Tips For Practicing Piano

Forums Rules

A shortened version of the Forums Rules is given below. The full version can be found here.

By maintaining a user account and by posting to these forums, you hereby agree to abide by these rules.

FORUMS RULES - A SNAPSHOT
- Stay safe - protect your privacy and respect the privacy of others
- No abusive, offensive or aggressive postings
- No insults or personal attacks
- No foul language
- No trolling
- No inappropriate or illegal material
- No advertising (including "For Sale" or "Wanted" adverts)
- No crossposting
- No forum spamming
- No defamatory comments
- Avoid using jargon, abbreviations or "text talk"

Tips For Practicing Piano

Options

A:TLA	May 30 2007, 11:24 PM Post #1
Newbie Group: Members Posts: 13 Joined: 26-May 07 From: Somewhere in the Universe...dun dun dun... Member No.: 11588	Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

pianodub	May 31 2007, 01:02 AM Post #2
Prodigy Group: Members Posts: 1517 Joined: 29-August 06 From: Ireland Member No.: 7528	What exactly is it that you hate so much? Your post is a little vague and its hard to give a useful answer without more details!

fsharpminor	May 31 2007, 07:30 AM Post #3
Maestro Group: Members Posts: 12335 Joined: 7-June 06 From: Wirral (originally Keighley, Yorks) Member No.: 7089	Surely you want to improve ? Isn't the motivation to improve the reason for wanting, nay, needing to practise ? If not you may as well pack it in ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

sonataform	May 31 2007, 09:55 AM Post #4
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 1-November 06 From: Argyll, Scotland Member No.: 8133	If you really "want to do well in piano" - which would mean actively wanting to go through the process of becoming better, rather than just saying "oh, cool, I can play piano" - you'll be practising anyway. If you only practise because your parents yell at you, I don't think you "want to do well in piano" at all.

sbhoa	May 31 2007, 10:03 AM Post #5
Maestro Group: Members Posts: 18997 Joined: 31-October 03 From: Tameside Member No.: 24	I agree with what others have said but here's a suggestion. Try setting yourself a target each time you practice instead of thinking 'I've got to practice for X minutes'. It might be to get 4 bars right (right means so that you can play at least 3 times in a row correctly). It might be more than that (or less). You will soon find what is a reasonable amount and you can either make it less or more depending on how easily you manage.

JudithJ	May 31 2007, 12:09 PM Post #6
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 930 Joined: 11-March 05 Member No.: 3307	If I'm finding a particular piece rather hard, to the extent that I'm a little demotivated to practice it, then I sometimes bribe myself with the promise of playing something fun after my practice. I might also restrict the amount that I need to practice. For example, I only need to work on the first two lines, etc.

xAbbie-Pianox	May 31 2007, 01:28 PM Post #7
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 239 Joined: 28-April 07 Member No.: 10980	QUOTE(A:TLA @ May 31 2007, 12:24 AM) Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I used to hate practsing (Not too sure why) but my teacher could see I wasnt, she kinda kicked me in the but with the comment she said (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) It was something like, well if your not practising enough wich i can see i'm not going to bother entering you into the exam because you will fail at this rate (i had all christmas too practise but i didnt and forgot how too play my pieces properly) then i started too practise it. If you don't want too be good then quite whil;e your ahead. But it is actully quite fun too practise. If you put your mind too it then you will actully practise. and when you do something wrong, take out your anger in on the piano/keyboard by playing it (don't shout abuse at it though!!)!! For some reasn I listen too music before I play, i dunno why...it jus makes me practise hader if you know what I mean, so unless you really want to play piano good then practise, if not quite while your ahead. Abbie xx

enharmonic	May 31 2007, 01:52 PM Post #8
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 288 Joined: 28-May 07 From: Devizes, Wiltshire Member No.: 11620	QUOTE(A:TLA @ May 31 2007, 12:24 AM) Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I was given a tip as a way of making myself do boring paperwork, but works for practising as well: Say to yourself "I'll just do 10 minutes - I can face doing most things for 10 minutes" You'll be surprised by how the 10 minutes turns into 45 mins, or an hour, or even longer.....

