Tag Archives: piano practice

How the Non-Piano-Playing Parent Can Help Their Piano-Playing Child (Part 2) – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

“I don’t understand what she’s playing, so I don’t know how to help.”

This is a phrase I hear often from parents who have no musical training themselves. Because they don’t know the details of the music, they worry they can’t help their child with their practise. This is most definitely not the case.

I wrote two weeks ago about the practical ways a non-musical parent can help their piano student child (that post is here) but believe it or not, you can also help them improve their playing.

1. The most important thing you can do is simple. Listen. That’s it. Listen to them practise. You will hear their pieces often enough that you may surprise yourself when you realise you can pick up mistakes. You don’t need to know how to fix it, but you can stop them and have them go back over that section.

2. Don’t be afraid to say, “Again!” I’m sure you are a music listener, even if you aren’t a musician yourself and your ears will know if something doesn’t sound right. Tell them to play it again. And again. This also works really well for scales and technical work (and my students are used to hearing it – I don’t let a scale go until they have played it without error).

3. Sitting with your child for the first five minutes of practise can have a huge impact on your child’s musical success. For starters, it allows them to realise you are listening and involved and know exactly what they are doing. Use this time to ask them questions, which can be done in two ways:

Be nosy. Ask them questions about what they are playing. Pick something the teacher has marked and ask them why or perhaps select a word of terminology or an articulation mark on the music and ask them what it means. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the answer… they are having to think about it; or
Ask general questions, such as, “What is the hardest part of this piece? Can you play just that part for me?” or “Can you clap the rhythm of this bar for me?” I can provide flashcards containing samples.

Chances are they’ll get quite a kick from teaching you something as well 🙂

Piano teacher Wallsend NSW 4. Encourage them to really listen to what they are doing… and listen yourself. If they play a section a few times and it changes from halting to fluent, congratulate and encourage them. Ask them what they are trying to achieve.

5. Most people can feel a basic rhythm so you should be able to tell if the rhythm is uneven or inconsistent. Ask them to show you how they count the piece/section and have them count out loud as they play it.

6. Don’t expect them to always play their pieces through. Often working on smaller sections is more beneficial. I always teach my students to “pull out” the troublesome section and work on that alone until it has improved. We can put the piece back together at the lesson if they have refined each of the sections. Sometimes a teacher may set only sections (or even just one hand) rather than the whole piece.

7. Tell them to slow down if they’re having trouble. Speed can be built back up but bad habits are harder to unlearn. There is no such thing as too slow!

If you are considering music lessons for your child or for yourself, please contact me to discuss the options. Piano lessons are conducted at my studio in Wallsend, NSW or mobile lessons are available in the eastern suburbs of Lake Macquarie.

How the Non-Piano-Playing Parent Can Help Their Piano-Playing Child (Part 1) – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Parents who have never played a musical instrument often feel lost when it comes to helping their child practise at home. They may feel their ability to help is limited to phrases such as, “It’s time to practise the piano!” or “Your lesson is in 15 minutes – quickly do some practise!” or even, “Did you remember to practise this week?” But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Believe it or not, non-musical parents outweigh musical parents most of the time. Even if you don’t know one note from another, can’t hold a tune or recognise a treble clef, you still have the skills required to help your child learn how to do these things.

Piano teacher Wallsend NSW In this first part of a two-part post, we will look at some of the ways you can help your child that don’t involve the music itself. Part two (in two weeks) might surprise you with the ways in which you can be involved with the content of their practise.

1. Make practising like brushing teeth. Piano practise shouldn’t be something that is done only when there is spare time. Let’s face it… we have to bug our kids to do even the simplest things sometimes (like brushing their teeth or having a shower) so why should piano practise be any different? Yes, you may need to continually hound them, but they will better understand the commitment required if they see you making practise a priority. Practise = progress.

2. Use flashcards to work with them on their music theory; note names, values, symbols and terminology. I have pdf files of flash cards I can share with the parents of my students.

3. Encourage them to perform for friends and relatives. Even for yourself. They can perform for you each week, after they have spent most of the week working on their pieces.

4. Let them hear you bragging about them to other people – it may be about how well they are playing but it could also be about how disciplined they are with practicing.

5. Have them practise when they are awake and alert – practicing in a state of fatigue won’t get them very far.

Piano teacher Wallsend NSW 6. Ensure they are sitting correctly at the piano. Keep an eye on them and if you see them slouching, suggest they hold their back straight. This will not only stop body fatigue but will also help them balance their arms and hands properly. Their teacher should also be able to show you how they should be holding their hands, so you can keep an eye on that as well.

