Tag Archives: piano practice

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:

  1. Piano teacher Wallsend NSWMake 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Have your child see you practising something or learning a new hobby. They will realise that learning anything involves work.
  7. 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.

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.

 

How to practise effectively – Piano teacher in Wallsend and Lake Macquarie, NSW

A couple of weeks ago a young student said to me, “I got the notes right once, so I wasn’t game to try it again through the week – I didn’t want to risk it.” While I understood his logic, this is not a practise method that results in improvement. As you would suspect, he struggled to play the piece again.

Because music is an art form and is appreciated audibly and emotionally, it can be easy to forget that a good performance is rooted in physical skill. As such, that skill needs to be developed and maintained, just the same as any other physical skill. It’s not just about knowing what keys to strike on the keyboard. People who learn dancing or play a sport do the same steps or practise the same drills over and over and over. In the same way, developing the dexterity and techniques required to beautifully play an instrument requires consistent effort.

Repetition… repetition… repetition!

Over the coming months I will share with you different thoughts and techniques to make practise more effective (as well as tips for parents to get the kids to practise in the first place). In the meantime, the most important overall concept to remember is:

A practise session is not effective if, by the end of the session, there has been no improvement from the beginning of the session. Just stumbling through the piece/s or scales once is not going to do the job. Go over and over the piece – or sections within the piece – until you are more comfortable with it than you were when you started. You’ll be happier with your progress and will know that the practise session has been worthwhile.

Repetition… repetition… repetition!

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.