Im too old (young) to take lessons.
Take the suggestions from your teacher seriously. After long years of training and teaching experience, chances are your teachers suggestions will prove successful, education fund if followed.
Set aside a specific time each day for your work at the piano and stick to the schedule. If you are a morning person, practice in the morning. Avoiding or delaying getting to the piano will just make you run out of time.
Read biographies of composers, performing artists and conductors. Also, rent movies that are related to the lives of musicians. There are so many wonderful movies and books readily available, that really no one has the excuse not to know more about the composers, their lives and music. If you cant find the time to read books, classical CDs and records usually have useful and interesting information about the composer, the musical structure and ideas expressed, and the performers in the recording.
An hour of practice a day is just a suggestion.
Above all, dont simply repeat mistakes. Use practice to work out mistakes, not to reinforce them by continually repeating them. When you repeat mistakes, they are just that much more difficult to get rid of later.
Taking Lessons
I couldnt come to the lesson (or practice the piano), because I had a (football, baseball, basketball, soccer, track, hockey, college education lacrosse, etc.) (practice, game)
Although they wouldnt work for free themselves, many parents, in particular, think that extra time spent preparing a child for a contest or concert should be given free by the teacher. The average piano teacher probably has in excess of thirty students and each one deserves the best the teacher can give. If you need or want extra time from your teacher, Russian And British Languages Are Extremely Wealthy And Sophisticated, And For That Reason, To Be Able To Properly Transl expect to pay for the time.
When practicing, make sure that the environment is free from distractions and noise. Turn off the TV, put the answering machine on, and give yourself a quiet environment to work.
My child has a digital keyboard, so he doesnt need an acoustic piano.
While it is possible to start children on piano too young to gain maximum benefit from lessons, most children can benefit from lessons at early ages. On one of our Tips for Parents and Students pages, youll find some helpful hints about how to measure your childs physical and mental development to determine if they are ready for lessons. The requirements are very easy to meet for most kids. Older students have some considerable advantages over children in terms of both focus and motivation, even if they have lost some of the flexibility that characterized their younger years. So long as an older student has the time and desire to learn, he can start at just about any age.
Please note: The following material was taken from -
The Teacher
Most adult students are taking lessons because they want to enrich their lives, attain a personal goal, or perhaps fulfill a long-held dream. A lot of students do it for rest, relaxation and therapy from a stressful job. The result is that most adult students are highly motivated to learn. Your teacher should function in the role of a guide and support system as you discover which form of learning is best for you, and which music you might enjoy playing. If your teachers methods and your way of learning dont fully mesh, dont give up. Simply find a teacher who works better for you.
Practicing
Since lessons are paid for, the teacher should give any amount of unpaid time for free.
My piano teacher must be getting rich, because the hourly lesson rate is higher than my hourly rate.
( Article taken from:
Its my second lesson. I want to play the Maple Leaf Rag
My kid should have excellent piano skills in 6 months of lessons.
Piano teachers hear this one often. Imagine what a sports coach would say if his teams took this view. Playing piano is a skill and, as such, must be constantly refined and developed. You simply cant learn by only practicing just before the lesson.
( Article taken from:
Somehow my children will find time for lessons and practice, even though they are scheduled with activities every day of the week.
Please note: The following material was taken from
If possible, participate in concerts and recitals at your teachers studio, even if only to audit. So much can be learned by performing yourself and listening to others perform.
Its okay to start lessons without a commitment to them.
Many people take lessons because they would like to be able to play some particular work or genre of music. Its not surprising that they might want to play works that are well beyond their level of training and capability. Keep in mind the ct that you are taking lessons from a teacher because he or she knows more about piano than you do. The teacher probably knows whats best for your training, especially in the first year. Its perfectly fine to tell your teacher that you have an interest in some work or works and ask if they could be worked into your lesson program, as feasible. In the end, though, youre probably best served by following the teachers program of training and repertoire.
Leave a comment posted in Adult Piano Learning, Frequently Asked Questions, Parental Roles in Music Learning, Piano Learning, Piano Lessons
Please note: The following material was taken from
Practicing needs are different for each student, but a good starting goal is 30 minutes a day. You may wish to split the time up into 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon. As you advance, you may wish to set musical goals for yourself instead of a specific time limit. For example, you might decide to practice one day until you have learned the notes of a piece at a slow tempo. Make the most of your practice time by focusing on the hardest things to play.
