How Do I Get Really Good at Piano?
Getting better at piano is a common goal for beginners and experienced players. Progress is not overnight. It comes from clear goals, focused practice, and feedback when you stall. Below are 12 practical tips to help you improve week by week, whether you work with a teacher or practice on your own.
12 Tips to Get Really Good at Piano
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Use the 12 tips below as a practical checklist: set a clear goal, choose how you learn, practice on a schedule, and keep challenging yourself. Start with the tip that fits where you are today.
Set a Goal
First things first, ask yourself why you want to learn the piano? You must know for sure if your goal is to learn to play your favorite sheet of classical music or become a master of music theory.
Let's make one thing clear; no one becomes a music genius overnight. It requires extensive practice and patience. Once your ultimate goal is set, plan how to reach your destination.
Make a list of milestones you want to achieve on your way to becoming a piano maestro and go over the plan with your piano teacher.
An experienced teacher can review your current ability and analyze whether you are going on the right track.
Pick Your Source
As an amateur piano student, finding a source to learn is essential. In the early days, the only way to learn any instrument was from a person with expertise. However, as the world progressed to development, the source of learning has also expanded.
Get a Piano Teacher
It is always better to get an expert guide to learn any musical instrument. Someone better than you at piano music can identify your mistakes and help you follow the sheet music.
Also, a teacher can help correctly put your fingers on the piano keys and teach you to play each chord right. With regular piano instruction from an experienced teacher, you can develop your skill faster.
Learn Online
Do you want to avoid the time, cost, and hassle of commuting to a studio? Thanks to the internet, you can now learn to play music on your cellular device. There are various interactive apps, online courses, and live video sessions to learn the piano.
Assign Piano Practice Time
Don't just practice the piano in your spare time. Set aside an assigned time for your piano lesson. Prioritize your piano practice session and schedule some time for practice. You need to practice at least 30 minutes each day or 2-3 hours every week.
The pace of your improvement depends on the time you spend on your piano. You can only master the piano technique by repetition. Commitment is key! Whatever time you set aside for your practice session, you must be committed to it.
Warm Up
Stretch your right hand. Now, the left hand. Place your finger on the black key, and start warming up for at least 10 minutes. Tedious! We get it.
But it's one of the most important steps in your training because warm-up time will ensure a flow in your hand and help you learn the song with maximum improvement.
Go through the previous lesson on your piano book, practice the hand position, recall the note you practiced the last session, and proceed to the new lesson.
Careful Listening
Are you about to practice a new piece? Before you start to play the new song, listen to the song very carefully.
Search it up on the internet for songs or videos and hear how the piece sounds. This allows you to feel the 'emotion' the note wants to give off. It will be very helpful when you start playing the song yourself.
Practice Sight-Reading
Sight-reading is like scanning content and viewing the picture. It helps understand what the passage represents and what it conveys. Sight-reading improves your improvisation skills, and it is important for pianists interested in playing in a band or an orchestra.
While practicing the piano, you must practice sight-reading and don't worry about your mistakes. We're only humans; we all make mistakes, learn from them, and try not to repeat them.
Don't feel disheartened by your mistakes; it is a crucial part of your learning process. With time and more practice, you will make fewer mistakes, and your piano sessions will become more enjoyable.
Slow Down
Slow and steady wins the race, right? In some contexts, it may be true, don't rush into the practice.
Whether you're practicing on an acoustic piano, classical piano, or a digital piano, running your hands through the piano keyboard at top speed may cause you to skip notes. The trick to practicing a new piece is learning them at half-speed and gradually speeding up.
Use a Metronome
"Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is one of the fastest compositions ever made, with a count of about 500 bpm. It is said, 'you can't play a song if you can play it in time.'
A piano metronome is a device designed to maintain a beat with a repeated sound that shows how fast a piece should be played and help you keep the tempo.
You can start a piano repertoire at 40bpm, slowly move up to 50bpm, speed it up to 60bpm, and so forth until you can play at the correct tempo.