Oddball	May 31 2007, 01:54 PM Post #9
Maestro Group: Members Posts: 11091 Joined: 12-October 04 From: Market Harborough Member No.: 2310	QUOTE(A:TLA @ May 31 2007, 12:24 AM) Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I never practice piano. Never. I play the piano. Because practicing is DULL. Go and play something you LIKE: then move on to something you're working on, and take it from there.

jojo	May 31 2007, 05:09 PM Post #10
Virtuoso Group: Members Posts: 5211 Joined: 18-December 06 From: Member No.: 8716	QUOTE(A:TLA @ May 31 2007, 12:24 AM) Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) What works for me when I am not motivated enough is: to start with something I really like! I am fortunate enough that my favourite thing in the whole world are scales, arpeggios and broken chords!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) so if I don't feel like 'playing' I start revising my scales etc which I enjoy a lot, and I do 20 minutes at this (the 20minutes goes fast as I like it so much, and although I am at grade 2 standard or near there I am already learning scales for grade 4 so I do all my scales etc from grade 1 to 3 and start learning the grade 4 now), by the time I've finished I've 'warmed up' so much that I actually find some motivation (or a lot depends on days) and I go onto doing some work on pieces or playing some pieces! So far I never stopped at scales but if I did then I can always say that it was better than doing nothing at all! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

BBTOTW	May 31 2007, 05:14 PM Post #11
Prodigy Group: Members Posts: 1052 Joined: 18-December 06 From: UK Member No.: 8709	Just think of all those nice pieces that you'll be able to play with practice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

piello	May 31 2007, 07:57 PM Post #12
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 418 Joined: 22-August 06 Member No.: 7476	QUOTE(Oddball @ May 31 2007, 02:54 PM) QUOTE(A:TLA @ May 31 2007, 12:24 AM) Okay, sometimes I just HATE going and practicing piano. Any tips? 'Cause I want to do well in piano...and plus, it'll make my parents a lot happier if I practiced without them yelling at me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I never practice piano. Never. I play the piano. Because practicing is DULL. Go and play something you LIKE: then move on to something you're working on, and take it from there. Well, i'm not quite like Oddball, but i sight-read a lot. I love sightreading random pieces. playing stuff through without practicing it as such. Then i do practice properly the piece(s) i'm specifically working on; which i'm luck enough to also love. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) And also, i think of how great it would be to be able to sit down and play, say, any piece...urm...like...some Tchaikowsky perfectly so then i play! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Scaramouche	May 31 2007, 10:07 PM Post #13
Prodigy Group: Members Posts: 1372 Joined: 26-March 07 Member No.: 10322	Yep, I do the same as Oddball. I never practice piano, I play it. It doesn't really get me anywhere because I just sight-read everything and never learn anything properly, but I'm sure you can do better!

Robodoc	May 31 2007, 10:09 PM Post #14
Virtuoso Group: Members Posts: 2720 Joined: 30-March 07 From: Chorley, Lancs Member No.: 10431	QUOTE(Oddball @ May 31 2007, 02:54 PM) I never practice piano. Never. I play the piano. Because practicing is DULL. Go and play something you LIKE: then move on to something you're working on, and take it from there. I know what you mean, but . . . As a kid I used to just play piano: That's why I was never very good. Right now I am playing the piano again. However, now I have a goal, or several to be precise: I want to be able to play Schumann's Etudes Symphonique, the Chopin Etudes and Ballades and Liszt's Leibestraum no.3 (O, lieb) and Paganini study no. 3 (La Campanella). These are not easy pieces. Even to contemplate learning these pieces is madness, at the moment, so in the interim I'm working on grade 8. If I get that, then I'll work on the Diploma; then, maybe, the pieces for LRSM and beyond, not for the sake of the bits of paper, but as a way of developing "in bite-size chunks". I'm certainly not going to get there without working, if then, nor without expert guidance, so I go to lessons again, and I practice as I never did when a child. Yes, I practice but I still enjoy it. I even enjoy the exercises: Eventually it may be that I will be able to play perfectly any scale, arpeggio, broken chord or chord sequence you care to name, at blistering and awe-inspiring speed. Until that day I will continue to practice. I love the music I practice. I am prepared to put in the boring hours to get it right considering the time spent as an investment. In short, the journey to musical virtuosity is long and arduous. So much so that although it helps to keep the long term target in mind, whatever it may be, if you don't enjoy the journey you won't make it. The first question is, where are you going? The second is, how are you going to get there? QUOTE(Scaramouche @ May 31 2007, 11:07 PM) It doesn't really get me anywhere . . . QED

Scaramouche	May 31 2007, 10:32 PM Post #15
Prodigy Group: Members Posts: 1372 Joined: 26-March 07 Member No.: 10322	Rob, it's different for every person. Whilst I'd love to eventually get grade 8 piano, I don't have the same desire or want for it as I do with other instruments and other things in my life. Piano is not my first study and never will be, and I'm not a natural pianist therefore having long term targets that I am really going to strive to reach really isn't me.

« Next Oldest · Viva Piano · Next Newest »