7. Allow them to have some “messing around” time at the piano; it doesn’t all need to be structured. This type of activity encourages creativity and early composition skills. I love it when a student turns up and starts the lesson with, “Guess what I made up this week?”

8. Help them organise their practise; schedule it into their routine and keep track of how much they are doing (this doesn’t include the “messing around” time mentioned above).

9. Accept there will occasionally be tears and frustration… learning the piano is not easy! Take a break (and a deep breath) and assess whether or not it is worth proceeding after the break. Either way, encourage your child to note the problem area so their teacher can help them with it at the next lesson.

You can find part two of this post here.

How to Practise When You’re Not Really Practising – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

piano teacher wallsend nsw Sometimes we just need to mix things up a bit. Practise can become mundane and boring and concentration wanes. I wrote two weeks ago about playing versus practising. If a student becomes too bored with practising, there is a real danger their practising can turn into aimless playing, which won’t be as effective in moving them forward. We want them to enjoy being at the piano and sometimes this means adding in a bit of extra fun so practise time doesn’t turn into a frustration-filled battleground.

The following are some examples of ways you can get your kids a little more excited about practising:

Choose one of the pieces on which they are currently working. Select either the bass clef or the treble clef and have them hop the entire rhythm while balancing on their left foot.
Have them create a radio commercial for their favourite piece. Think of three things that make this piece totally awesome (selling points). When they play the piece, they can exaggerate these features that make it so great.
Play their piece as though they are a ghost… silently! Press down the keys, but not enough to make any sound.
Pick one note and then avoid that note every time it occurs in the piece.
Pretend their piano has gone missing and play their pieces on a tabletop. Still use correct rhythm and fingering and see if they can hear any mistakes in their mind as they are playing.

Adult Learners… the pros and cons – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

How often do you hear friends and colleagues say, “I wish I hadn’t stopped learning …(insert a variety of past pursuits now inducing feelings of regret)? Often that wish is tied to a musical instrument. Because learning an instrument is hard work, often children give up before they have learnt enough to carry them through into adulthood and they stop playing all together.

Nearly a third of my students are adults and they are a really rewarding group. Learning an instrument as an adult has both pros and cons.

Nobody yells at them to practice, which on the one hand is very nice indeed. On the other hand, they have to be able to discipline themselves to do the job. Also, they are paying for their own lessons, so while footing the bill is not necessarily a positive feature, it’s easier to knuckle down to work when you understand the value.

One of the biggest challenges for adult learners is that their understanding is ahead of their physical reaction. Adults will often pick up theoretical concepts quickly, but they will develop technical and reading skills slowly and gradually. Unlike children who usually have nimble fingers and good technique but lack the emotional maturity to understand the musicality of the piece, adults can usually grasp intellectually how a piece of music should sound (e.g. playful, sad, lilting etc) but don’t have the skill on the piano to express it. This limitation is, of course, only temporary and will be overcome with time and practise. Physically, the body is usually more tight; as people age, they often cannot move their fingers fast enough to play at extreme tempos or their wrists may never loosen enough to provide good flexibility but there is still a lot of beautiful music to be made. There will always be pieces suited their physical level that can satisfy them emotionally and still challenge them technically.

Adult-oriented method books assume adults will learn a lot faster than children and this is not always the case. I have found it to be rarely so; adults may learn differently, but that doesn’t necessarily mean faster. Adult method books usually jump right in to using all five fingers on both hands – and reading nine notes – from the outset. For adults trying to learn something new on top of all the normal pressures of family, work, commitments etc, this can be overwhelming. I would prefer they start out with a sense of accomplishment rather than frustration. Consequently, a lot of the most helpful resources are very child-friendly and do not speak to you as an intelligent adult. But you do get some cute pictures!

Adult student, Alan playing finger control exercises.

Adults learners can be fluid, flexible and adventurous and bring with them a strong motivation to learn. But they are also cautious, perfectionists and extremely hard on themselves. They are often very anxious to achieve their goals and it can be difficult to convince them they are doing well. Adult students are also better able to articulate their problems and understand practise suggestions, both benefits helping them to make consistent progress.

The best thing about learning to play the piano as an adult is that they are free to do as they please. Adults aren’t trying to please a parent, a teacher or an examiner. No one is forcing them to take lessons. It’s about them and the music. And that is a blessing 🙂

Playing vs Practising… A How-to Guide – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

“Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on.”
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) Polish Composer and Pianist

Practising the piano and playing the piano are two different things. If a student plays through all their pieces each day they may well find at the end of the week there is no discernable improvement, even though they have spent hours at the piano.