Pick a Genre
Yes, piano music also has numerous genres to pick from. Here are the five most popular genres you can try -
- Classical piano
- Jazz piano
- Musical theater piano
- Pop-rock piano
- Liturgical piano.
Listen and read about each genre to get a better idea of which sparks interest in you, and select your pick, to begin with.
If you ask for our suggestion, it would be to start with a classical piece. It is quite difficult to learn other piano styles without learning the classical technique.
Pick a piece by Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven - the three maestros who paved the way for musicians with their classical compositions. It challenges you to push your limits.
We're not saying you can play a pop song without mastering the classical, but classical is the traditional style, to begin with, and grade up your game.
Push Your Limits
Once you learn to play a piece with ease, take up a new challenge. Keep challenging yourself with harder pieces. Try different styles and tempos to up your game. A piano player must continue to play more difficult pieces to improve their skills.
Play For People
As a pianist, learn to play the piano in public with confidence. Start by playing for your family and friends. Once you're comfortable, put up mini-recitals when guests come over.
Eventually, start hosting private events to play at, such as in-house parties, picnics, or school programs. Whether it is an audience of one or one thousand, feeling comfortable during a performance is key.
Enjoy Playing
Are you enjoying the piano? The key to a successful journey is to enjoy every bit of it. Make your piano your best friend and bond with it, dance to the rhythm of music together, and fall in love with the music.
Only when you learn to enjoy your music is when you can become a musician.
How To Get Better At Piano Sight-Reading?
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Do you get stuck while trying to read music notations? Wish to improve your sight-reading? Learning to read musical notes will contribute to better learning the piano. Below are a few simple steps to read musical notations better -
Step 1 - Know the Music Notes
You first need to know what the different notation symbols look like and what each of these notes means. That's not all; you must also learn the length of the notes and more. To read chords, you need to know what the different chord symbols represent.
Piano notes use bass clef and treble clef, so you must get familiar with those. You also need to learn about various time signatures, key signatures, and musical terminologies.
Step 2 - Sight Reading Technique
Sight-reading can be very tricky for a beginner, so start by identifying the correct technique to do it. The first step to sight-reading is finding the time and key signatures. Next, check the song's tempo and adjust as per your comfort.
Once you start playing along with sight-reading, it is important to keep your eyes on the next portion of the music. This will help keep a smooth pace on your performance.
Step 3 - Play with One Hand at a Time
Sight-reading with two hands on the piano can be difficult, to begin with. Start with one hand at a time to improve both your sight-reading and piano playing skills.
Step 4 - Pick an Easy Notation
Don't start with a difficult song as a beginner. We recommend you start with a piece you think you could easily read. After learning easy music, you can gradually level up to a difficult one.
Step 5 - Use A Metronome
Improving your sight-reading can be easier if you can play in time. Use a metronome to help you practice. Start with a slow tempo and increase the pace as you develop your skills.
Step 6 - Use Sight Reading Books
You can find many sight-reading books and book series to help you learn how to sight-read music. Initially, start with a level one sight-reading book and gradually move up one level at a time.
FAQs
- How Can I Play Fast Pieces Correctly?
Start playing the fast-paced song on a slower tempo, gradually increasing the speed. Once you learn to play it accurately at a slow speed, you can start speeding up and play it correctly at a faster speed.
- How Do I Play The Piano For People Better?
If you're nervous playing in front of people, focus on your keys. Concentrate on playing and try not to pay attention to the crowd. Start with playing for one person, and build up the courage to play for a crowd over time.
- How Much Should I Practice Every Day?
For a beginner, the minimum practice time should be 15 minutes a day. As you get familiar with the lessons, start practicing for one to two hours for a faster improvement.
Final Words
Getting really good at piano takes steady work over months and years, not overnight mastery. Use these tips as a habit checklist: set goals, practice on a schedule, slow down hard spots, and play for people when you are ready.
For daily practice length by level, see How Long Should I Practice Piano Every Day?. New to the instrument? Start with How to Start Learning Piano. Weighing lessons vs going solo? See Can I Teach Myself Piano?.
If you want guided feedback, browse teachers on thebestpianoteachers.com and match by level, goals, and location.