Spring Clean Your Practicing for Better Piano Playing!

​Happy Spring-Eve Week everyone!

​Yesterday was the first day of Daylight Savings Time for many in the U.S. and this week heralds the coming of spring which arrives one week from today.

Longer days, the warmth of the sun, and the beautiful colors of spring reach out to us all, inviting us to reach out and stretch with the earth as she wakens from one more Winter slumber.
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Not only is this time of the year when we start feeling more energized, we also tend to start cleaning out and organizing everything from our homes to our diets, to our wardrobes and our even exercise routines.

We also plan a lot. We plan for our summer gardens, our vacations, visits with family and friends. We plan activities for the kids while they are on Spring Break or Summer Holiday, or what we are going to do while off for the summer semester.

So what does all this have to do with practicing the piano? 

All of this wonderful spring energy can be injected into your practicing just as easily as those other areas of your life. 

Sweep out the cobwebs from your practice routine 

Cleaning windows, floorboards, the kitchen pantry, the garden outside, exchanging out winter clothes for spring and summer ones…oh fun! Not really…but it’s great when it’s done!
Apply this same technique to your piano practice routine. Look back over the past few months, and take a mental inventory of what worked and what didn’t work in your practicing.

• Did you have a steady practice schedule that you adhered to?
• Did you set goals for each practice session, or at least a majority of them, and accomplish those goals?
• Did you see the type of improvement in your playing that you expected to, or wanted to?

As you answer these questions, pay attention to the ones you answered “no” to. 
For example, “no”…you didn’t have a steady practice schedule or routine.

Or “no”, you didn’t set goals for each session…you just winged your practicing, playing more than actually practicing.

Or…maybe you did these things some of the time, but not all of the time.

Start sweeping the practice habits that didn’t work for you out the door. They’re cluttering up your piano practicing and keeping you from playing better. The first step in having a good clean practice routine is to wipe away the established habits that aren’t working.

Then you’ll have room to add in some good ones, such as:

• 5 - 15 minute practice sessions per week
• 3 goals for each practice session
• Playing through your piece at the end of each week to measure improvement

Organize your piano pantry 

Do an inventory to see if you have everything you need to make your practicing the best it can be.

• Music: technical studies, pieces, and fun popular or jazz tunes
• Tools: metronome, lighting, pencils, headphones, iPad or Tablet
• Support: a good teacher and other piano students and players

These are your basic everyday “pantry” items that you need to have stocked. Keep these items handy at all times to create a winning recipe for your practicing.

Remove anything that is in your pantry (piano studio) that you aren’t using, such as:

• Anything that isn’t related to your piano playing - books, papers, etc…
• Old music that you aren’t playing any longer – store it in a filing cabinet
• Old metronomes or other practice aids that don’t work any longer – including apps and technical devices that you aren’t currently using

Having the necessary tools will enable you to enjoy your practicing more, accomplish your goals, and see more improvement each week.

Longer days mean more time to play 

Everything slows down a bit when it gets dark by 5:00 p.m.!  The days definitely feel shorter during the fall and winter months, even though we have the same number of hours in each day. And somehow, each spring when the days become longer, we seem to get more done just by the fact that the days “seem” longer.

• Take advantage of this by using some of that extra time to get in a good 20 minute practice session.
• Or even better, it might give you time to get in an extra session a few evenings a week, just because you have more energy and are staying active longer each day.
• Take advantage of barbeques and social gatherings as they increase in the warm weather months and provide great opportunities for playing your piano.

All of these little steps if taken one at a time will reorganize your whole approach to your piano practicing that will definitely help you reach your goals and play the piano better.

Stay tuned to LessonsOnTheWeb and learn much more!