Have you started playing the piano but have you noticed that it is difficult to improve? Have you taken piano lessons for a while but don't see any progress? Or do you have some experience and just want to improve your technique?
In this article, you will learn how to improve your piano playing technique. The article takes into consideration those people who have learned to play by ear, thanks to the use of media such as books and DVD players, or who have taken lessons from a music teacher. If you think some of the sections aren't about you, you can just skip ahead and move on to the next ones. Let's enter this musical world together!
Steps
Step 1. Learn to manage time to practice and learn
Spend some time playing and training, and fully commit to that amount of time. Don't let anything stop you from exercising. Commitment is essential to improve your skills.
- Work out an hourly schedule if you don't have enough time to be able to devote yourself to the instrument on a daily basis.
- Use an alarm clock or any other means available to remind you that you need to practice the piano.
Step 2. Plan your training sessions
Although it will no longer be necessary in the future, at the beginning, when you learn new things, it is important that you know what you will have to learn in the immediately following sessions to be able to evaluate your progress. This will help you keep track of all your improvements in notions and techniques. Do not be discouraged in the event that you have not made progress in the hoped time. If you think a concept takes too long to learn, don't worry. The important thing is, in the end, to succeed.
Step 3. Improve your reading of musical notes
Many of the suggestions in the following sections depend on a good skill in reading musical notes (score). Here's how you can improve this skill:
- Learn to read the notes on the score, if you haven't already done so. Make sure you understand musical punctuation. If you want to improve your technique you will need to learn advanced notions of musical punctuation, such as dynamics, tempo, armature, time signature, clefs, etc. Knowing how to read only the notes and intervals is not enough.
- Learn to read music on sight. This will improve your ability to translate written music into harmonic musical notes.
Step 4. Improve the way you place your fingers on the keys and the playing speed:
- Learn some finger stretching exercises first to use before playing the piano.
- Learn correctly the position of the fingers on the keys if you have not already done so. Correct finger positioning is essential for developing advanced skills.
Step 5. Practice on different scales by placing your fingers correctly on the keys
Start by climbing the musical ladder, then go down, up and down again. Play each scale at least five times, always positioning your fingers in the correct way throughout the performance.
- Try practicing two or three scales before each performance. Do it both for a "session" with a teacher, and in your self-taught tutorials
- Try to practice using a score that contains the numbers relating to the positions of the fingers, especially at the beginning. This way you will be sure that you learn to play correctly.
- Practice gradually increasing the speed. Set the metronome at a low speed and when you have mastered it move to a higher speed. This way you will develop a kinesthetic memory. When you learn a new song or a new scale, start slowly but respecting the tempo of the piece. Then it speeds up the performance, maintaining the correct interval between the notes. For example, if you practice a C major scale, you will start playing every note (C, D, Mi, Fa, G, A, Si) all in one measure. Then you will start playing each note in the middle of a beat, then in a quarter and so on. When you make a mistake, start all over again. Practice this way for half an hour a day until you make no more mistakes.
- Practice playing the chords with the right finger position on the keys. On the internet you can find a lot of information on how to best position your fingers to play chords. You may find more than one optimal position for your fingers, it's a matter of preference, follow the one you are most comfortable with (especially when switching from one chord to another).
Step 6. Practice and memorize musical scales, especially the most prominent ones
Learn all the major scales, the harmonic minor, the melodic minor and the chromatic scales. Learn to play the scales and practice continuously. If you play a specific style (such as blues, jazz, etc.), learn the scales suitable for those styles.
Step 7. Practice with the chords and memorize them
Chords are notes that are played simultaneously by pressing several keys together.
- Start by learning the most important chords.
- Learn the inversion of each chord. Know when to use each inversion.
- Practice chords by playing progressions. Start with the simpler ones, such as the Do F G progression. Once you have mastered these, move on to the more complicated ones.
Step 8. Improve your aptitude for music, often called "musical ear" by listening to a piece and trying to predict the notes being played
Here are some tricks:
- Start with some simple, slow songs. Search for notes on the keyboard by trial and error.
- Try naming the notes simply by listening to them, and writing them on the score.
- When you have finished a section, try to play the notes you have heard, try to understand how close you have come.
- You can create classification systems and test them on your own. Don't worry if you only find a few notes at first. Learn from your mistakes. Step by step, one day you will be able to write the whole song with great accuracy.
Step 9. Improve "mental execution"
Mental execution occurs when you play a piece of music in your head. You can do this:
- Look at the score and try to play it in your mind. It will be difficult at first, so play note after note. At first you can use a tape recorder or something similar and read the notes by whistling or humming them. In the long run, you will be able to record longer and longer pieces of score before pausing to read the next pieces. Eventually you will be able to visually read entire passages, melodies and complete pieces directly in your head.
- After you've done that, play the piece and see how close you have come.
Step 10. Make sure you have correct piano posture
Poor postures can cause back pain, which can be complicated by stiffening your body and preventing you from playing fluently, which you can only do if you maintain correct posture.
- Align the pelvis in front of the middle C.
- Keep your back straight, do not bend it forward or backward with respect to the keyboard.
- Be relaxed, not rigid.
- Your fingers should be slightly curved, as if you are holding an apple in your hand. Do not place your fingers perpendicular to the keys. Do not bend your fingers upwards.
