How to Improve Your Piano Skills

Review these helpful tips if you are looking to improve your skills and ability as a pianist.

Set Realistic Goals

Don’t expect to master a piece in one sitting. Set realistic goals for yourself when you practice. Practice takes time, patience, and dedication. If you find you are struggling to meet your goals, consider taking piano lessons Rockford IL with a professional music instructor. A music instructor can provide useful feedback and demonstrate difficult techniques for you. Attending a regular lesson can encourage you to commit and dedicate more time every day to practicing.

Go Slow

The speed you play does not demonstrate your skill as a piano player. When you begin to learn a new piece it’s important to slow down and understand each individual beat. Once you learn how to practice a piece slowly, it will be much easier to perform up to speed without error. To help keep your pace, consider using a metronome when you practice. If you come across a section of a piece where you begin to miss notes, pause the metronome and study that section. Slowly play each individual note until you can put them all together and speed it back up.

Learn Music Theory

Learning music theory will help you gain a deeper appreciation for the music you play. It will also enable you to recognize patterns in music and sight-read songs more easily. Sight-reading is helpful for learning new songs and developing improvisation skills. As you learn music theory you will become familiar with different notes, how they interact, how they are played, and how they affect the listener.

Study Classical Music

Even if you don’t enjoy listening to classical music, it’s a good idea to learn how to play it on the piano. Classical music is often technically demanding and will allow you to improve your abilities. As you advance you can begin to study more complex pieces and continue to put your skills to the test. Studying classical music may also be useful for supplementing your knowledge of music theory and composition.

Practice these techniques to become a better piano player.