This is a collection of tips, tricks, and routines for practising the piano from across the net. Some of these I use daily and have been immensely helpful in improving my touch and tone.

Order of practice to learn a new piece

1. notes
2. rhythm
3. articulation
4. pedal
5. voicing
6. dynamics
7. rubato
8. tempo

To Routine?

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• Anything that engages your mind is time well spent
• Routines are fine to not forget aspects of practice e.g. sight reading, technique
• But sticking to them strictly may be robbing you of discovery

Common mistakes

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• play in different tempo (alternate full, slow, medium)
• play on different instruments (stores, churches, etc)
  • uprights, grands, digitals, etc
• have multiple practice strategies
  • slow practice, finger staccato, alt rhythm, etc
  • keep experimenting
• get help
  • see a teacher
  • be careful who you listen to
  • listen to recordings
  • record yourself
  • play for friends
• don't force things to happen
  • slow down (physically and musically)
  • are you stretching in anticipation? rotation? etc
  • slow practice
  • no need to force speed or technique, give it time
• don't fight your instrument
  • adjust to the piano's response e.g. repetition
• long-term perspective
  • think about the progress and journey, not today's result
• take breaks
  • no mindless drilling, switch it up
• once you have basic techniques, use your repertoire to guide your technique

Rebuilding technique

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1. change fingering or reorganize
2. set a time limit of 10-15min for one skill
3. oscillate to slow tempo every 2-3-4 times
   • go back to square one and feel the natural movement
   • keeps you in check
4. indirect practicing
   • practice something slightly more difficult or different
   • change the key (transpose) of a repetitive pattern
5. symmetrical practice (mirror image)
   • analyze angles and position of hands
6. don't overthink it
   • let the subconscious do its job
   • break up the passage and work on a small part for a week or so
   • take scheduled breaks
7. retraining is ok
   • sometimes, something in one piece corrupts something in another piece

Thirds, sixth, etc

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practice routines

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• change your practice routine, the body can get used to any routine
• grouping
• plucking
• hold and pluck
• alternate rhythms
• working backwards from end of the piece
• repeat attacks
• slow practice

Josh Wright 10 tips webinar

source coupon for lifetime access: WEBINAR25OFF

• finger staccato
  • pluck guitar string -> clean releases
  • get off one note before the next
  • activates finger tips
• voicing
  1. play melody line forte legato and bass line piano staccato
  2. extend melody fingers further down vs other fingers (mental note)
     • be careful of ghost notes
  3. think of melody as metal and accompaniment as rubber
• boiling pier note method
  • heinrich neuhaus - the art of piano playing
  • each pier is 9 notes, first and last note on metronome click
  • get piers perfect, then move on to the next one
    • "boil" each pier -> get it perfect
  • alternate lifting and holding between piers
• nocturne method
  • practice method to play more expressively
  • imagine everything is a chopin nocturne
  • use rubato, pedal, slow
  • e.g. bach prelude with pedal and rubato
• reduce tension: free hands for passage work
  • shake (i.e. like vibrato) while holding each note
  • then reduce the time
• reduce tension: free hands for chords
  • for stretched chords
  • release to neutral hand position
  • pluck keys
  • release tension between every chord
• reduce tension: up down exercise (loose wrist)
  1. start with chord, lift with your arm, palm vertical
  2. go to next position, throw your hand down, jump up
  3. get the electrical impulse
• reduce tension: hand abandon exercise
  1. bring fingers together until hand is relaxed
  2. like pinching in a little bit
  3. tiny "grabbing" motions
  4. think of max hand span THEN collapse a bit to neutralize tension
  5. relax and move at the same time for efficiency
• rhythms
  • do every possible rhythm with 2,3,4,5 rhythms
  • some of the combos don't feel good, that's the challenge
  • do the rhythms as fast or faster than the full tempo
• cycling and inserting gaps
  • similar to "addon" method
  • cycling
    • play a small portion that fits into a hand position repeatedly
    • cycling the hand positions
  • inserting gaps
    • insert artificial gap: lift hand for relaxation
    • then slowly reduce the gap and erase that
• sequence
  1. finger staccato
  2. 2-5 rhythm
  3. cycling and gaps
• for memorizing, try going backward
  • rescue points
• performance tip: never go back, jump forward to the next rescue point