Most people dont consider that they get benefits (health insurance, paid vacation, retirement plan, etc.) for free as a part of their compensation package, while most piano teachers must pay for those same benefits out of their hourly fee. Since typical company benefits run anywhere from half the nominal salary to equal the salary (or more), the real (fully-loaded) compensation is much higher than the amount people think of as salary. Considered in that light, most teachers fees are quite low, 2013-1-24 下午10:29:59 especially when you consider that the majority of teachers have degrees and/or other advanced training.
Parental Role
HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG SHOULD I PRACTICE?
Unlike studying for tests or exams, piano practice cannot be crammed in at the last minute or day before the lesson. Plan the time to do practice every day.
Digital keyboards, especially top-of-the-line ones, have become remarkably good at reproducing much of the sound and some of the feel of the acoustic piano. Although individual teachers have their own, often strong, feelings on this subject, its ir to say that most feel that a good digital keyboard is fine to start lessons on. Indeed, digital keyboards now outsell acoustic pianos by a substantial margin worldwide and especially in the U.S. That said, no knowledgeable pianist would argue that a digital keyboard is the best way of learning to play the acoustic piano. Probably no later than the end of the first year of lessons, you should plan on getting an acoustic piano. As I have discussed numerous times all over The Piano Education Page, the digital keyboard is best seen as a separate instrument with different capabilities, which, by good fortune, can serve as a stand-in for a short period of time for an acoustic piano. Students should learn how to play both instruments for their own separate qualities and attributes.
The most important tip for adult students is to be patient with yourself. Give yourself the time to learn things and dont get too frustrated if these skills do not come as st as the kids do. The finger coordination is not that of 5 yr. olds and it will take a bit longer for this to settle in. Most particularly, dont expect to learn as st as your 7 year old child; that expectation is unrealistic. Your advantage is the maturity to focus well on the task at hand and really to understand the musical language of the piece you are playing. Hence, chances are you will enjoy it more, even if your technique is slower to develop.
adult piano learning Adult Piano LearningMany people dont realize that lessons undertaken without commitment almost always lead to ilure. Lessons take real time and involvement on the part of teachers, students and parents. A new student should assume that, to be successful, he will have to devote just as much time to practice and lessons as he would give to a school team sport. Just as with a sport, playing piano requires both knowledge and skill. You can get the knowledge by study, but can get the skill only by practice.
Talent at the piano is real, but, as in so many other areas of human endeavor, greatly overrated. If you are committed to learning piano and are willing to do the regular (i.e. daily) practice that building skill requires, you will learn to play to a considerable degree, irrespective of the level of your native talent. As with so many other skills, playing the piano requires hard work and inspiration in about a ten to one (or higher) ratio, respectively.
Given the amount of time (not to mention psychological) commitment needed to be successful in learning to play the piano (see above), an overly scheduled child or adult student will find it difficult to be successful learning piano for sheer lack of time. Consider if you really have the time to commit at least an hour per day to effective practice.
You can learn ster and easier if you do a few things. These suggestions are not time-consuming and easily carried out if you schedule time for them in your day on a regular basis. The most important thing to remember about practice is that its not the amount of time you spend, but how well you use the time that counts. If you practice several hours a day and simply repeat the same mistakes each time through, you have not practiced effectively.
My advice to adults for practice techniques is much the same as that we would give for children. Here, you have an advantage in that you are probably more focused and motivated than the average child student. Its best to try to practice when the kids are not around, so that you avoid interruption.
Ill wait to practice until just before the next lesson.
Dont try to learn a piece all at once; take it in sections and practice a section until you can do it without mistakes three times through. Then move on to the next section.
The teacher must be iling if the child isnt progress at an acceptable rate.
Sometimes, parents come into a piano studio having heard the many play in a day claims out there. Some cant understand why their child isnt ready for a concert tour after 6 months of lessons. Unfortunately, you cant really learn to play piano using any play in a day approach. Often, this approach does more harm than good. You might be able to master a single tune to a small degree, but you wont have learned much to carry over to the next one.
Leave a comment posted in Adult Piano Learning, Frequently Asked Questions, How to Practise, Parental Roles in Music Learning, Piano Learning
You can either practice or you can practice. Too many people think that, if an hour of practice is required, that a half hour is almost as good and that half hour can be spent watching TV while practicing. Real practice requires both mental and physical devotion, in which you dont simply repeat mistakes, but correct them before proceeding on. One expert pianist I know says that you should practice a problem area until you can do right ten times for every time you do it wrong. Its not the amount of time you spend, but how well you use the time that counts. If you practice several hours a day and simply repeat the same mistakes each time through, you have not practiced effectively. For some good tips about how to practice effectively, see our article, Suggested Practice Techniques. In passing, allow me to note that ilure of the student to practice properly and adequately is the single biggest item that piano teachers note as contributing to the ilure of lessons.
