Practicing for Beginners

 Here are some of the basic guidelines I set aside for beginners (incorporating usually the first 2-3 years of study).

  1. The goal is focused practice – Feel that you have improved from every session.  Playing through old pieces for fun is wonderful but should take up no more than a quarter of the daily practice time.  When you practice, you are reading, understanding, analyzing, learning, listening, and gaining fluency.
  2. Patience is key!
  3. You want to come to every lesson knowing that you have mastered certain concepts, pieces, exercises, etc.  And if not, feel free to ask questions for better clarification at the next lesson.
  4. Take advantage of each lesson!  By being better prepared, you allow the teacher to teach you, tell you, and show you more.  Regular progress is key.  You will be amazed how quickly you can improve in a year!  
  5. When working on a certain skill or section when practicing, make sure you can perform it a minimum of 3 times consecutively with comfort and ease.  If not, the skill is still short of mastery and left to chance.  Don't come up short!  Follow through is important, and mastering those three times in a row should make you feel very good at the end!

Another website with some great advice!
New Mozart School of Music Blog: The Art of Practicing: How to Make Practicing Fun for Your Child

The Proper Way to Learn a New Piece of Music (Elementary level)
  1. Ask yourself, which key should I think in?  Example, A Major, 3 sharps...check! Quickly play a basic progression to acquaint yourself with the key...I-IV-V7- I. Proceeding forward 4-8 bars at a time only...(Do not work on entire piece at once!)
  2. Figure out the accompanimental chords (Usually L.H.)
  3. Clap and count the melody until fluent. Learn to play the melody fluently until you are able perform comfortably 4 times in a row.
  4. Put hands together and take note of any odd or awkward places while playing through the first time.  If you get off, DO NOT GO BACK AND REPEAT THE BEGINNING, but rather, learn to start at the  beginning of the measure.  Keep diagnosing and working on problem areas until you are able to perform the 4-8 bars of music comfortably 4 times in a row.
  5. Now you are ready to proceed to learning the NEXT 4-8 bars of music. REPEAT steps 2-4.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)