Prevent looking at hands too much

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• improve sight-reading
• identify the main obstacle: being afraid of hitting the wrong note.
  • looking at hands comes from insecurity, fear of playing something wrong (looking is temporary fix)
  • To overcome: risk playing the wrong note and break the pattern;
• can go as slowly as you want and in small sections
• initially use black keys to find your position without looking
• "feel" the size of intervals: internalize them
• fleeting glimpses to find landmark in a split second
  • e.g. C4, F3, G4 are some of the important landmarks
• do technical exercises without looking
• practice very slowly making the jump and consciously pull your eye up to the music right after
  • conscious eye movement is part of the practice
  • practice the LH jumps without looking, mindful slow practice, note the error and isolate it
• if you have to look, mark the return location so your eyes have a landmark on the sheet

Sight-reading

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• stop looking at your hands: will slowly build spatial awareness
• cloth: one side in your collar, the other side stuck behind the key cover (in the open position)
  • will not see the hands anymore
  • deal with it!
• Book: Guided sight-reading by Helen Lockhart
• Can try to sight-read works by JS Bach (?inventions, chorales)

Reduce tension

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• pushing into keys: always pull back on keys, pushing causes extra tension
  • pushing tenses, not
• lowered wrist or inverting hand (MCP joint): higher wrist, middle of the road approach to wrist position
  • higher wrist for fast octaves is fine

1. transform the weight
   1. close the lid of the piano
   2. feel weight on the fingertip: rest of hand rubber, tip of finger metal
      • circular motion
      • on table, desk, knee, anywhere
      • get used to the weight on fingertip
2. arm swiping
   • releases the finger from arm and fingers
   • can use it for octave work
3. wrist swiping
4. finger staccato
   • should be relaxed in the wrist
   • tiny motion
   • fingers should release
   • as soon as the note plays, hand returns to neutral relaxed position
5. touch fingers together (sideways) between each note
   • returns your hands to natural position
   • great for chords as well: lift and touch fingers together
6. press release exercise
   • press the key and release tension while still on the key
     • pressing into the key and releasing the tension (don't lift off the key, finger is still on the key and pushed in)
   • start very slow, then make it faster, then just think about release
7. free hands part 2
   • press the key, go very slow, then shake your hand (like a vibrato on violin)
   • shaking motion makes hand rubbery
   • at first can think of rocking back and forth
   • can use this to release tension on individual fingers (e.g. pinky)
   • video: flying pinky
8. slooow legato
   • legato but veeeeeery slow
   • self-assessment exercise
9. addon
   • assess tension along the way
   • good for speed and learning as well
   • think of phrases as single motions
   • liquid hands with good structure
10. independent fingers
    • slow practice, if one finger is down, others shouldn't even know about it: should be relaxed
    • sometimes also add dynamics while learning the notes

flop method

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Managing stage fright

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• let your mind go blank and fingers take over
• keep awareness of your piece, but don't overanalyze
• when you get nervous, think of an inanimate object, like a pencil

Absolute Accuracy Rule for practising new pieces

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• hit 100% of notes accurately 100% of the time
• don't care about rhythm or timing
• can make pauses
• think deeply and execute successfully
• do it 5-7 correct times before moving on
  • can then add stuff using addon method

Solidify performance

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• the point is to identify the weakest parts

1. Play slower
   1. Pick a piece you know but is not solid
   2. Get out the sheet, metronome, play slowly without pedal and raised fingers (exaggerated movements)
2. Play faster
   1. Pick a piece you know but is not solid
   2. Play faster than you usually do, then zero in on the 10-20% weakest parts
      • use normal practice routines on those sections

Gyorgy Sandor basic movements

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1. free fall for slow to moderate tempo
2. wrist and forearm line up with fingers; wrist starts low on phrases and raises by the end
3. rotation on zig zag movements
4. staccato by sudden pushes
5. thrust for loud and fast chord passages

Great quotes

Found around the intertubes, here are some great quotes.

On stage fright

Great job! I like to remind myself that the purpose of a performance is to share music with the audience, not actually to showcase your playing specifically. Instead of "oh no, I played a wrong note, everyone will think I'm not very good" and all of those sorts of thoughts we all have, try out "I'm doing my best to present this beautiful piece of music."

– Turbulent_Spread206

On motivation

Playing an instrument is an incredibly personal process, to the point where your level of satisfaction is influenced by your overall well-being.

Like the dashboard of a car, sometimes playing will have these little indicators that something needs resolution- instead of "check engine", it might be "check your lifestyle". Maybe you're low on metaphorical gas? Perhaps there's something else that needs to be addressed. Reflection advised.

The important thing is to keep practicing- the dashboard is working as intended. If you up and quit, it won't solve the problem, and worse, you'll be without the tool that told you there was a problem in the first place.

– MetronomeWhisperer