Keep going! You are doing great!
Sometimes, as musicians, we can start feeling a little stuck with how far we've come with our musical abilities. This happens with everyone at some point. Don't get discouraged though. There are a plenty of things you can do to get moving again and to continue your musical path. I want to list a few things to try that can get you back into the groove quickly. Sometimes, a little push is all that is needed. I also wanted to include a video interview with one of our students that was with us from kindergarten all the way to his senior year. You will hear him talk about times of discouragement when he wanted to quit but his mom wouldn't let him! He is now a very accomplished pianist and continues to use his talents.
1. Start working on a difficult piece. It can be amazing what a little extra difficulty can do for our playing abilities! Sometimes we start getting bored playing at the same level with the same types of songs and going up to the next level can be very motivating and helps us rise to the challenge. Feeling a little bored? Ask your instructor for some difficult pieces to work on for the next few weeks. You might even want to do a mini recital too!
2. Focus on what matters. You might find difficulty in a piece you are working on and just feel like you will never learn it correctly. Break the song up into little pieces and work on one piece at a time, focusing on the parts that are giving you the most difficulty. Continue to do this until you can play through the entire piece, but do it slowly, gradually building up speed to the correct tempo.
3. Set Clear goals. When you sit down to practice piano, have a clear purpose of what you will be working in during the session. It's fine to have times when you are "playing around" on the piano but the majority of your practice sessions need to be focused. Set a goal and keep at it until you reach it. Make sure that the goal you set is reachable in the time frame that you have. For example, you may be working on the first part of the song and want to get really proficient on that part in the 15 minutes that you have. This is a much better goal that can be achievable in that time frame. Keep it up and you'll be flying through your pieces in no time!
Click the link below to see our interview with our long-term student, Adam:
Adam Sharnagl Interview
1. Start working on a difficult piece. It can be amazing what a little extra difficulty can do for our playing abilities! Sometimes we start getting bored playing at the same level with the same types of songs and going up to the next level can be very motivating and helps us rise to the challenge. Feeling a little bored? Ask your instructor for some difficult pieces to work on for the next few weeks. You might even want to do a mini recital too!
2. Focus on what matters. You might find difficulty in a piece you are working on and just feel like you will never learn it correctly. Break the song up into little pieces and work on one piece at a time, focusing on the parts that are giving you the most difficulty. Continue to do this until you can play through the entire piece, but do it slowly, gradually building up speed to the correct tempo.
3. Set Clear goals. When you sit down to practice piano, have a clear purpose of what you will be working in during the session. It's fine to have times when you are "playing around" on the piano but the majority of your practice sessions need to be focused. Set a goal and keep at it until you reach it. Make sure that the goal you set is reachable in the time frame that you have. For example, you may be working on the first part of the song and want to get really proficient on that part in the 15 minutes that you have. This is a much better goal that can be achievable in that time frame. Keep it up and you'll be flying through your pieces in no time!
Click the link below to see our interview with our long-term student, Adam:
Adam Sharnagl Interview
Have some fun with creativity in your music playing! This will also push you further than you ever thought possible. The above video is a little game we started at our house. We pick out three notes and then the student has to create a song on the spot using those three notes as the theme. Make sure you take a video because you might come up with an amazing composition!