Everyone’s been back in school now for a couple weeks and gradually getting into their fall routine which will hopefully be accompanied by cooler weather. I know I’m ready for it!
I’ve had many students excitedly start piano lessons. It’s new, it’s exciting, it’s fun…and then, a couple months into lessons, practicing is no longer new, exciting, or fun. So what do many students do? Stop practicing! A few months later they’re frustrated as they crawl their books not progressing and struggling to pick out simple tunes. I’m never surprised when a student stops progressing shortly after they stop practicing.
Piano practice needs to be looked at the same way as soccer practice or math homework. Whether or not you like doing math, you have to eventually work through the problems the teacher has assigned or you’ll never be able to progress to the next level. Just like many boys and girls spend a couple hours a day practicing for one 80 minute soccer game, it takes several days of practicing 15-30 minutes to be able to successfully play all your assigned pieces.
Instead of thinking as piano practice as “optional” this fall, determine to set aside a specific time each day to practice piano. It could be ten minutes before you leave for school in the morning or before bed at night. I could be right before or after homework. Once practice becomes a priority, success will follow…I promise!
