There are plenty of things necessary to master the piano, but here’s my 5 tips to master the piano.
- Learn how to practice correctly. What? Well, as I tell students, practice isn’t just “playing through” the song 5 or 10 times. Practice is figuring out where the trouble spots are and working them out so that you learn the correct notes, rhythms, articulations and dynamics from beginning to end with confidence!
- Practice, practice, practice! When parents ask me how long their child should practice, I tell them 24 hours a day. Obviously, that’s unrealistic, but the more time invested in practice will make for growth and better musicianship. 15-30 minutes on a consistent, daily schedule is going to lead to more musical growth than 5-10 minutes sporadically throughout the week.
- Expose yourself to as much piano music (and music) as you possibly can! One of the things that helped foster and build my love of music was being surrounded by it. The more you can be exposed to piano music, classical music, or any kind of music not only for passive listening, but active listening, helps you immensely.
- Take as many performance opportunities as you can. Whether that is playing at a nursing home, playing for family, whatever the case is, the more you can get experience in performing, that brings about more confidence. Yes, you’ll mess up and make mistakes, but having those experiences of performing, having it bomb, and learning from it brings about humility, a focus on working more, and more growth as a performer!
- Final point: Have fun! Music is work, no doubt. But it’s also creative, beautiful and artistic. If you’re so focused on the work aspect of music, you will tire of it quickly and want to give up. When it’s fun, you want to keep going and you enjoy what you do.
So what did I miss? What do you think are other tips to help master the piano? Comment with your thoughts.