If you have just started to learn piano and are finding piano really difficult to play? If you already have basic knowledge but are unable to make a steady improvement in your piano playing? The answers to all these questions lie in learning basic piano skills. In order to improve your basic piano skills, there are certain steps that you need to follow in order to accomplish your goals.
Guidelines:
Set up time for Practice: You must set a time slot for practicing and learning piano. Once you have dedicated a time slot, try not to deter it. Dedication and commitment of time is crucial for learning and improving piano playing skills. The practice sessions are a significant part of your learning.
Proper Planning: In order to progress and improve skills, you must master on a skill and then begin learning new ones. Measuring progress is important for learning this tool. Plan each of your practice session in order to master in a particular skill or concept. With time and with multiple practice sessions, you will be able to play piano skillfully.
Work on your Notes Reading Skill: It may not be compulsory but it will surely be beneficial if you learn to read musical notations. This can be achieved by following these simple steps:
Learn to read music notations by understanding basic concept of notes.
Once you know basics, get to learn advanced notations like tempo, time signatures, dynamics, clefs and more.
Learn to be able to translate notations and understand them in order to produce beautiful melodies.
Finger Placement: Before starting to play piano, you must stretch your fingers. You can check some fingers stretching exercises to give your fingers complete relieve. Learn to properly place your fingers on piano. Proper positioning of hands and placement of fingers is significant part of improving skills.
Practice over varied Scales: You can practice over different scales going up and down. Practice multiple times to master at a certain scale with proper positioning of hands and placement of fingers. Practice two to three scales in a session. You can practice lesson with a teacher or by yourself using a sheet music having fingers numbered. Once you learn to play correctly, you won’t need numbers,
Practice with varied Speed: Begin with a slow speed and when you learn to play on that level proficiently, you can move to a faster speed level. In that manner, you will be able to improve your muscle memory. Same goes when learning a song or melody. Begin to play it slowly but follow its timing properly. Then you can speed up while maintaining the time intervals. If at a level you are making mistakes, start again and repeat multiple times. Practice until you can play without any mistakes.
Practice Chords: There are many programs and resources available over internet that let you learn proper finger placements for each chord. Finger placement is a matter of personal preference and comfort level while playing each chord and especially when moving from one chord to another one. Learn and memorize prominent chords.
Memorize Prominent Scales: Learn different scales especially prominent ones. Master on these scales by regular practicing.
Practice by Musical Ear: Listen to simple musical pieces in the beginning and try to find the same notes. You will definitely make errors. But you can write the notes identified and can test/grade yourself. In the beginning, you may be able to track only few notes but don’t worry with time and practice one day you will accurately identify complete set of notes.
Have a proper Body Posture: If your posture is incorrect, you would feel pain and will be exhausted. Have a correct posture by sitting upright. Do not ever lean against piano. No need to stay stiff; be relaxed.
Improve Co-ordination between Left and Right hand: In order to improve coordination between hands, it is recommended that you do some hand coordination exercises before starting practice. You may also use a metronome device which is an excellent thing for coordination of hands with different tempos and tones. Once you have mastered on simple songs, you can get to complex pieces and these must be practiced with right hand and then by left. After practicing by right and left, you can play with both hands. This coordination would become perfect with time but you must not rush.
Practice Public Performance: New pianists usually become nervous when playing in front of public for the first time. It is important to feel confident and even if a note goes wrong, do not tense yourself. Some tips:
Begin by playing in front of small group of audiences such in friends and family.
Perform in private parties and on occasions/events.
Gradually increase your number of audiences.
Use Advanced Technology: Many of the learners practice by themselves. For all those learners there exists a wide range of different pianos with hardware and software made to help these pianists to improve their skills by practice. Such devices include:
Software Pianos: You can improve your aptitude and musical mind reading skills.
Metronome Devices: You can practice tempo and timing.
Musical Notation Software: You can use them for storing scores, managing them and can reprint them. You can even compose music with this type of software.
Musical Games: You can use these for practicing musical scores. These software games use MIDI keyboard or a piano for aid in practicing.
Conclusion
Keep a realistic approach and goal and give enough time and efforts in order to reach that level of success with any kind of digital piano you own. Once you have attained a level of success, do not leave practicing. Good knowledge and skills make a good foundation and good foundation will make a base for ease of learning.