What you need to know as a Piano Player
Updated
No one is going to be totally phenomenal in their first year of playing the Piano.
They are different things you need to know as a Piano Beginner or Instrumentalist when learning any musical instruments, especially the Piano. It is important you know these things so that you can enjoy the process of learning any instrument. Without wasting time, here are what you need to know as a Piano Player.
- Not jamming with other people
Sharing music is something everybody loves, but imagine playing your piano along with other instrumentalists. Sharing musical ideas and enjoying the chemistry. Music is collaborative and unless you can play along with someone, your path is a short one. It’s one of the essentials of learning any musical instrument.
- Overdoing Scales
Like running scales? Calm down. People learn how to play scales up and down by doing hundreds of repetitions on their Piano. Bad idea. Learn to play properly a few times and then use those scales in creative ways. You can learn how to solo properly without running too many annoying scales.
- Not recording practices
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember what you’ve played on your Piano during rehearsals. Studios are a totally different ballgame. You need to be articulate in playing your music with minimal effects and hard settings. The worst comes out in the recording. Practice playing to a metronome and record yourself to see how well you sound. Record improvisations learned material even compose by recording harmonies and backing tracks.
- Not learning new things
It is important for your overall skill’s growth that you practice new things on the Piano often. The process in which you are finding out a way to play something new adds to your creative ideas and physical ability.
- Giving up during Creative Block
In every musician’s life, there is a slow growth at the beginning and then the growth stabilizes with occasional exponential boosts. Then comes a time when your Piano skill level drops even though you practiced. We call it Creative Block and there are ways to go around Creative Blocks. This is because of muscle fatigue or lack of new inputs, boredom, etc. The best thing is to move on for a while and return to practicing those few things in a week or two. Many people don’t wait for this and give up that technique.
- Practicing what you can already do properly for a long time
We practice improving. If you are good at something, don’t waste time on a practice routine for that skill. Do something else and occasionally ‘verify’ that you can still play it properly. Once you learn something properly, it’ll stay with very little practice. Use your time in learning new things.
Please drop your comment if you’ve got more Tips.
How to start jamming with others
- Pick a song everyone knows and agree on the key before you start.
- Keep your part simple: if there’s a bass player, play less with your left hand.
- Listen more than you play. Leave space for the singer and the other instruments.
- Record the session on your phone and listen back the next day.
Church bands, school groups and online collaboration apps are all good places to start. Choose a few songs from our gospel chords or piano chords to practise together.
Frequently asked questions
When should a beginner start playing with other musicians?
As soon as you can switch between three or four chords in time, usually after a few months. You’ll learn faster from other players than from practising alone.
Why should I record my practice?
You hear your timing and mistakes much more clearly on a recording than while playing.
Is it normal to feel stuck?
Yes. Every musician has plateaus. Learn something new, take a short break, and come back; progress usually returns quickly.