How to put practice into playing.

[jpord]

I've been playing for about 6 months, averaging an hour a day, sometimes more. I am satisfied with my progress so far and have been keeping to a regular routine. I am getting very used to my practice regiment and want to step it up. So this is what I do basically every time I sit down:  stretch hands wrist ect. Do my scales both hands going in the same direction and opposite direction (one day I do all my majors and minors starting on the white keys, the next day I do my maj and mins on starting on the black keys). Then I practice 1 handed octaves moving up and down cromatically (and recently have started playing 1 hand octave scales). Then I do 1 handed chords (maj one day min the next) moving up and down chromatically, then of coarse switching hands once one hand gets tired. Then I'll throw in just a bit of cromatic scales. So all of this takes me about half an hour. After that I usually work on songs. I've learned a couple easy covers. With out any instruction this is what I've come up with because I figure it will prepare me for what ever else is to come. Any advice on other things I should be practicing? I am very used to this routine and have my chords and scales down pretty good, very little fumbling. I feel I've set myself up with a decent foundation, now I want to put my practice into use. How do I do that, what's the next step?

Among My goals are to learn to read. Improvise. And understand how to make chord progressions.

[lunchalpha]

Since you're familiar with the generics of practice, the next step (IMO) should be the specifics. The specifics are basically the components of any piece that you play. They're the musical aspects such as arpeggios, chords, transitions, rhythms, dynamics, accidentals, etc., that make the piece unique to itself.

The easiest way to start would be to take a look at your current repertoire and find a segment you find difficult (for your technical skill) or interesting (for building your musicality, and hopefully ability to improv). There's a lot of things you can do with these segments. Try moving them up and down chromatically, going up by thirds and then down by fifths, inverting them, using different notes to "fill in" gaps, challenging yourself with your own variations, anything. This is hard to explain since there is no set way of doing it, but I recommend at least trying it.

I will tell you right off that doing this has helped me immensely. Less than a year ago I could barely improvise pieces that I knew, let alone improvise on the basis of using a random key as my key signature. On top of that learning new pieces has become much easier for me. The key (pun, sort of) is experience.

One of the mistakes I made though was forgoing basic practice in exchange for this style (playing for practice), and as such I'm currently working on getting my basics up to par. Not difficult, but a minor setback.

[keyboardclass]

It's not what you play it's how you play.

[pianisten1989]

It's not what you play it's how you play.

And with that golden advice he will easily become the best pianist the world has ever known. Seriously, do you have a collection of that sort of advice, or do you just make them up?
Ofc is how you play it, but that wont help anyone... Clever advice, really!

To the topic:
If I were you, I would try to find a harmony book. Without any sort of help, you can't improve that much... So a study book for harmonies (there are a few basic progressions: I IV V I (ex. c f g c), and II V I (ex. dm g c).

You should also try to find some music you like, and try to learn it. The more you've played, the easier it is to improvise, since you know how certain things will sound.

For the reading music part, it's just about practising. find something really easy, and just try to see what notes it is (You could also write the note names over/under the actual notes, if you're having too much trouble)

[keyboardclass]

Ofc is how you play it,

In that case the OP will end up unmusical with stiff wrists.

[pianisten1989]

In that case the OP will end up unmusical with stiff wrists.

Somehow, the first thing I thought about was your youtube-channel...
And what is that for an answer anyway?

[keyboardclass]

Somehow, the first thing I thought about was your youtube-channel...

It's there for all to see.

[pianisten1989]

It's there for all to see.

Sadly, that's true...

[bachbrahmsschubert]

I think the two of you should start a television show. I might even consider watching it. 

[pianisten1989]

I agree! Though, Keyboardclass would probably insist that we stand behind the camera, cause the sound would be better, and the picture would be sharper...

[keyboardclass]

I think the two of you should start a television show. I might even consider watching it. 

They already had one - Abbott and Costello.