10 Quick Tips About Piano Practice

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 Mailbox Monday

Question: The children don't know how to practice their songs. Can you help?

Yes, thanks for asking this frequent question that is so common with many households.

I have written at least three articles on the subject. So, without copying and pasting all the information here in this blog post, I thought I'd share the links with you to look at in your free time.

I hope they will be helpful in your discipline as an artist to visit the piano each day and make the most of your piano lessons at home.

In 2005 I wrote: How To Practice The Piano In Five Easy Steps

In 20011 I wrote: Practice Tips

In 2015 I wrote: 10 Quick Tips About Piano Practice

 I decided to share the latest one with those in the beginner's corner.

1. Practice warm-ups first. When your hands are warmed-up properly, you will be able to approach a new song with greater ease and with less mistakes. Lack of tension produces more beautiful tones. Use scales and finger exercises for your warm-up. Always use curved fingers.
2. Practice slowly. Your brain cannot retain music information in detail when you play fast. It is necessary to play slowly and carefully at all times. Don't push your speed. Take it slow and steady. Play each warm-up slowly at first. When you can play smoothly and evenly you may gradually increase speed.
3. Practice short passages. Each day practice just one passage, and practice it very carefully and thoroughly. In the long run, this makes for a better practice session. When you have a short piece or song to work on, you will not feel overwhelmed.
4. Practice at the same time. First thing in the morning you are refreshed and ready to go. For others, school and homework come first. Follow up with a practice session in the afternoon or early evening.
5. Practice chart. A practice chart or journal is a record of your practice sessions, including what you practice and for how long. At the end of each practice session, write down exactly which piece you studied and the number of minutes spent on it. Make a specific list, set goals and try to meet them. Check each goal as you complete it. Make practicing a game or challenge.
6. Practice with correct fingering. Learn a song with the sequence of notes stepping up and down the keyboard. Learn the form of the movements to play the piece comfortably. Learn to be fluent in responding to finger numbers. If you are consistent with your fingering, you will be very secure and confident when playing in front of others. I can't emphasize good posture enough because it makes playing easier and enjoyable.
7. Practice right where you left off when you made a mistake. Students always start from the beginning of a song. They become very good at playing the beginning of a piece, but tend to be less proficient towards the end. Start over at the measure where you hit the wrong note.

8. Practice counting out loud. Counting out loud is good advice for the beginner student, especially during slow practice in the early stages of learning a song. It is an effective way to develop your sense of rhythm. Hearing your voice and your hands helps you with coordination between two hands as well as the timing of the piece. Counting the beat will help you play rhythms correctly. Counting out loud gets much easier with practice.
9. Practice each hand separately to the end. Take a few measures and within that segment play the Left Hand several times until you can play it comfortably with a rounded hand. Do the same with the Right Hand. Next play both hands slowly until you can play the segment comfortably before advancing to the next section. Decide if you want to practice each line or a couple of measures 2-3 times. Use a little weight when dropping into a key to make louder tones.
10. Practice looking at the music. As much as possible, try not to look down at your hands but look at your sheet music. It's fine to occasionally look down at your hands, especially after the piece has been learned. When you look at your hands just try to remember where you are on the sheet music, and do not move your head. Just move your eyes. When you look back up at the sheet music it will be easier to find your place on the sheet music.

All the best,

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

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Phantastic Phelps- Elite Eight

In the spirit of the Olympics, I am using a practice incentive with an Olympic theme for my piano students.
For everyday that you practice for 30 minutes, you can place a sticker on your Progress chart. Keep practicing!
Summer Olympics Motivational Chart.pdf

http://sites.google.com/a/wendyspianostudio.com/wendys-piano-studio/teaching-resources/motivational-charts

Phelps won 7th Gold of Beijing Olympics by .01 Second
In a crazy and exciting finish, Michael Phelps made history by winning the Men’s 100m butterfly race in Beijing on Friday. By winning this race Phelps tied Mark Spitz for the most gold medals ever won in a single Olympics. Spitz won seven golds in 1972 in Munich, Germany. Phelps then won his eighth medal on Sunday morning. His win did break Spitz’ record. Wow, the elite eight! Congratulations!

So, the question is, are you one step closer to your goal? Do you have a winning attitude towards your approach to piano practice?

There are four main ATTITUDES that hinder musicians from progressing in their abilities to play gospel music by ear. Let me explain... Attitude #1: "Learning songs by myself is too difficult so I'd rather just get the chords from someone else..." Relying on others to show us chords and progressions is one of the leading causes why we don't move to the next level in our playing. While we might sound, look, and play beautifully, the reality is that we don't understand anything we're playing. Sure enough, we might be playing some of the prettiest "2-5-1" progressions ever heard, but we lack substance ... knowledge ... and the know-how to advance to the next level. Attitude #2: "Ok... I'll learn the song in 'Ab' major but I'd rather transpose it to all of the other keys..." This is one of the biggest hindrances known not only to gospel musicians --- but to musicians in general. Why? Because every chord has multiple roles. By just playing in the key of "Ab" or "Eb", you've only used "Abmin9" or "Ebmin11" chords as it relates to those particular keys. But did you know that "Ebmin11" also has a role in the key of "Gb" or even the key of "B" major? It's not that you have to learn a whole new way of playing --- YOU JUST HAVE TO TRANSFORM YOUR MIND TO THINK IN PATTERNS ... that's all. Attitude #3: "I'll just learn new songs by pressing different notes and chords on my piano until it sounds right..." "Guessing" may or may not work for you but I can say that it is far from the best method of learning new songs. And while it may sound funny, tons of musicians rely on this very technique to "play by ear" --- though I wouldn't call it exactly that. It is the absolute opposite of learning music theory and patterns and ultimately leads to frustration and exhaustion. In other words, you simply get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Attitude #4: "I'm a trained sight reader so I can survive in a church setting by getting the sheet music to all of the songs..." This may work until there's either no sheet music for a particular song or until someone ends up improvising on a song without giving you prior notice. I would honestly say that in most church settings, the ability to play by ear is absolutely a must! To be quite frank with you, reading sheet music will only go so far --- especially if you're playing piano or organ in an uptempo, charismatic church. Rather, developing your ear and being on alert for sudden changes in a song will assure your "survivability" in a church setting.

Here are more printable certificates to use and print, whether you're a teacher, home school Mom or a perpetual learning piano player who wants to chart ones progress.

http://makingmusicfun.net/htm/printit-oliver-sticker-practice-chart.htm
You're in the game and everyone who tries and applies himself is a winner in my book! Go for the gold!

http://www.LadyDpiano.com