When students start piano lessons, one of the things we talk about at the first lesson is practicing. I explain what my expectations are, and we discuss various strategies.
As students get older and progress to more difficult literature, we again go over different strategies and goals. It is good to revisit these tips from time to time, and the start of a new school year seems as good a time as any to go over them again.
Tips for Successful Practicing
- Practice once from beginning to end, noting the difficult sections.
- Go back and spot practice. Play the difficult measures over and over, starting out slowly and gradually getting faster. Rolling a die to determine the number of repetitions to play a measure can be a fun game.
- Once you have spot practiced the difficult measures, try playing the piece all the way through again.
- For younger students, play each piece THREE times through before moving on to the next piece.
- Do not start at the beginning and play to the end every single time! Spot practice is the key.
- Set very specific goals. For example, the first time through, you might focus on dynamics (f, p, crescendos, etc.) The next time, focus on articulation (staccato, legato, accents, etc.)
- Practice until you CAN'T get it wrong.
- Practice 5-6 days per week. Allow yourself a 24 hour "no piano allowed" period to rest.
- Remember: The secret to mastering the piano is successful practicing.
NPR published a series about the young musician, and this article is about getting kids to practice without tears or tantrums.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/09/03/216906386/10-easy-ways-to-optimize-your-music-practice?sc=fb&cc=fmp
Find even more tips here:
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-many-hours-a-day-should-you-practice/
Happy practicing! And please feel free to contact me if practicing ever becomes an issue for your child.
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