“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of my very favorite parts of teaching piano is being a part of a process. I love the progression of music from too hard to easy. Many times, I’ve experienced the feeling of thinking music was too difficult for me to play, persistently practicing and realizing that it’s actually pretty easy, or rather, that I’ve improved. It’s so fun and rewarding to watch my students go through this process.
Of course, the key part of the process is the practicing. I try to squeeze as many tips and tidbits into every piano lesson as possible, we only have so much time each week. The real magic of playing music until it becomes easy happens at home practicing.
Recently in my teaching, I’ve noticed that I always have so much more that I want to tell students and parents about how to practice. I’ve decided to compile all of those practice tips into one place, here at Pianissimo.
I hope that parents will check in often to find tips that might be useful for their students. Here’s what you can expect:
- Tips for everyone: things that everyone can incorporate into their practicing to make their time at the piano smarter, more effective and more efficient.
- Tips for beginners: these tips will be especially for parents of beginning students. I realize many parents have little or no music training. These tips will help you decode all of those strange symbols in your student’s piano book.
Check back tomorrow for the first tip – something that everyone, even non-musicians, will find helpful!
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