Piano Lesson on the Web
Piano Lesson on the Web
  • Home
  • Music Courses
    • Testimonials
  • Buy Courses
  • Blog
  • Community
  • Contact Me
  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Music Courses
    • Testimonials
  • Buy Courses
  • Blog
  • Community
  • Contact Me
  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy

How to Practice for Beginners

10/7/2019

2 Comments

 
As a beginning piano student you probably know already that practicing is an important part of learning the instrument and growing in your abilities.

For most of us, practicing means/meant sitting down at the piano and playing through the weekly assignment a few times and then repeat the next day. When we do this, we often end up repeating our mistakes as well as the things that we’re doing right and we don’t see the kind of growth we want to. It’s then that we start to ask questions like:
  1. Do I have to do this every day for it to work?
  2. How long do I need to practice every day?
  3. What exactly do I need to be working on in each practice session to play better?

All of these questions are fabulous and mean that you are ready to dive in deeper into your practicing - even as a beginner - so you can see some great results from your hard work.

So…you just started playing the piano and you are wondering if you have to practice every day to play well. 
  • In short, yes you do! The best way to accomplish this is to remember that this is your starting goal – daily practice. To help break that down into attainable steps, start with practicing 3 days a week to start, the move up to 4 days a week, then 5, and so on.

How long should you practice?
  • Your first goal is 30 minutes and then as you progress in your practicing, move up to an hour each day.

What do you need to start working on first?
  • Make sure your posture is good, that you are relaxed, and that you are sitting close enough to the keyboard to play comfortably.
  • Start by reading some notes on the staff to review your note names. Then start with an easy scale. Work on a scale for about 5 – 10 minutes at the beginning of each practice session. This will really warm up your fingers as you learn the key signature of each scale and where the notes are on the keyboard.  
  • Next play arpeggios which are the chords of the scale that you just learned, but they are broken down into single notes instead of playing all the notes at one time as you do in a chord.
  • Next practice some sight reading. This is when you play a simple piece through for the first time with as few mistakes as possible. This is a fun and challenging way to test your knowledge, reinforce your current skill studies, and broaden your ability to read different notes and rhythms from what you have been playing each day. Spend about 5 minutes each day sight reading something new.
  • Piano pieces are what you’ll spend the last 10 minutes of your 30-minute practice session on. Ideally you’ll have two different pieces that you’re working on; one that is challenging to your current skill level and one that is a little easier than you current skill level. Mixing up your repertoire like this really helps to keep you growing while giving you something to play that you can relax and enjoy a bit more. Remember that the more challenging piece will end up becoming more relaxed and enjoyable the more you practice on it…so don’t worry if you end up going over your allotted 30-minute practice session! If you’re “in the groove…keep grooving”!

Remember that the more often you sit down and practice for at least a good 30-40 minute session, the easier it will be to do and will become a habit before you know it. The reward is seeing how fast your piano playing is improving! I give several examples of each of these tips at the piano in the following video so join me while you sit at your keyboard and we'll go over them together. 
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 you existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.
2 Comments
Zoe Campos link
11/10/2020 09:51:08 am

I never knew that having a good and relaxed posture can affect how I can play the piano. My uncle asked me if I want to have their old piano before they sell it and I thought that this would be the perfect time to learn this instrument. Maybe I should look for private piano lessons that I can attend once they've moved the piano to our house.

Reply
Zoe Campos link
2/16/2021 06:23:29 am

Thanks for reminding me that constant practice is an important part of learning how to play the piano. My uncle gifted me a grand piano for my 18th birthday after hearing how much I want to learn it. It might be a good idea to hire someone for piano tuning first before I start to familiarize myself with the keys.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Most  blogs written by
    ​Robin Hague Els

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Christmas Piano Tutorial
    Christmas Sheet Music
    Chritmas
    Cost Effective Piano Lessons
    Do You Need To Know How To Read Music
    Finger Exercises Piano
    Five Things About Reading Music
    Hanon Piano Exercises
    High Quality Music Classes
    Holiday
    Holiday Piano Music
    Holiday Piano Sheet
    Holiday Piano Tutorial
    Holiday Stress
    How To Compose Music
    How To Find A Piano Teacher
    How To Get Better At Piano
    How To Play Christmas Piano
    How To Play Piano
    How To Play Piano Articulations
    How To Play With Dynamics On Piano
    How To Read Music
    How To Read Music For Piano
    How To Read Notes
    How To Read Sheet Music
    How To Sight Read
    Is Reading Music Important
    Key Signatures On Piano
    Kindle Sheet Music
    Learn Christmas Music On
    Learn Deck The Halls On Piano
    Learn Jingle Bells On The Piano\
    Learn Joy To The World On Piano
    Learn Oh Christmas Tree On Piano
    Learn Piano
    Learn Silent Night On The Piano
    Learn The Twelve Days Of Christmas On Piano
    Lessonsontheweb
    Lessonsontheweb Piano Teacher
    Musicianship
    Music Notation
    Music Notation Software
    Music Reading Practice
    Online Lessons
    Online Piano Learning
    Online Piano Lessons
    Online Piano Teacher
    Piano Blog
    Piano Fingering Technique
    Piano Lessons
    Piano Playing Basics
    Piano Playing Tips
    Piano Scales
    Piano Teacher Online
    Piano Technique
    Playing Piano
    Reading Music Articles
    Reading Music For Piano
    Staffpad
    Surface 3
    Surface Pro
    Take Lessons From Anywhere
    Thanksgiving
    Time Signatures Piano
    Tips For Beginning Piano Players
    Where To Find A Piano Teacher
    Work Out Hanon

    RSS Feed

Home
Buy Courses
Music Courses
Official Blog
Community
About Me
​Contact Me

​Testimonials
Copyright 2016-2022 © Lessons On The Web. All Rights Reserved.