Need Help Keeping Track of Your Piano Practicing?

One of the best ways that any of us can achieve our goals is by tracking our progress and noting when we pass a milestone or even when we didn’t meet a planned deadline.

We do this a lot for example when we go on a diet or begin an exercise regimen. Keeping track of our progress from the beginning really helps us to see what we’ve accomplished and what we still need to work on.

In piano playing, we are always building on what we’re previously learned. We move from the simplest to the most difficult because that’s the only way we can truly learn everything that we have to know.

There are several different ways that we can keep track of our progress that will help us achieve our goals successfully and quickly.

The first thing that you should do is try keeping a practice log or journal.

• Before you sit down to practice, write in your journal exactly what your goals are for the practice session. Be specific…this information will not only guide you as to what you need to do, but it will show you in the future what you’ve accomplished.

Second, start recording you playing of whatever you are working on in the practice session.

• Hearing what you are actually playing verses what you think you are playing is one of the most beneficial things you can do to improve your piano playing. The more you learn to listen as if you were sitting in the audience, you will have a more realistic idea of how well you are playing and what you still need to work on.

Third, review older pieces that you already learned.

• You will be amazed at how easy some things are now that were really challenging for you earlier in a specific piece. This is one of the best ways to get and stay encouraged about how effective good practicing is and will keep your motivation up and strong while you are learning new things.

Fourth, start playing for others – especially family members and/or your friends.

• Most of the time, there are folks in our immediate environment that will want to listen to our playing and will actually be able to hear how we’ve improved over time. This can be very validating and sometimes they will hear things that we haven’t even noticed yet that are showing improvement as well. Take advantage of these folks as their input is really valuable in helping us to stay on track with our goals.

Fifth, you want to follow a specific plan of action – or in other words, a specific curriculum.

• A curriculum is like a map of where we are going and how we are going to get there, and it will also provide you with a way to check or test your knowledge. This is great to show you what you may need to go back and review or work on more, before moving on. In the video included with this blog, I will show you a wonderful curriculum that I highly recommend that is online, so it’s easily accessible and provides all types of different ways to help you learn and check to make sure you’re retaining everything as you move through each level.

Take some time before you head into a new week of practicing to get everything organized; such as your journal, your recording device, some unsuspecting family members that need to lend an ear, gather some older pieces, and check in with your specific curriculum. If you do these five steps you’ll be amazed at how much more you get done in your practicing and actually how much faster you are reaching your piano playing goals.

It’s always fun to share your music with others too, so this plan not only gets you organized, but it should make it fun along the way to your perfect piano playing!

​Don’t forget to check out this video to learn about a great curriculum that you can find and use online to help keep track of all of your piano goals. 

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.