So what is the difference between playing and practising? Playing is just that – playing the piece through over and over and hoping it improves. Practise involves breaking down the song and working on each weak area as a stand-alone section.

The phrase I probably use most often with my students is, “slow it down” as that is always the first approach to a troublesome section. When you slow down you can better pinpoint where the problem is. It can be difficult to do when you know how the piece sounds; your brain will push you to speed it up and it is easy to lose concentration, but the benefits are worth the effort.

A tongue-in-cheek view of practising

Isolate the problem area and separate the hands, playing each hand on its own until you are more confident with the part each hand is playing. Really think about what you are asking your hands and fingers to do. If there is a run or passage that follows the pattern of a scale or arpeggio, it can help to play that technical exercise a few times first. Then slowly put the two hands back together and work to gradually increase your pace.

While slowing down and/or separating hands, still aim to maintain all the expression (dynamics, tempo etc) required.

Once you feel better about that section, put it back into the whole piece and see how it sounds and feels. If it is improved, move on to the next problem section and go through the same process. Using this method, you will eventually play the piece fluently and with pride in what you have achieved.

Scales… Pain or Gain? – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Ah, scales. A word that causes many musicians to sigh with exasperation or boredom. Personally, I always welcomed them, with their structure and consistency. Love them or hate them, scales are a big part of practise life for any musician (instrumentalist or vocalist).

A scale is “…any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, while descending scales are ordered by decreasing pitch.” (Wikipedia) They are the backbone of all types of music we play.

While a variety of scale types exist, each type is defined by its characteristic interval pattern. It is the constant repetition of these patterns that causes scales to be such a large part of learning to play an instrument – including the voice – because they help build muscle memory. By playing scales, your fingers will learn to easily go to the correct notes in the scale you are playing, so when you play a piece of music, your fingers will move more automatically to the correct notes.

Why practice scales?

Scale practice plays an essential part in developing a pianist’s skills.
They improve keyboard fluency.
Scales develop posture, hand position and coordination, as well as balance between the hands and movement of the arm.
Practising scales speeds up the learning of new pieces (muscle memory).
They develop evenness of line and quality of tone.
Scale playing builds aural awareness.

For students preparing for an exam, the examiner will be looking for:

A positive sense of rhythm without under-accentuation;
Even, firm tone and a musical curve;
Good legato;
Accurate and fluent realisation of the different types of scales, arpeggios and broken chords; and
Convincing negotiation of technical challenges such as smooth passage of thumb and hand coordination.

So the lesson here is we need to learn to love scales. They are incredibly beneficial physically and the basis of all we do as musicians. All practise sessions should start with a variety of scales, even if their only purpose is to warm up the fingers and hands (although we know they do much more than that). To break up the repetitive nature of practising scales every day, apps such as Blitz Book’s ‘Scale Blitzer’ can add a bit of fun.

Encouraging More Practise – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Establishing a practising routine can be hard work! Playing the piano is not easy and your kids will try all sorts of excuses to get out of practising. It is important to set practise time into their general routine so it has a place and is not just something that is done if they have leftover time.

Following are some tips to encourage more practise:

Never underestimate a reward system. Use whatever works for your child; it could be anything from extra iPad time to an exemption from a household chore. Their reward may even be a favourite meal.
Schedule practise time to happen before something they can relax with – free play time, for example. Of course, if you suspect this may lead them to rush through practise with no concentration, try another tactic.
Give your child something exciting to work for. Anticipation works wonders! Set a practise goal, wrap a little gift and pop it somewhere they can see it. Only when they reach the practise goal are they able to open their gift.
Connect their practise session with another activity that occurs every day. Perhaps your child could practise straight after breakfast or maybe before they start their homework. Whatever works for you.
Remember to reward yourself. This is your journey as well, so find something fun with which to reward yourself when you are successful at getting your kids to practise.

Piano Teacher Wallsend Newcastle NSW

A great little resource for practising tips for parents is the e-book “101 Piano Practice Tips”, which is available through Amazon.

Helping Your Child Achieve Good, Quality Practise – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Let’s assume your child has made a commitment to learning to play the piano and has ceased to see you as the ogre in the household because you are constantly hounding him/her to practise. “That’s a fantasy world!” I hear you exclaim. Well, it may never become quite that easy, but there are some things you can do to ensure the practise sessions they do get through are as effective as possible.

