Welcome to LivingPianos.com—I’m Robert Estrin. If you’re like most pianists, you’re always looking for ways to improve your practice time. The truth is, you can save a lot of time by practicing smarter, not harder. And while this may sound simple, the approach is incredibly effective and can make a huge difference in how quickly you progress on the piano.
Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Practice Time
As a teacher, one of the main goals of my method is to help students maximize the effectiveness of the time they spend at the piano. In fact, it’s something I’ve spent my entire career perfecting. Even for professional musicians and touring artists, finding time to practice can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can make the most of the time you do have.
The secret to saving time in your practice sessions is to avoid learning anything wrong. This sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked. Let me explain.
When you sit down to learn a new piece, the typical approach is to read through it, maybe many times, to familiarize yourself with the notes. But what often happens is that you miss certain things, and then you start trying to correct those mistakes as you go. This is time-consuming, and it often leads to frustration.
The Checklist Approach
Instead of jumping straight into playing the piece, think of it like a pilot preparing for takeoff. Before a flight, pilots go through a checklist to ensure everything is in order—even if the plane has already been inspected. Why? Because the stakes are high. In the same way, your practice time is precious, and if you’re not practicing efficiently, you’re wasting valuable time.
To avoid learning anything incorrectly, start by breaking the piece down systematically after reading it through no more than two or three times, the first day only!
Break It Down: Start Small<\b>
After reading through the piece a couple of times, focus on a small phrase—just a measure or two. It’s crucial to start small, as this allows you to master each aspect of the music before moving on. This is where you can apply the checklist approach to practicing.
1. Study the Notes
Before playing, make sure you know every single note. Understand the key signature, the time signature, and the layout of the music. This is your foundation.
2. Focus on Rhythm
Don’t start playing just yet. Next, count out the rhythm or tap it out. This is essential for internalizing the timing before you actually start playing.
3. Work on Fingering
Next, look over the fingering carefully without playing the music. Finger it out in your lap, analyzing your hand movements.
4. Study the Phrasing
Then, take a close look at the phrasing, slurs, accents, and any other articulation markings in the score. These details are crucial for bringing the music to life, so don’t skip them.
5. Pay Attention to Expression
Finally, consider the dynamics and expression. You might be tempted to add dynamics later, but here’s the issue: you’re always playing with some level of dynamics, even if you’re unaware of it. If you don’t address the dynamics from the beginning, you risk developing bad habits that are very hard to undo.
Avoiding the Trap of Unlearning
It’s incredibly difficult to correct mistakes once you’ve gotten used to playing something incorrectly. Over time, your fingers get accustomed to the wrong movements, and your ears get used to hearing things a certain way, and it gets burned into your memory. Undoing this is not only challenging but also time-consuming.
By practicing the right way from the start, you’ll never face the excruciating task of unlearning bad habits.
Practice Hands Separately
Once you’ve worked through all the details for the right hand, do the same for the left hand. Take it step by step, focusing on notes, rhythm, fingering, phrasing, and expression. This will help you build solid foundations for both hands individually.
Once both hands are completely polished, you can begin putting them together—very slowly at first, checking your work as you go. Don’t rush this process; the goal is to ensure each hand is easy and comfortable before combining them.
The Reward: Faster Learning
You might think that this approach will take forever to learn a piece, but the opposite is true. By breaking everything down and avoiding mistakes from the start, you save significant time in the long run. You won’t have to go back and unlearn things, which takes far more effort. Additionally, by practicing with full awareness and attention to detail, you’ll understand the music on a deeper level, making it easier to connect phrases and build fluency.
Putting It to the Test
By following this method, you’ll be able to make the most of every practice session and truly maximize the time you spend at the piano. It’s all about being thorough, starting small, and building up each element of the music and connecting phrases as you learn them. The more intentional you are in your practice, the faster you’ll progress and the less time you’ll waste. If you’ve never tried this method before, I encourage you to experiment with a new piece of music. Choose a piece that’s slightly easier than you think you need, just to try out this approach. I’m confident you’ll see results. Let me know in the comments how it works for you!
If you want to take your piano playing to the next level, check out the Living Piano Mastermind Club.