That’s ultimately what it comes down to when we consider how to become a better piano player: engage with music in all its parts and treat it like a language. 

Listen to music regularly

Imagine that you are learning the English language. Would it not be exceedingly difficult to become good at English if you had no idea what good English speaking sounded like? By the same token, would it not be difficult to be a better pianist if you had no idea what good piano playing and good music sounded like? We often get so caught up in the act of playing that it’s easy to forget that music is an auditory medium of expression. I would encourage aspiring pianists and musicians to listen to lots of music from all time periods and follow along with sheet music whenever possible. Try to find specific styles/types of music that you enjoy and build up an internal musical vocabulary from the music that you listen to.

Hone your fundamentals

Do you know your Scales and Arpeggios? Do you know what chords are and how to name them? Can you read sheet music accurately and fluently? Answering no to one or more of these questions indicates a gap in your pianism waiting to be filled. An integral part of cultivating any new activity is having a strong grasp on the core skillsets associated with that activity. If you are learning how to read English and still have trouble with the alphabet or still struggle with basic grammar, then you know that those things are a priority for you to learn before you learn anything else. This goes for piano playing too: make sure that you are always working to lay those important foundations and that you know what’s truly important in your learning.

Learn to improvise and compose

Wouldn’t it be awkward if we said English was our language of fluency but could only speak and write in the pre-written words and sentences of others? For many pianists, this is still the case but in a musical context. I encourage pianists to draw on what they’ve learned from their years of studying repertoire and start building their own way of speaking. You should be comfortable with sitting down at a piano and just playing in your own voice spontaneously. You should also be comfortable with writing down your own music in sheet music notation. Doing so will give you a better understanding of a composer’s thought process and it will help when learning and refining new repertoire. 

Build your emotional voice

Music-like any other language-is a medium of distilling our thoughts and ideas and then allowing others to experience these ideas through this medium. The best writers and composers have such a deep understanding of the world and the human experience that their music plunges us to emotional depths that we would have no way of seeing prior. For them to do this, they must’ve lived their lives in a way that was conducive to understanding these ideas. What they certainly did not do is practice all day and work all day. Chopin would often scold his students for practicing more than 2 hours a day; he encouraged people to walk around and experience nature and people. Beethoven would take breaks very often just to walk around the city or the country before coming back to work. The common thread is that the greatest artists were the ones who took time to build up their emotional voice outside of their craft. It is impossible to say something in a language when you have little to say that’s meaningful. I would encourage aspiring pianists to take time to walk around nature and experience the world around them and take time to introspect on their life experiences. Doing so will bring a higher level of maturity and emotional depth to your music-making. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

99% of Parents who come to us have EXACTLY the same concern. We understand how you feel.

So I created ‘the 3 Main Rules for Parents’ who have started a Piano Project for their kids.”

We wanted to be sure that Parents experienced the joy of knowing their kids will have a life-long experience enjoying the Piano.

And the best way for you to enjoy success … is follow the 3 Main Rules.:

Rule number one is Select a good piano ! please select a good Piano , BECAUSE a good presents opportunities for a child to enjoy learning the Piano , a good piano with a touch that completely allows them to express their feelings , a good Piano that has a clear tone BECAUSE  a piano with a bad touch or a piano that does not respond to their feelings or a piano that has a sharp tone or a piano that has dull tone will present serious obstacles, serious roadblocks to your child’s joy of continually learning the Piano.

Rule number two is Select a good Piano Teacher ! a Piano Teacher that has had a good education , a Piano Teacher that not only teaches music , but a Piano Teacher that has learned how to inspire your child , a Piano Teacher that has learned how to motivate your child through an enjoyable learning experience BECAUSE a piano teacher who does not inspire , OR a piano teacher who does not positively encourage and guide your child can cause your child to lose interest in continually learning the piano.

Rule number three is Give your child lots of praise and encouragement and  look for every opportunity to praise your child and celebrate everything they learn, no matter how big  no matter how small and stress the positives BECAUSE when you criticize your child when you complain about their playing . When you complain about their grade results if you focus on the negatives, your child can very quickly become demotivated and lose interest in continually learning the piano, which means you could lose your investment.

As we are all aware every child’s first love is for their parents   and when a parent is continually celebrating their child’s every progress, of course it is only logical and natural that the child will be inspired to continue to receive happiness and inspiration!