| There is a story about a gentleman who had tickets to | | | | special attention. Practicing piano effectively takes |
| a Carnegie Hall performance. On his way to the | | | | planning before you start. |
| concert he became lost and asked a gentleman on | | | | |
| the street, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The | | | | How to Begin a Brand New Piece |
| man replied, "Practice, practice, practice." Although this | | | | One of the hardest and most interesting parts of |
| is a funny anecdote, it has a serious message: | | | | playing the piano is learning a new piece. Look at the |
| Persistent practice is the only way to acquire any skill, | | | | key signature to check how many sharps and flats |
| especially playing music. Here are a few ideas on how | | | | are in the piece. Make sure to look at the time |
| to practice the piano effectively! | | | | signature! Look through the whole piece to get an |
| | | | | indication of what you will be playing. To practice |
| Make a Practice Schedule! | | | | effectively you must play each hand alone and |
| Everybody is so hard-working these days. If you | | | | subsequently put them together. Take it SLOW!! Do |
| realize that you do not have time to practice on a daily | | | | not hurry through the piece because you might learn |
| basis, put together a schedule that you know you can | | | | mistakes. Once you learn a mistake, it is difficult to |
| follow and keep to it! First jot down a schedule of your | | | | correct.. Plus, it is not necessary to play it seamlessly |
| current daily activities and find time when you would | | | | the initial time. It definitely is not going to materialize! |
| normally watch television or something of the like. | | | | |
| You ought to practice the piano on a daily basis for | | | | Work on Your Fingerings! |
| whatever amount of time your teacher advises. There | | | | When something simply is not working at all and even |
| will be days when it will not take place and that is ok. | | | | slow practice is not helping, discontinue to determine |
| Just do not skip days regularly! If you often skip a day | | | | what is causing the difficulty. Then you can conclude |
| or two of practice, playing more the next day will not | | | | what to do to fix the predicament. Play the passage |
| make up for it. Whe practicing on a daily basis, you will | | | | bit by bit, almost machine-like, until you can determine |
| be able to get the notes into your head and under | | | | the problems.The size of your fingers can affect what |
| your fingers. | | | | types of fingering will work best foryou. I have tiny |
| Get Prepared to Play! | | | | fingers and so some of the standard types of |
| Practicing takes a lot of close attention!. This means | | | | fingerings are not effectivefor me. |
| that you should not be be thinking about other things. | | | | |
| Turn off the television or radio before you start. Try to | | | | Don't Get Dispirited!! |
| practice the piano in a undisturbed area without a lot of | | | | At the start of the week, it may appear that you have |
| interruptions. | | | | barely learned a few lines of a song and will never get |
| | | | | throuth the entire thing. Don't be concerned! If you |
| Loosen Up Those Fingers! | | | | continue to working regularly, you will understand it all. |
| Begin with easy warm ups because they develop | | | | When you start practicing, play through the sections |
| technique; without proficient technique you will never be | | | | you have already learned, but then work on a different |
| a satisfactory musician. Scales are a fantastic way to | | | | section. You don't want to end up playing the opening |
| warm up before you start practicing. Hannon has | | | | of the song very well, but have difficulties with the |
| many books that include fantastic warm up techniques | | | | ending. At the last part of the practice session, play |
| to build up the muscles in your fingers. Hannon is just | | | | through all of the songs thinking about dynamics and |
| one suggestion. There are many other books on the | | | | other musical instructions. |
| market with great warm ups as well. | | | | |
| Plan Out Your Pracitce Session! | | | | I hope that all of this information will help you to |
| Go over your week's assignments and determine | | | | practice the piano effectively and competently! They |
| what to work on this practice session. Look through | | | | are all tried and true tips! Just remember that playing |
| your song and locate problematical spots that will take | | | | the piano is designed to be a fun hobby! |