So, you’ve decided to take piano lessons. You’ve found yourself your friendly, neighbourhood piano teacher who will help you make sense of all of those identical white keys, and help you to befriend all of those formidable-looking black keys—the one person who can baptise you in the seemingly endless stream of music theory.
Your ambition multiplied by your professional piano teacher’s wealth of knowledge in their craft is surely a magical combination. You’ll be Sheffield’s very own Bach in no time. But how do you make the most of that time?
A piano teacher’s rich knowledge and experience are indeed invaluable while learning. However, while theory, knowledge, and understanding can be taught, things like passion, perseverance, and persistence cannot. You will have to do a lot of the work on your own.
So, how do you put what your instructor teaches you into practice? Here are a few tips to ensure you get the most out of your piano lessons.
1. Make it a Habit
Consistency is key in all forms of learning, and the same is true for piano. If you dedicate time each day to a bit of practice, you’ll begin to notice small but important changes in your playing.
For beginner through to intermediate level, about 30 minutes a day 5 times a week is a good amount of practice, and having a structure like this is a great way to increase efficiency in your daily time slot. Multiple, smaller practice sessions throughout the day would also be beneficial.
For example, practise your scales with your left hand, then your right hand, then try to do both, going as slowly as it takes you to avoid mistakes. Then, follow up with the exercises that your teacher has tasked you with, following the same ‘3x’ format. It’s important to note that you are going to make mistakes, and plenty of them – it’s all about correcting them.
Any small improvement you make by the end of that session should be considered a good use of your time.
2. Track Your Piano Progress
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and piano certainly isn’t learnt overnight.
There is no correct amount of time or speed to mastering it (for instance, the 10,000-hour rule is just shorthand for ‘more practice = more skill’), so you must keep your goals realistic and tangible. Get into the habit of celebrating the little wins, such as improvements in fingering techniques, learning a new scale or sequence, practicing rhythm, or other goals.
Keeping track of those wins will be a great motivator for you. Keep a practice diary so that you can look back at how far you’ve come, use exams as long-term goals, and track your BPM to see improvements in your playing speed and rhythm. You can show your teacher exactly what you’ve been focusing on and where you’ve made improvements.
Remember: the only pianist you are competing with is yourself.
3. Be Attentive
Your lessons are your best opportunity to get feedback, and your teacher has been through this exact process in their journey. Now, they’re simply passing that knowledge on to you.
Aside from turning up on time, make sure you engage. The more interested you are and the more questions you ask, the more you will learn, and the quicker you’ll improve. It’s your opportunity to engage with somebody as passionate as you are.
It’s important to remember that you’ve sought them out for help, and their advice is the best way to develop technique, understanding, and skill when it comes to the instrument. So, the best approach is to, generally speaking, trust their judgement and practice what they recommend.
4. Find Inspiration
Crucially, learning piano is supposed to be fun, and your love of music is undoubtedly why you’re there in the first place. So don’t just listen to songs you know, but other tracks and genres you may not have heard before. To absorb the different styles, try to work out what’s going on in sequences and listen to the patterns. Watch pianists play—whether in real life or just on YouTube.
Read through your theory books and gain a stronger understanding. You can also pore over your sheet music away from your piano without the pressure to play. When you’re fiddling with scales and arpeggios, listen and see if you can hear melodies you recognise. After all: they’re all right there in front of you.
If there’s anything you read about or hear you don’t understand, ask your teacher about it, they’ll be happy to help. If you’re enjoying the process and following the path ahead, it might not make you a virtuoso pianist overnight, but you’ll certainly be one step closer to your goals.