Overall I think the most important thing you can do to show your child you are committed to their learning and progress, is to schedule their practise time in to your weekly schedule. It should be included in their regular tasks, just like school homework (and also ensures “too much homework” doesn’t become an excuse for not practising).

Try some of the following tips and see what works best for you:

Encourage your child to practise most days (with a couple of ‘rest days’ interspersed in between). Consistency is so important and regular, shorter practise sessions are far more effective than one or two long practises. The more they practise, the more they will improve and this will increase their enjoyment of playing the piano.
This may seem obvious, but encourage your child to really focus when they are practising. Chances are their mind is more engaged in what they are wanting to do next and if they are rushing to finish, they will make more mistakes. This will only result in increased frustration and no improvement in their playing. A short practise brimming with focus is far more effective than a long, unfocussed session.
Encourage your kids to play the pieces they find difficult. If they are becoming frustrated, have them play with hands separately and become comfortable with that before joining their hands back together.
Let them write on their music (in pencil, of course). While you don’t want them writing in every single note name, marking up spots where they are having trouble every time may help. It might be the note names of a tricky passage or an unusual timing count that trips them up. Having a little help written in may increase their confidence with the whole piece.
Encourage slow playing, particularly of new songs. Most of us – not just the kids – have a tendency to want to play quickly, particularly once we know how the piece should sound. What we risk doing is ‘practising-in’ mistakes and learning the piece incorrectly. It is also frustrating for both there person playing and the person listening! Playing slowly also helps increase control. Once they are more familiar with the piece, playing it faster will come naturally.
Count out loud. Nice and simple. If the timing is tripping them up, counting out loud is far more effective than counting silently in their heads; it makes the count more dominant.

Tips for Making Piano Practise Fun – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

We all know practising anything can quickly become a drudgery. We need to go over and over the same thing, often with frustration at the mistakes we make.

Following are some tips to make your child’s piano practise more fun:

Do you know another family with children taking music lessons? Set up a buddy system and let the kids set practise goals together. They can encourage each other to practise and celebrate together when they meet their goals.
Encourage your child to perform. They could host a little recital for family and/or friends. As well as being a fun way to encourage practise, it also allows your child to become accustomed to performing, which will help with exams.
Use the grandparents/relatives. If your child has a grandparent who lives a distance away, have your child call or Skype them and play a piece for them. The grandparent will love to hear how they are progressing and the child will love the support and encouragement to practise the piano regularly.
Find a role model for your child. Perhaps an older child who plays the piano, or even a musician at church. Somebody whose talent your child admires and who is willing to encourage your child.
Duets! It’s always fun to play with a friend. Siblings often enjoy playing together, even when it inevitably ends in giggles. If you don’t have siblings both learning the piano, see if any of their friends are at the same level.
Be working on some sort of goal yourself. You and your child can set goals together and when you both meet them, you can treat yourselves together. It’s a great bonding opportunity as well as teaching your child the value of working consistently for a result.

Piano teacher Wallsend NSW

If you are considering music lessons for your child, please contact me to discuss the options. Piano lessons are conducted at my studio in Wallsend, NSW or mobile lessons are available in the eastern suburbs of Lake Macquarie.

Practise Tips: Things You Can Do Right Now – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Providing piano lessons for your child is providing them with a blessing – the gift of music. But like anything of value in life, it requires work and unfortunately for the parents this usually means hounding your child to practise.

Following are some tips for practising:

Make practise a priority! If children don’t practise, they don’t play well and they may start to believe they can’t play the piano. You have committed to your child’s piano lessons by paying for them, so they need to show the same commitment by practising or your money will be wasted.
A great time to practise is straight after the lesson and on the next day. This is when what they have been taught is fresh in their mind and will result in a much better quality practise. If they wait a few days after the lesson before the first practise, chances are they will forget what was discussed.
Consistency is so important. Shorter, focussed but consistent practise of 4 or 5 days a week is much better than a longer session at the piano on only one or two days.
Should you remind your kids to practise? YES! We have to remind children to do all sorts of things from brushing their teeth to loading the dishwasher (or whatever their given jobs may be) so piano practise is no different.
Decide on a minimum number of years your child will commit to lessons. Often when things become harder and they start to feel challenged, they will see the solution as quitting. Everybody struggles at some point… it just means we’re growing and learning.
Have your child see you practising something or learning a new hobby. They will realise that learning anything involves work.
Give your child lots of encouragement when they put in the effort at the piano. It’s great for them to overhear you telling somebody else how well they are doing.

merri bell music

Piano and Music Tuition