Let’s practise the piano. And, make positive progress.

I love playing the piano, and I know many of you love it, too. With an admitted bias, it’s surely one of the loveliest sounds in music. The sad thing is, I spent so many painful years avoiding the piano – I didn’t play a single note. You can read about how this happened and how I conquered my anxiety and fears on my About page. Thanks to my commitment to Breath-Body-Mind techniques, I overcame the dreadful stage fright that plagued me for so long and now perform – with great joy – in public.

Of course, I still get nervous, but my nerves are much more of the “normal” kind than the run-away-and-run-away-fast kind.

I still need to practise, though! Nothing happens just by magic. Proper Preparation Prevents a Poor Performance, as the saying goes.

If you sometimes feel you’re getting nowhere when you sit down to practise, or if you’d like practical tips to help you develop your skills, this blog is for you. I teach piano throughout West Sussex, and I’m pleased to share my experience helping people make the most of their practice time.

How Piano Practice Can Get Frustrating

Progress is uneven. Lumpy, even. Improvement rarely looks and feels like a steady upwards line. You may work on something tricky for a few days and then: Ta dah! It suddenly works. Or, you may start to master some techniques, yet struggle with others.

You repeat your mistakes. Here, you could be reinforcing them without realising it. Do you play a passage and always make a mistake in the same place, for example? You’re practising the error, rather than the solution.

Your taste outstrips your skills. You know how it should sound, but your fingers and brain can’t quite catch up. It feels like you’ve failed. (I say, no failure, just data; we’ll touch on this later.)

Some practice is a bit boring. There, I said it. Scales, arpeggios – yes, I get you.

How Piano Practice Sometimes Looks

• 10 minutes of scales
• 20 minutes of pieces
• 10 minutes of sight reading

The trouble here is that this routine doesn’t tell you what to do when something isn’t getting better. You end up going through the motions and silently beating yourself up when things go wrong. Plus, one of the traps of say, playing a piece from beginning to end is that you’re not isolating the problem. And, you’re less likely to stay motivated and enjoy what you’re doing.

I’m going to recommend that you focus on solving a handful of small musical problems – or as I often recommend, just a single one at a time.

Here Are Some Quick Piano Practice Wins

1. Build a Routine Around Your Real Life

You’ll know roughly whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced player. Also of course, if you’re self-learning or have a teacher. Now think about:

• Realistically, how many days a week can you practise the piano? Don’t be over-ambitious or it will come back to bite you and make you feel bad.
• On a busy day, what’s your minimum session length? Something so small that you can do, even on a bad day. Don’t underestimate how effective a short session can be.

2. Try Some Goal Setting

I’m a fan of goals. Avoid the vague “get better at playing the piano”, instead, think about:

• Playing scales evenly, and at the same tempo (quite hard, to be fair)
• Improving your left-hand coordination
• Improving sight reading

You could even think about just one goal for a couple of weeks. This way, you focus on a series of key skills that add up over time. Isolate the problem, break it down, then re-build what you’re playing. (See “Practising a Difficult Passage” below.)

3. Consider a Structured Practice Session: Challenge, Progress and Reward

Let’s say you have 45 minutes. Remember, what’s the ONE thing you want to get better at TODAY? How about the following:

1. 5 minutes: Warm up and easy things

Scales, arpeggios, chords etc. Relax your hands, work on an even tone and remember your posture. No rushing; quality not quantity.

1. 20 minutes: Deeper practice

Your hardest material, working in small sections (see below). Break it into smaller chunks, then connect them.

• 20 minutes: Keeping your “repertoire” up to speed

Play older pieces you know well to keep them alive

1. 5 minutes: Let’s call it “musicianship”

Sight-reading, ear training, improvising etc

1. 5 minutes: Update your practice diary

You do have one, don’t you?

Ponder what’s improved, what still needs working on, and what’s your priority for tomorrow? Documenting your progress is exceptionally powerful; it makes it easier to start your next session.

4. Practising a Difficult Passage

For instance, you keep making a mistake between bars 28 and 32.

Don’t play the whole piece again.

Rather, isolate the problem and figure out why you keep missing it. Is the fingering awkward or is one hand rushing? Is the jump too hard? Try changing one variable at a time. For example, try your hands separately, or alter the rhythm. When you’ve got it right, repeat it a few times very slowly, then gradually increase the speed. Do it gradually, not all at once; maybe use a metronome to keep you in time.

Finally, put everything back into context and play up to bar 28 and beyond bar 32.

5. Look Forward to Playing Tomorrow

Consistency is your best friend; practising for, say, 45 minutes with motivation and enjoyment, four to five times per week will inspire you much more than a gruelling three-hour session followed by days of avoiding even looking at your piano.

6. Finally, Measure the Right Thing

What does that mean exactly?

Ask yourself if you can play the “hard bits” more accurately; whether you need to repeat the same things less often to get a good result. Can you also play them at a higher tempo without going wrong?

And, perhaps the most important question of all: Are you enjoying it?

Remember, a routine that works isn’t necessarily about “getting better” at particular pieces. Progress can also mean learning something quicker than you could six months ago, sight-reading a little faster or recognising chords more quickly. It can also mean playing with expression, not just accuracy. Perhaps you’re finding you can now hear when something is out of tune or rhythmically wrong.

All of these are substantial advances.

Bear in mind:

It sounds mad, but getting better at piano practice also means noticing things that may need improving; your musical ear has become more sophisticated and picks up more nuanced things than it used to.

You virtuoso, you.

Happy piano practice!