Piano
Piano Placement and Friendship 2
My Piano is placed very near my front door. I mean you can’t miss it – it practically takes up the living room. I think its fair to say that when you fill a room with pianists and insert a piano, the piano becomes the nexus of almost all social […]
Transposition for Theory and Ear Training
Want a rewarding, practical, theory lesson? Try transposition. The great thing about transposition is that you can apply it to whatever level you happen to be at. Are you learning a Chopin Mazurka? Take a phrase and try to play it in every key. Still on simpler pieces? Do the […]
More on Piano Muscles 8
Along the lines of the previous post, here’s a quick tip: If your practice isn’t “sticking”, maybe you aren’t doing enough “reps”. Many people will take my advice on working in small sections, but won’t repeat enough. They’ll figure out how to get through a section, repeat it maybe once, […]
Scale Fingering
Do you get your fingers mixed up when you play scales? Here’s a quick tip. Say the fingers to yourself in groups as you play, instead of one finger at a time. For instance if you’re playing the F Major scale, don’t think: 1 on F, 2 on G, 3 on A […]
Practice and Performance
Something I’ve been noticing a lot recently is that people tend to mix up Practice Goals with Performing Goals. The goal in performing is to play the piece at the highest level possible. The goal in practicing is: to understand the piece as well as possible (including sound, theory, fingering, […]