Practice Habits for Beginning Piano Students

It is important for beginning piano students to keep certain rules in mind as they practice for their private lessons.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Remember that slow and steady wins the race.  Practice the piano slowly at first.  It is important to give yourself adequate time to process the subtlety of tone, rhythm, posture and technique.  Accuracy is key and it is better to develop proper piano technique from the start than to develop bad habits, which will eventually need to be overcome in the future.  Practicing slowly helps beginner piano students to focus on the details and eliminate mistakes.

Tone is essential.  Don’t play timidly, but rather play without fear of mistakes.  It is expected that beginner pianists will make mistakes during practice.  If you let the fear of error influence your playing, your tone will suffer.  Let the instrument resonate to it’s full capacity.  Learn to draw the full potential of the instrument with your touch.  Let yourself play the wrong notes loudly and proudly!

Rhythm is possibly the single most important factor in the expression of music.  Many talented musicians learn superior technique but fail to master the intricacies of rhythm.  Rhythmic precision is worthy of at least half of the music you will produce.  Not all of us are born with an exact sense of timing, but we can all learn this ability with practice.  Use a metronome to assist you in your efforts.

Proper technique is best developed in the early stages of study.  Curve your fingers in order to develop the full power potential.  Be mindful of your finger position in order to prevent bad habits from creeping into your fingers.  Use the tips of your fingers and don’t flatten them out.

Sightreading is a skill that can help you absorb new lessons more quickly.  Try to look ahead while reading music.  You  can look for chords, scales and rhythms that will be easier to perform with a split second of extra preparation.  Play new pieces at a slow pace.  Go slowly enough to keep a steady rhythm while maintaining note accuracy.  Also, take the time to learn new pieces thoroughly.  Muscle memory is key to a musicians development and you will be able to retrieve mentally stored patterns, keys and notes from previously memorized pieces.

Work with a private piano instructor that suits your personal needs and preferences.  The study of music should be enjoyed.  Appreciate the challenges as you develop your skills.

Because Music Matters.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 12:46 am and is filed under Music Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.