What Can You Do Differently In Your Piano Playing Today?
Are you learning to play the piano? Are you taking piano lessons to enhance your skills? Are you playing for your own enjoyment? Are you studying the piano to play for friends and family and in recitals?
Every person who plays the piano no matter at what level needs to keep a reasonable perspective about the learning process and their successes and challenges. One way to keep a healthy perspective about playing the piano is to ask yourself three questions as you work through exercises and repertoire or find yourself performing for a You Tube video or for a live audience.
Ask yourself
What did I do well?
What can I do differently?
How can I make changes?
Once the first question, "what was done well?" has been answered by careful listening and recognition of even small successes and accomplishments in the development of piano technique and musicality, a student of the piano is ready to approach the second question.
The second question, "what can I do differently?" seems to be more common to the human race and specifically to adults learning to play the piano. Usually the question is not "what can I do differently?" but "what can I do better?" These are different questions but both lead to a more musical performance of a passage or an entire piano piece albeit from different directions.
If the only question asked by a beginning pianist is "what can I do better?" the concept of careful and critical listening to the sounds being created is not being recognized, only that something is wrong. Looking for fault often comes too easily for many people thus is easy to continue this fault-finding in piano playing and piano study.
By asking the question, "what can be done differently?" a student of the piano, creates then listens to several options determining that with a different fingering a passage suddenly is not only playable but more musical as well. In learning or maintaining piano playing skill there is always something that can enhance and improve the playing of a song, the performance of a chord progression, or the rhythm of a particular piece of music. Carefully discovering what can be made better will enhance the music you play whether it is for yourself or shared with the public.
So, just how does one determine what can be done differently? The development of listening skills from the first time one sits at a piano determines how quickly one can answer the question "what can I do differently?" The development of listening skills are as important as technical skills in learning to play the piano.
Critically listening to the differences in sound one makes by moving the fingers in a different pattern can change musical results. Is the result a smoothly played phrase or is there a hesitation when the thumb crosses under the third finger? If there is a hesitation after a diligent and focused practice session using a particular fingering, it is time to do something differently. Never assume the first playing is the only and right way of playing a piece of music.
Listen, experiment, listen, rehearse, listen, ask yourself, "Is this really the sound I want?" If not, make changes and look for creative ways to make music in a different way on the piano.
Dr. Jeannine Jordan is a successful piano teacher focusing on the adult learner. Her students play songs in a day. "If you've always wanted to play piano songs quickly and easily join Dr. J at Play Piano Today with Dr. J for a free tutorial and play the piano."
Copyright 2009 Pro-Motion Music
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