Top 5 practice tips for piano that actually work

Have you ever found yourself stumped during a piano practice session? You just aren’t playing a section right or can’t seem to nail a technique down. 

Playing the piano, whether as a beginner or an experienced player, takes a lot of practice. In this article, we’ll be sharing our top 5 practice tips for pianists that actually work (the pianists on our team can vouch for these!).

1. Warm-up

We all know we should warm up before doing anything. Before you do any sports, you stretch. This is the same for piano practice! Playing the piano with stiff fingers will definitely affect your performance. 

Start off each practice session with a couple of finger and hand warm-ups. Here’s an example of some finger stretches that we really like: 

2. Break it down

You may be tempted to learn an entire piece all at once, but do your best to hold yourself back! While some songs may be simple enough to learn in under just a few hours, many complex pieces will require you to take your time in mastering them.

Break the entire piece into sections. By doing this, you avoid making unconscious mistakes that you’ll have to unlearn, and you’ll be able to carefully note down the things you should be wary of!

Remember, the slower you practice piano, the faster you learn!

3. Internalize the rhythm

When learning a new piece, we sometimes disregard the tempo and the time signature, but it is these components that set the vital organizational direction and mood of the song. A stable tempo and accents in the right place play a huge role in creating the shape and backbone of the song.

The best way to internalize the rhythm is by using a metronome. We use a vibrating metronome, like the Soundbrenner Core 2, to have an accompanying beat without any intrusive clicking sounds. With the Core, you can also change the tempo by turning the wheel. You can even place more emphasis on notes by setting accents.

4. Revisit your pieces

A common mistake we see from other pianists is that once they finally get the hang of a certain technique or piece, they don’t revisit them. This causes you to forget anything you’ve practiced, even if some of it has become muscle memory.

I mean, how much of what you learned a few years ago can you remember if it’s not something you’re re-practicing regularly? Take a few minutes out of each piano practice session to over whatever you learned in the previous session.

5. Target your weaknesses

This may seem straightforward, but we just had to highlight this. It may be satisfying to keep playing the parts you know and avoiding the parts you don’t. However, you won’t progress any further if you avoid your weak spots. 

Try playing the entire piece while making mental notes of your weaknesses. Come back to these weaknesses later and slowly work on them bit by bit.