Sunday, January 29, 2017

Improving Piano Skills


A creative individual, Benjamin Perlin enjoys photography. The owner of numerous film and digital cameras, he often favors the results of film and enjoys darkroom development. Benjamin “Ben” Perlin’s creativity also extends to the realm of music. He enjoys playing the bass guitar and is fond of the piano.

Practice is the key to improving overall piano skill, but it can only work if players practice the right things. Ideally, pianists should start their lessons with learning the basic techniques. These techniques help pianists play chords properly and serve as a foundation to build on as they progress. Unfortunately, some beginners learn incorrect techniques during their beginning years. If this is the case, pianists must first learn the correct techniques if they want to improve. Beyond these basics, pianists benefit greatly from learning about music theory. Music theory makes it easier for pianists to connect different chords and weave together varying sounds.

Once a pianist has mastered basic techniques and music theory, they can focus on improving other aspects of their playing skills. During this time, it is best for pianists to become their own worst critics. In doing so, they learn to assess sounds, rhythms, and tempo and can easily figure out where a problem may be hiding. Further, pianists need to challenge themselves as they progress. Although playing the same songs repeatedly can improve playing, it ends up limiting a pianist’s musical range. Instead, pianists should challenge themselves with new songs that test their skills. However, they must remain realistic about what pieces they can play and avoid songs that are far above their current skill level.