Recommended Reading
The art of practising is a huge subject that people devote their lives to. Here are some thoughts of my own relating to enjoying your practice time:
Practising can be both an intensely frustrating and rewarding experience at the same time, and it is important to understand your own learning process and tailor your practice methods and routine accordingly. To some, the thought of playing the same piece or exercise over and over again may seem like torture that leaves them unmotivated to play, while others may enjoy the repetitive nature of that type of practice and are happy to spend hours doing so!
Practising should always be approached with a goal in mind, however small. In fact, often the smaller the better. If you can be realistic about what you want to achieve in a session then you can walk away from the piano knowing that you have improved! It might even be as simple as learning the key signature and scale pattern for E major.
But once you have learnt the basic fingering pattern and notes for this scale, what next? Well, the possibilities are seemingly endless - depending on your level you could begin playing the scale in both hands, use different dynamics and articulations, you could try contrary motion scales, playing in intervals, playing different speeds in each hand (i.e. quavers in LH crotchets in RH). These are all essentially variations on the same exercise, and they work to stave off boredom and monotony as well as improving different areas of your technique.
Variety is also important when trying to learn something new. If you are finding something hard to learn, try finding a different way to practice it. For example, you could be trying to learn a tricky bar in a section of music that doesn't seem to be getting any better. It might help to try to memorise that passage, or to visualise it on the keys. If it's a technical issue, then check for any excess tension in your body - tension is often the limiting factor in a person's technique, not muscle strength! As a last resort, you could even try playing it backwards! The point here is that you are more likely to be able to remember something by making as many different connections with that task as possible. This is the reason why someone might remember a piece really easily - they might identify with how the hands feel when they play the different shapes on the piano, they may be visualising the sheet music in their head as they play, or if they have a good knowledge of harmony and music theory they will be dissecting the piece as they play it and working from their chord memory to put it back together.
I also stress to my students how important it is to separate practice from playing. In the practice session you can work towards achieving a goal (as in the example above), and in the playing session you play purely for enjoyment. It might be a piece you know pretty well or something completely improvised, or it could be you playing along to a recording or video!
Here are some other short tips:
- Get inspired! Listen to some new music or put on a recording of something you are really passionate about.
- Short, focused practice is generally better than one long practice session.
- Be disciplined with your routine....but no-one's perfect!
If you are interested in studying practice methods further I highly recommend reading 'The Art of Practising' by Madeline Bruser.
Happy practising!
