Playing the piano can be either a very relaxing activity or an exhausting chore.
The outcome depends on how you make the most of the time you have.
Every piano student hates to be told the old adage that practice makes perfect.
Practice may make us better pianists, that's for sure.
So a little practice is better than no practice.
So, explore some tips that might make your practice time more effective.
Sitting on a piano bench for a lengthy period of time can be rather uncomfortable.
Therefore, it is imperative to do some stretches before practicing, keep good posture while practicing, and take frequent breaks to get up and stretch some more.
This will enable you to practice longer without getting sore.
Keep your fingers and arms relaxed while playing.
Tension will result in more mistakes, which will lead to more tension! Avoid this vicious circle by doing some simple scales and finger exercises to loosen your fingers and wrists whenever they start to feel stiff.
Relax your shoulders so they are not tensed up and keep your your back upright so you do not look hunched.
Keep your hands with your fingers including your thumb slightly curved on the keys so that you do not rest your wrist on the wood.
The purpose of piano practice is not the same as that of piano performance.
Practice prepares you for performance.
Slowing the tempo of the music will help you concentrate more on note accuracy during practice.
Once you have the notes down, you will be able to speed up.
Try repeating short problem sections one hand at a time until you have it perfected.
If you notice that a particular hand (usually your left, if you are right-handed) is weaker, then pay particular attention to strengthening it through scales and finger exercises.
You piano teacher will recommend some books for you to try, such as Hanon or Czerny.
These composers focus in their exercise books on strengthening certain fingers, especially the fourth finger, for example.
If you practice these exercises for a few weeks you will be pleasantly surprised because you will notice your weaker fingers will become stronger--and probably all of your fingers will redistribute the sound with all of your fingers.
Try practicing without using the pedal.
This will help you hear mistakes more clearly, and you will be surprised how much better the piece sounds when you do play it with the pedal later.
Whatever tips you take away from this, just remember to keep mixing them up and import plenty of variety into your practice session.
This will keep it from becoming a bore.
If you are learning a longer piece, an easy way to keep from being overwhelmed is to break it up into smaller sections.
Each day you can set a goal that you are going to perfect a particular section.
It might be a few measures or more, but that is what you will concentrate on each day.
When you have a definite goal in mind, it makes the time go much quicker and before you know it, you can put all the sections together into one flawless performance.
Whatever you do, do not get discouraged when practicing.
Even the greatest of musicians have to hammer out their notes over and over and over again to get it just right.
When you are just starting to learn the piano, it is so easy to just wish that you could get good overnight, but it does not work that way.
Your years of practice and hard work will eventually pay off with great rewards if you just decide to apply yourself to your goals and believe in yourself.
The outcome depends on how you make the most of the time you have.
Every piano student hates to be told the old adage that practice makes perfect.
Practice may make us better pianists, that's for sure.
So a little practice is better than no practice.
So, explore some tips that might make your practice time more effective.
Sitting on a piano bench for a lengthy period of time can be rather uncomfortable.
Therefore, it is imperative to do some stretches before practicing, keep good posture while practicing, and take frequent breaks to get up and stretch some more.
This will enable you to practice longer without getting sore.
Keep your fingers and arms relaxed while playing.
Tension will result in more mistakes, which will lead to more tension! Avoid this vicious circle by doing some simple scales and finger exercises to loosen your fingers and wrists whenever they start to feel stiff.
Relax your shoulders so they are not tensed up and keep your your back upright so you do not look hunched.
Keep your hands with your fingers including your thumb slightly curved on the keys so that you do not rest your wrist on the wood.
The purpose of piano practice is not the same as that of piano performance.
Practice prepares you for performance.
Slowing the tempo of the music will help you concentrate more on note accuracy during practice.
Once you have the notes down, you will be able to speed up.
Try repeating short problem sections one hand at a time until you have it perfected.
If you notice that a particular hand (usually your left, if you are right-handed) is weaker, then pay particular attention to strengthening it through scales and finger exercises.
You piano teacher will recommend some books for you to try, such as Hanon or Czerny.
These composers focus in their exercise books on strengthening certain fingers, especially the fourth finger, for example.
If you practice these exercises for a few weeks you will be pleasantly surprised because you will notice your weaker fingers will become stronger--and probably all of your fingers will redistribute the sound with all of your fingers.
Try practicing without using the pedal.
This will help you hear mistakes more clearly, and you will be surprised how much better the piece sounds when you do play it with the pedal later.
Whatever tips you take away from this, just remember to keep mixing them up and import plenty of variety into your practice session.
This will keep it from becoming a bore.
If you are learning a longer piece, an easy way to keep from being overwhelmed is to break it up into smaller sections.
Each day you can set a goal that you are going to perfect a particular section.
It might be a few measures or more, but that is what you will concentrate on each day.
When you have a definite goal in mind, it makes the time go much quicker and before you know it, you can put all the sections together into one flawless performance.
Whatever you do, do not get discouraged when practicing.
Even the greatest of musicians have to hammer out their notes over and over and over again to get it just right.
When you are just starting to learn the piano, it is so easy to just wish that you could get good overnight, but it does not work that way.
Your years of practice and hard work will eventually pay off with great rewards if you just decide to apply yourself to your goals and believe in yourself.
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