5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Piano Playing

There are always things that we can do to improve our piano playing. What is important is to find the easiest and least complicated ways to advance to the level we want to be in. We can make practicing way too difficult and instead of reaching our goals we find that we’re just sort of making the same circles with the same mistakes over and over again.

Today we’re going to break down 5 of the easiest ways you can improve your piano playing and cut through any confusion or over-complicated approaches that only serve to move us backward instead of forward.

After we discuss these tips here make sure you watch the following video so you can see me demonstrate each of these and help clarify any questions you may have.

​Tip #1:

• Use your arm weight when playing. When we first start playing the piano we focus almost exclusively on our hands and fingers – learning notes and where they are on the keyboard. We don’t think about the kind of sound that we’re producing though, and this is important. (Watch the video to see a demonstration of a “hammer” sound…which you want to avoid).
• Using your arm weight instead of just the muscles in your wrist and hands will make the sound clearer, stronger and more stable. You don’t want to use just your wrist to produce a good tone quality and that’s why using your arm weight is so important.

Tip #2:

• Pay attention to phrases in your piece. A phrase is a group of notes that are usually noted by slur lines (curved lines that go over a group of notes) in your sheet music. Think of a phrase as you would a paragraph in a story that you’re reading. All of the words in that paragraph go together and they are connected by commas and periods. Notes are connected in the same way accept we use slur lines to indicate the “paragraph” in the sheet music.
• In the following video you’ll be able to hear the difference when I play a group of notes as a phrase (all together) or more separate and independently. You can really hear the difference and it will help you know what to listen for in other pieces that you want to learn in the future.

Tip #3:

• Check you posture as you sit down on the piano bench and even when you approach the keyboard with your arms and hands to start playing. Sitting too far back away from the piano, sitting too close, having your arms too low or your fingers too high all have an effect on how you play the piano.
• You don’t want to slouch over so start by engaging your core before you actually start straightening your body. Then as you respond to engaging your core and sit up straighter, breath and relax. Then slowly move towards the piano with everything in line in your body.
• Having supportive posture in your piano playing will help to prevent injuries, and help you play better. Correct hand and arm positioning will help you play faster with clarity and ease, instead of getting all tensed up and missing notes.
• Always breathe and check to make sure that you are breathing normally. Many times we musicians get into a shallower breathing pattern when we’re playing.

Tip #4:

• Don’t try to perform when you are practicing and play slowly. Practicing is problem solving, not performing. We have to do that practicing and we have to do it slowly. It’s so important to remind yourself that the slow tempo you are working in and with today, will not be the same tomorrow. You’ll start at a faster pace tomorrow, and then a faster one the next day. Keep your eye on the big picture goal, while you are slowly working your way through any challenge in a piano piece or etude. This is probably the most important thing that you can do in your piano practicing. Do this when you practice scales as well.

Tip #5:

• Write in your fingerings when you first start a piece or anytime you are having trouble playing a pattern of notes with the correct fingerings. This is incredibly helpful and actually just helps your own brain to memorize the finger for that note or phrase. This really does help you progress faster through a piece and you’ll eventually get to the point that you won’t need fingerings as much.

Applying these tips to your own practicing is going to get you through a new piece or etude much faster…even though you’re going to start slower, right? :) Think about what happens when you do try to play something too fast, or might be confused over what finger to use on a note. It does make it more difficult. The next time you’re struggling, try these tips and see how fast you work your way through that challenge and are on to the next one!

I go over all of these tips in the following video so you can see how they work on the piano and you’ll see the hear the difference when I make these suggested changes at my piano. 

If you like my tips and lessons, you will love the courses over on my website. Whether you are a beginner looking to get a solid foundation to build on or you are looking to take your existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.