Improving Piano Fast!

[rc179264]

I'm 14 years old. I used to hate learning piano, because my parents forced me to learn piano. But ever since last year, I actually started to enjoy it, but I play so poorly (grade 3)  for someone who's played for 5 years. I really want to catch up on my piano, and want to achieve grade 8 by the time I leave high school. Please Help!!!

[virtuoso80]

There's no magic way to learn fast, but you can limit the time you waste by an efficient practice method, finding a quality teacher who will make sure you're using good technique, and working on technique-building pieces.

Other than that - It's just practice, practice, practice.

[rc179264]

Thank you very much! If I practice 2 hours per day, and 5 hours in on Saturday + Sunday, will I finish two grades per year?

[hfmadopter]

Understand first that just because you play grade 3 doesn't mean you play poorly. The right grade three piece can bring joy to the listeners heart and even tears if it's sentimental in that way . The key is at that level people tend to play notes, they concentrate on notes rather than phrases of music.

As to advancing, first play level 3 well, then move on ! Find a teacher if you don't have one. level 8 from level 3 in basically 4 years is a pretty lofty goal, that will take hours of practice per day on multi pieces. Expect to put in a few hours per day not a few minutes or even one hour. That requires a commitment on your part and a teacher willing to push you and you accepting the push not rejecting the push.

I don't see the need to rush though, piano/music is a lifetime investment. Music is in you, the piano is your means of showing it to the world. Non of that is going away unless you let it go. You and nobody else are in control of that destiny. If you choose then when you are fifty, sixty or seventy years old you will still be investigating music and piano.

[rc179264]

Thank you so much! You've really inspired me, and not let me feel so bad about myself. I am going to be an optimist, and believe in myself. Thank you so much.

[outin]

Thank you very much! If I practice 2 hours per day, and 5 hours in on Saturday + Sunday, will I finish two grades per year?

It depends a lot in the quality of the practice time...to keep yourself motivated, you should make sure you get as much progress as possible from your practice. 20 hours a week is a lot if you use it wisely.

[virtuoso80]

Thank you very much! If I practice 2 hours per day, and 5 hours in on Saturday + Sunday, will I finish two grades per year?

Very possibly, but so much depends. Like going to the gym, you can do an intense 30min or a leisurely 2 hours, and neither can predict exactly what your results will be. Work smartly and intensely, and make sure you're getting feedback from someone who knows that they're talking about.

Also, it's good to set goals, but realize that 'finishing' a certain level can mean so many things. Even the simplest level 1 piece, something a young student of mine can play with perfect notes, rhythm, etc.  - I can still make it sound better than they can. And then there are people that can make it sound even better than I can. So, which of us is 'finished' with that piece? Work toward getting better and developing skills, and use the grade system as structure if it helps, but realize there's ultimately no such thing as a 'grade' for a piece of music.

[rc179264]

It depends a lot in the quality of the practice time...to keep yourself motivated, you should make sure you get as much progress as possible from your practice. 20 hours a week is a lot if you use it wisely.

Thanks so much, do you have any tips to practice smarter than harder? Will I make more progress if I do it in the morning?

[rc179264]

Very possibly, but so much depends. Like going to the gym, you can do an intense 30min or a leisurely 2 hours, and neither can predict exactly what your results will be. Work smartly and intensely, and make sure you're getting feedback from someone who knows that they're talking about.

Also, it's good to set goals, but realize that 'finishing' a certain level can mean so many things. Even the simplest level 1 piece, something a young student of mine can play with perfect notes, rhythm, etc.  - I can still make it sound better than they can. And then there are people that can make it sound even better than I can. So, which of us is 'finished' with that piece? Work toward getting better and developing skills, and use the grade system as structure if it helps, but realize there's ultimately no such thing as a 'grade' for a piece of music.

Thanks very much here. I'm really happy that you guys are giving me great advice. I was wondering whats the best way to keep in time? I tend to sometimes play faster.

[lloyd_cdb]

Thanks so much, do you have any tips to practice smarter than harder? Will I make more progress if I do it in the morning?

You'll make more progress when you're focused, whatever time of day that is for you.

Easy pieces gain confidence, reasonable challenges provide motivation. Practice multiple pieces of varying difficulty at once so you don't get bored sitting at the piano and can actually learn different things in your practice sessions. Try to pick your pieces to have a wide array of techniques. My teacher always used to tell me "playing it isn't learning it". Just because you can hit the notes doesn't mean you actually learned anything. Before you approach a piece, understand what it is you are actually attempting to learn from it.

When you get to a point where you're challenging yourself with 'advanced' pieces that have different sections requiring different techniques, "smarter" means things like not just brutally repeating passages figuring you'll learn it through awful repetition ('advanced' is relative. I don't just mean when you hit lvl . Recognizing what exactly you are struggling with technically (non-specific to the piece you are learning), and finding an easier piece that may entirely focus on that technical issue. Practice it on the side as you learn another section of the main piece.

I'm not a teacher, just thinking back to some of the things I did when I was worse than I am now.

[outin]

When you get to a point where you're challenging yourself with 'advanced' pieces that have different sections requiring different techniques, "smarter" means things like not just brutally repeating passages figuring you'll learn it through awful repetition

This is so true. So many times I have stumbled on passages that I cannot manage with a week's work alone and then my teacher gives me a little hint that instantly fixes it. So finding different angles to the problem is often much more efficient than just repeating something that doesn't work.

rc...:
A lot of good advice from others above.

I know I am practicing smart when I feel that I have progressed in my piece in 15 minutes more than I sometimes do with 2 hours of practicing. Getting into a focused state where problems seem to solve themselves doesn't happen every day though for me. So I practice different things depending on my state of mind (and body). If I notice I cannot focuse on reading, I play scales and pieces that I have already memorised. If my hands do feel bad but my mind works I concentrate more on reading and learning the notes on new pieces. If I feel really focused and in shape I practice playing the pieces the best I can. And so on.

You have to know about yourself and the ways you learn best to be able to practice smart, just following someone elses successful practice routine doesn't necessarily do it for you. I am not a good piano player, but I feel that I have progressed quite far anyway on my journey to become the best I can considering all the limitations I have. So I feel I have found ways to practice smart. I don't think my way would work for everyone though.

[worov]

Sometimes less is more. Bernhard wrote about this in a thread :

This also reminds me of a story I would like to share with you:

A young man sought instruction in swordsmanship from a renowned swordsman. The master was a recluse who lived alone in a hut in the mountains. The youngster was granted an interview after much persistence and several letters of introduction from important figures in the land. When he was face to face with the master he blurted out: “Master, if I dedicate six hours everyday to the practice of the martial arts, how long will it be before I master them?”

The master thought for a moment and replied: “Ten years.”

The student looked dismayed. “Ten years! What if I practise twelve hours every day?”

The master smiled. “Ah! If you practise twelve hours everyday, it will take you thirty years to master the arts!”

(Traditional Japanese Martial Arts lore)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

Source : https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=2265.0   (reply #38)


I practice no more than two hours a day during the week. Three hours on weekends.

[rc179264]

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I truly appreciate it!

[teran]

You progressed slowly because you hated it, also to be honest Grade 3 within 5 years isn't bad at all really. The early grades of piano are quite an obstacle compared to other instruments because there's a lot of coordination technique required.

Just keep playing and learning new pieces and you'll be okay, trust me now that you actually enjoy it your improvement rate will skyrocket.

Of course, you'll always feel that your progress is too slow, but don't worry about that, we're all like that.