- If you are still a beginner, look at your little fingers. Especially in beginners, the little fingers tend to overpower the other fingers. Try to keep them on the same level as the other fingers. It may take some practice, but if you train it will eventually become a natural movement.
Step 11. Try to practice with songs or songs that you particularly like at the beginning
You can find lots of free sheet music on the internet or you can buy songbooks and sheet music at any music store. You can also download the songs in mini format and turn them into sheet music using special programs, such as MuseScore.
- Start by playing the piece very slowly. What matters, in the beginning, is that you understand the progression of the notes and chords.
- Worry about time when you get to the next level. Once you have mastered the progressions and development of the piece, start perfecting the tempo. Make sure each note is played at the right tempo and for the correct duration.
- Try to divide the song. Learn one section of a song at a time, perfect it and move on to the next. A section can be a melody, a chord progression, a chorus or chorus, etc.
Step 12. Improve your hand coordination skills
You can do it like this:
- Do some coordination exercises before you start practicing with the instrument. Use a metronome to practice coordination at different tempos.
- When practicing more complex pieces, start by practicing the part of the song required by the right hand and then the part required by the left hand (or vice versa), then try to use them together. Take the time you need, there is no need to rush. When you have managed to perfect yourself in one part, move on to the other. Not before.
Step 13. Learn to play in public
It is important to get used to playing in public, avoiding panic due to anxiety or a badly played note.
- Start by playing in front of a small group of acquaintances (family, friends, etc.).
- Gradually increase the number of viewers.
- Start playing on private occasions (picnics, holidays, parties, etc.).
Step 14. Use technology to learn solo
There are a large number of programs and tools created to support learning and practice. Some of these are:
- The metronome. Used to practice timing and timing coordination, it helps you play the instrument in time.
- Software. They can be useful while improving the musical ear and mental execution.
- Music notation programs such as MuseScore. Programs of this type are useful for transforming midi files into musical scores. They are also useful for storing, managing and editing scores in digital format. They even help you in the music composition process.
- Music and teaching support video games such as Synesthesia and PrestoKeys. Programs such as these are used to keep a musical score of the songs you play on MIDI keyboards or on a keyboard.
Step 15. Learn techniques to increase finger dexterity
Improving the way you place your fingers on the fingerboard can greatly improve your technique. Try to make a comparison with a multiplication. If you are given a problem, like 5 plus 5 plus 5 plus 5 percent, what would you do? 5 + 5 + 5 + 5…. Or 5 x 100? Obviously the second option. Likewise, if you can use a more efficient finger arrangement system, why not do it? It only takes an extra minute to figure out which technique is best for you. A minute spent now can save you hours later.
- Know which muscles make your hands work. Just apply a little logic. For example, you can easily point to something with the index. And with the ring finger (thumb = 1, index finger = 2, middle finger = 3, ring finger = 4, little finger = 5) I am not an anatomical expert, but it is very likely that the thumb and index finger have individual muscles, while the third, fourth and therefore have muscles connected to each other. Basically, do not use extremely painful finger arrangement systems, such as trying to press the middle C with the little finger and then switch to E with the thumb and G with the ring finger.
- Buy the sheet music. It can be useful to you, if you can afford it. In sheet music, finger arrangements are written on the keyboard (only the ones you need), and people usually test them out before they publish them. You can also photocopy some books, but without infringing copyright.
Advice
- Try never to equate yourself with others. It doesn't matter how long it took your cousin to perfect the technique, or how good he is now. What matters is that you improve, albeit slowly, and that you keep trying.
- Never give up. Even if you don't succeed at first, go back and try again. If you can't understand a particular piece, method, or technique, try slowing down or breaking it up. Learn small excerpts and then connect them together.
- It is true that there are some people who can play the piano well without knowing how to read music or musical punctuation very well. But it is also true that you could greatly benefit from learning musical annotation (and also the people we have just mentioned). Some of the passages we have gone through may not be achievable without a good proficiency in reading the score.
- Don't measure your progress by the time it took you to get it. Be happy only when you have learned something new or have perfected a skill. It can take a year to learn a concept or a technique and only a month to learn another.
- Don't post videos where you play or play in public places if you haven't reached a certain level first. The criticisms could demoralize you.
- It never hurts to learn a different style of music than the one you prefer. It sure doesn't make you worse! Indeed, in many cases it can only hone your skills.
Warnings
- Never play too fast when practicing. You must play at full speed only when you have finished learning the piece (e.g. you have to perform the piece in public shortly). If you start playing fast and finish playing slowly, you will begin to forget the notes. If you play too fast you start well and then you realize that the only part you know well is the beginning, so you may make mistakes in the middle of the performance or not be able to finish the piece.
- Keep your hopes high, but be realistic. Improving your skills can take a lot of time. It can be frustrating.
- If you have small hands or short fingers, you may not be able to press your fingers well on the keyboard. You can try using an electric keyboard with smaller keys. Pianos are made for people with long fingers and wide hands. If your goal is to become a master amateur, you may not be able to play on a traditional piano, especially if you enjoy playing with various effects typical of an electric guitar. If you use the piano to compose music for another instrument, then it doesn't matter.
- If you suffer from spinal disorders or other disabilities you may need to adapt the technique to your body movements rather than sound exactly like a person who does not suffer from any ailments. You can still have fun and learn well, but try to adapt the techniques to your limits, rather than asking the impossible. If it hurts to try to maintain a correct posture, try to reach the frets as you like without feeling pain.
