Practicing?

Question:

Practicing?

Any strategies for an effective piano practicing session? Also, how do stay motivated to practice?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Effective piano practising session-

Stay focused, don't be really tired, don't be really frustrated, don't be distracted by other things (like I dunno, don't be hungry, don't be all worried about the paper you need to write tonight). These sorts of things are hard to change/do, but they make for an effective session.

Having a goal in mind makes you want to practise, such as performing in a recital, preparing for an audition, or playing really well and having a really good lesson.

Also, setting smaller goals works too. If you sit down, and think 'Okay, I'm going to sit and play this entire piece perfectly right now.' You're setting yourself up to not learn anything. If you think 'Okay, I'm going to sit and learn this bar, starting with this note' not only do you actually do and learn something, but you achieve a feeling of accomplishment.

In terms of technique, while it's very good to play through pieces without stopping, I prefer to focus on problem areas to start. You'll know where they are. Practise using mixed rhythms (like if you have a scalar passage, play short long/short long/short long, then after doing that twice, play long short/long short/long short, etc), and also practise using a metronome.

A good strategy is to play a passage 5 times perfectly at a speed you're totally comfortable with, take it up 3 notches and play it once perfectly, and then take it back 2 (the taking it back is THE most important part).

When working on problem areas DON'T set a time limit, like 5 minutes. For a week or so, I've worked over an hour each day just on 4 bars (really difficult bars, but you know what, I can play it now). Practise passages until they are free of mistakes.

Also, knowing when to leave something is important. If you're getting frustrated, move on to something else. You can come back to it later without the negative feelings.

How to stay motivated-

Play challenging pieces. You're not going to want to practise if you don't feel the need to.

Play pieces you love. You're not going to want to practise if you don't want to play or hear your piece.

And know that 'you can do it'. If you have a sense of pride that yes, you can play this instrument, and yes, you do a good job playing this instrument, you're going to want to practise that instrument so you can get even better.

If you have any questions, at all, don't hesitate e-mail me at princess_jessica16@hotmail.com

Happy practising!