Piano Practice Techniques

Are you beginning piano lessons or starting over for the second time? Either way, you will need to develop your talent as completely and as efficiently as possible. These tips will ensure your success, even if you do not feel as if you are making much progress. In time, you will have all of the parts of piano talent developed!

Practice every day. An often misused tool, practicing steadily and slowly every day is a must for good piano skills. It does not matter how much progress you make in one day, as long as you spent a minimum of an hour practicing your piano. Also, do not be overly ambitious concerning the amount of time spent practicing each day. A maximum of three hours should be spent at the piano bench, and each of these hours should be separated by at least a half hour break.

Theory first. Learning the rules of the game is crucial to playing the game. Music theory has to do with key signatures, sharps, flats, major and minor scales, and sometimes history. Learning all about the piece before you begin will clear up any misunderstandings you might have in the future as to how it should be played. Theory often involves short practices of scales and chord intervals. Allow your fingers to learn these by heart so that you are not fumbling at the piano during recital time.

Exercises and Keys second. Before you begin your regular playing, you must develop practiced skills at playing multiple key signatures over more than one octave. Many key signatures are intimidating to first time students and many beginners will avoid playing pieces with complicated key signatures, due to the many sharps and flats. However, if your fingers are accustomed to playing scales in multiple key signatures, then any piece will look just as simple as the next one.

Pieces third. This is where you begin your practice of your piano pieces. Each piece of music is different and you might not want to practice more than two or three pieces at the beginning. Develop a technique for practice: Play through the first four or five measures at one time, playing slowly in order to get all of the notes correct without making mistakes.

Play these measures four or five more times until you begin feeling comfortable playing them and your fingers start to move to the correct positions without being watched. Then, pick up your pace a little, playing more quickly and confidently. When you are thoroughly practiced at the first few measures, move on to the next several measures and only practice them until they are perfected. When you feel confident with those, play all of the learned measures together from the beginning, concentrating on making the transition between practice sessions smooth and flawless. Do this throughout the piece until you are playing the piece smoothly without mistake.

Body positions. When you are playing the piano, your back should be perfectly straight. Many teachers have shorter students put a box under their feet so that they can sit straight at the keyboard without having to let their legs dangle and twist their posture. Your wrists should be resting in front of the keys when you are not playing. When you are playing, your hands should be held up parallel to the keyboard, your fingers curved into rather claw-like figures. You should be depressing the keys with the strength between the sections of your fingers, not playing them with flat fingers which have less leverage. In time, your finger strength will increase and you will be able to curve your fingers more easily.

Playing the piano is a highly rewarding and educational experience. It is an art form, though, and must be developed with scientific skill and discipline. Before long, you will be playing at your next recital, performing from memory for a live audience. At that time, all of your steady and faithful practicing will be rewarded with a standing ovation!