I wish I could play the piano! I don't aspire to the highest grades, but want to be able to pick up a new piece of music and play it competently to learn it for my singing. Had some lessons a few years back and can just about master a Grade 1 piece. However, before I take the plunge and look for a teacher, I would be grateful for opinions on how much time should be allocated each week for practice. My thinking is, that I should see if I can get into the habit of sitting down at the piano for a period of, say, a month to test my willpower, stamina, interest etc.

Over to the experts......

It's best if you can find some time every day, or aim for 5 out of 7.
In the early stages around half an hour a day would keep you moving along quite nicely as long as you use the time wisely. A teacher would be able to teach you effective practice strategies.
Also it's best if you are not actually timing a minimum amount of practice. The danger is that it turns into a clock watching exercise if you do. Having targets is more effective though if you are working hard to fit time in you probably need to have some sort of time slot in mind.
Beware of taking too long before finding a teacher as this may lead to you 'learning' habits that will need to be corrected.

What happened when you had lessons before? Why did you stop? Would you go back to the same teacher, or look for a different one? What do you want from the teacher? What are your goals? Are you prepared to 'back-track' if the teacher suggests some fairly basic exercises and pieces at first?

Useful preparation might be getting hold of some music that you feel you can play comfortably and playing through as much of it as possible - sight-reading is so helpful as a skill and is unlikely to produce any terrible habits! I pick up books for pennies at my local Red Cross Bookshop for sight-reading practice.

Good luck.

I think if daily practice is (or becomes) a test of stamina and willpower then you are lost. To achieve anything worthwhile you have to enjoy it, and look forward to it, and force yourself to stop practicing and do other important stuff, (like eat, sleep, and go to work).

For us ordinary mortals, a 5/7 regime as suggested above is usually enough to get cracking. I think getting into a practice habit is a jolly good idea. I did something similar with the flute a few years ago, but didn't keep it going as I didn't organise any lessons. Essential to find yourself a teacher and book that first session, I think!

No offence, but it does my head in when people say that.
Do they not realise that there are plenty of grade 8 pianists around who can't "pick up a new piece of music and play it competantly"? It is one of the hardest things to do on the piano and comes with years of experience

[quote name='SueHM' date='May 17 2009, 02:54 PM' post='827205']


What happened when you had lessons before? Why did you stop? Would you go back to the same teacher, or look for a different one? What do you want from the teacher? What are your goals? Are you prepared to 'back-track' if the teacher suggests some fairly basic exercises and pieces at first?

Hi Sue,
my lessons stopped because of domestic circumstances - got divorced and didn't get custody of the piano! Since remarried and moved a few miles away so previous teacher is not an option. My goals are to be able to play a piece in preparation for singing, whether as a solo, a 4 parter or for the full choir - not as a concert pianist as Maledictis might have inferred

In which case, pick a teacher who is also an experienced accompanist and can give you some help with this kind of playing. I would think that your existing knowledge of the repertoire will be a big help to you. Remember that it is not necessary to play every single note of an accompaniment - try picking out the main chords at first - keeping a steady rhythm and providing the main harmonies are the priorities. Good luck!

That wasn't what I was inferring at all. My point was that "picking up a new piece of music and playing it competently" is one of the hardest things to do in piano playing.

My apologies to Maledictis for not understanding her point correctly! It's sometimes very hard to get across what is really meant in short notes such as these.

I have actually sat down at the piano twice this week, so the search for a teacher may be starting soon!

I'm glad you've said this - I think I gave up learning the piano when I was a child because I thought that I was bad at playing the piano because I couldn't just pick up a piece and play it.

I think my son is starting to find that this is the frustrating thing about the piano - he could play his Grade 6 clarinet pieces to a reasonable standard almost on first reading, but because he can't play his Grade 4 piano pieces straight away, he hardly practises them and therefore doesn't improve very much.

It seems to me to be a common misunderstanding and a complaint I hear often from my pupils - "Why can't I just pick up a piece and play it?"
I also find that grade 4 is a common place for students to suddenly hit a bit of a "wall". A lot of people can busk it or struggle through the first 3 grades, but for grade 4, it tends to become apparent that practice is inescapable - so it's a bit of a "make or break" point.

I was really chuffed that I could pick up quite an easy piece and play it pretty well after just a few hours practise (that's the one I sent you [Carol Piano 2.0] on sunday). The thought of just picking up a piece and playing it is unimaginable!

And it was so good that I didn't realise it was you! (is that a compliment? it was meant to be! )

Hmmmmm not sure if it's a complement or not, but thank you anyway!!

Hehe. I think DawnF might agree with your spelling of 'piano' in the thread title.