Playing piano is all about talent; you have it or you dont.
Learning a new piece of music is hard work. Reward yourself after a good practice session by playing a miliar and vorite work just for the fun of it. Think of this as the dessert after meal.
I hope that understanding some of the common misconceptions about piano and lessons will help parents and students make the most of their lesson experience, without being burdened by misconceptions and misapprehensions which hold back their progress as pianists. This listing is not all-inclusive. You or your child can be a pianist, if youre willing to devote time and work to it.
Some people feel its okay not to show up for a lesson and not to give notice, but expect immediate scheduling of a free makeup lesson. Others think that they can use their piano teacher as an unpaid baby sitter by leaving their child unsupervised at the piano studio for an hour or two after the scheduled end of the lesson. People should remember that the teacher teaches more students than just their children. If he/she has to watch over students left past lesson times or has to wait for a student who never arrives, he cant give full attention to other students. In effect, those who leave their children at the studio past the scheduled end of the lesson are stealing the teachers time and attention from the next student.
Remember the value of taking a section slowly, sure that you play all the notes correctly and that you count through difficult sections. Worry about playing to tempo when you have the notes and the rhythm right.
Take the time to read your assignment book. The specific assignments and practice suggestions are intended to assist in practice.
Its Up to You!
Paying for the lessons is all the piano parent must do.
The teacher has plenty of free time to give me or my child.
Obtain a musical dictionary. The dictionary will give the meaning of the Italian terms (for example, Allegro vivace or Molto espressivo) which are used in the score to indicate how the piece of music should be played and how it should sound. Youll find your playing of the music will improve ster if you understand how the composer meant the music to sound in the first place.
Piano teachers hear these statements so often that its practically impossible to list all the variations. In the end, they all come down to students and parents placing a higher priority on these alternative activities than on piano. All of us must make decisions everyday about how we will use our time. However, we can hardly hold a school teacher responsible for our ilure to learn (and the resulting F grade) if we dont attend class regularly or do any of the homework. The same is true for piano. The difference is that youre wasting your own money, not just that of the taxpayers, if you take that view with regard to piano lessons.
Learning piano is a lot more than just being able to plunk out a few tunes. If youre going to carry any skills over to other music, no matter the type, youll need to learn how to: read music, adopt basic posture and technique, follow melodic and harmonic lines in each hand simultaneously, finger chords, practice properly and much, much more. Most people take lessons to help them learn to play most anything that might come along, not because they are interested in a particular genre. Would you be happy if, after taking lessons, you could only play a few tunes from a given type of music?
Starting Lessons
In rare cases, it may be the teachers ult if your child isnt progressing. Before you conclude that you need to change teachers though, take a look at whether you and your child have been serious about lessons. Are you practicing correctly and frequently enough? Are you attending all scheduled lessons? Are you rewarding accomplishment at the piano with as much praise as you would accomplishment on the athletic field? Is learning piano a priority or just another part of a busy day?
Just as parental involvement is important to a childs success in school, his/her success in piano lessons will require support from the parents. The teacher will provide information, technique and encouragement. However, remember that the teacher only sees the student for 30 to 60 minutes per week, while the parents spend most of the non-school hours with him. If the parents dont see to it that their children practice and attend lessons regularly, the teachers effort will likely be for naught, no matter what her skills as a teacher. Even more helpful to lesson success is regular interest and encouragement of their children from parents. For more specific tips about how you can help your child succeed in lessons, see our Being a Supportive Parent of a Piano Student section of our Tips for Parents and Students pages.
Learning to play piano is more than just playing the notes. There can be no better way to begin to speak to language of music, as opposed simply to knowing the vocabulary, than to immerse yourself in it. If you are working on a piece, try to listen to a recording of it. You will gain the benefit of the understanding of a professional musician, as well as develop additional insight into how you perceive and might play the music. It is much easier to develop a feel for the music when you dont have to worry about playing all the notes correctly.
Attend as many recitals and concerts as possible. Given the large number of musical organizations sponsoring concerts there is ample opportunity to hear music. The more music that you hear, the more of an idea of the musical concepts you can get.
A very valuable way of knowing whether youve learned a piece is to learn it well enough that you can play either hand independently starting at any place in the music. When you can do that, you can begin to work on being musical with the piece.
You only need lessons if you want to play the classics.