart enough times, pretty soon you will not have to look at the keys anymore or think about what's next. Your fingers will automatically move to the each place correctly and flawlessly play the piece from memory. You will need plenty of time to memorize your piece, especially if you have never done this before. You will first have to be practicing it all of the way through perfectly with the sheet music. Once you have achieved that, try practicing the first line over and over, and then try doing it without the music. After you are confidently playing the first line from memory, start with the second line. Try to avoid the piece all the way to the new part every time. First, divide up the lines which you memorize and then practice playing them back to back. The reason for doing this is that you might have the last part of your piece under-memorized and know the first parts by heart. Give each section equal treatment until you are able to play it smoothly all of the way through!

Keep up your piano practice, playing and memorization until you are sure you will never need the sheet music again. Then play your piece over and over and over again until your fingers begin to automatically move to the correct places without you having to remember what's next. Now you are beginning to be a proficient piano player!

Sources:

1. 17 years of training and personal experience.

2. http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/theory/theory.htm

3. http://www.8notes.com/theory/

4. http://www.music-theory.com/