The piano is neither an easy instrument nor a difficult one; you just need to be familiar with the chords and basic playing technicalities. With consistent practice, patience and support from the peers and mentors, one can easily learn how to play. Discussed below are the top 10 tips and tricks for piano beginners:
Ear training
Ear training or to listen to other professional pianists at work is among the best ways to improve your technique. Playing by ear also helps you improvise and hence is an excellent technique for budding musicians to learn from the masters being inspired by their style and hand movements
A flexible approach
Most amateur pianists apply too much pressure while practicing this produces a loud unpleasant sound and also can cause cramps. Don’t hit the keys, let your hands glide over them softly, smoothly. A relaxed hand is more flexible and easy to control, i.e. you can reach the far away keys faster.
Maintain a proper rhythm
Rhythm and tempo are among the basic elements of any music piece, you cannot screw it up. Practice the rhythm of the song even if you’re not sure of the chords and notes involved. Maintaining a steady rhythm can also cover up a few fumbles and errors.
Finger movement, hand position
It is always better to start playing with the right hand first and then moving on to the other. Separate hand movements are easier to grasp, you can gradually move on to using both the hands. Most teachers use the conventional technique of separate hand practice. Once you’ve perfected that try to use both hands, this improves coordination and enhances the playing efficiency.
Memorize your music
Memorizing the notes and chord structure is not an easy job, but it can sure simplify your playing. Divide the music piece into sections and try learning them, try playing the piece before you go to bed. This helps you retain the music better as it would be the last thing on your mind before you sleep.
Focus on accuracy and not speed
Speed playing is something that comes with a lot of practice, for now, concentrate on hitting the right keys rather than hitting them fast. As an amateur try focusing on efficiency and accuracy, speed will come with time.
Play sections separately
As a beginner, it is difficult to keep up with the variations in chord structure of a musical piece, try dividing the music into different sections. For instance, practice piano notes starting with quarter notes gradually moving on to eighths and then sixteenths. When you play a section try maintaining a sense of continuity by including the ending notes of the previous section in your present one.
Sight reading music technique
The sight reading technique is a smart way to understand your music better. Amateurs get to develop their proprioception skills, i.e. awareness of the body in space. Most musicians get so lost in the notes so much that they lose their grip on reality. Sight reading keeps you on track; you can anticipate the upcoming notes and plan beforehand.
Consistent practice
From keys to notes, chords, and playing technique everything requires practice. Start with some warm up, playing the keys and notes before starting on with the actual piece. Spend the first 15 minutes of your practice session on the fundamentals; this improves your retaining power.
Finding the correct music piece
Your music tutor can help you select a music piece to practice. You can even find appropriate pieces on the Internet. There are many websites that provide e-books and pdf documents. A fun book for beginners to practice from is the Fake Book. It contains the melodies of popular songs with some extra information on the chords structure helping emerging pianists reproduce the same on the keyboard.
Some simple tricks that every amateur pianist should follow:
- Begin with the black keys.
- Never play too fast, slow down!
- Practice the scales in the chromatic platform.
- Start slow and gradually increase speed.
- Don’t forget your thumb!
The bottom line
Start and end the practice session playing something you love, this adds the fun element to the music lessons as well! Don’t push yourself too hard, take breaks, make mistakes, and have a splendid time!
