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Recently, a student emailed me this question: “Can you guarantee that I will be successful with your piano course?” I thought about that, and here is how I responded: “As you know, your success lies in how often you practice. I can’t tell you that you will be successful because I don’t know how much […]
Advice about position can only be given in general terms, since much depends on variables like height, build, and length of arms and fingers. Just make sure that your back and arms don’t get tired from playing and that you can reach the keyboard without strain. Adjust the height of your chair so it feels […]
Does this sound like you?…… “I can play my right hand perfectly, but I can’t get my left hand to cooperate.” “My songs don’t sound like they’re supposed to sound because I make too many mistakes.” “My songs sound choppy and slow even after hours of practice!” “I have to keep starting over because I […]
1. If you’re learning a piece that you find complex, learn each hand’s part separately. Learn piano from one hand to the other for a much easier learning curve. Once you’ve mastered playing each hand separately, it will seem like you are playing without even thinking. This will make it much easier when you combine […]
Fingering is very flexible, and over time you will naturally learn the smoothest way to play a song. Most songs have fingering recommendations (I call them recommendations because it is flexible). While learning a song, you can stop and write in the fingering that you feel is comfortable, following some of the maneuvers I teach […]
Relax, Breathe, Back-up. You are probably rushing yourself. Now…practice the piano again…see, it works! Learning piano takes time. Each day you will be a little better than the day before. Yes, a few days you missed your practice,, BUT…Get back on track, in the groove, on schedule. Don’t fret. Your piano skills will show the […]
When you ask people about setting goals, they seem to be in either one camp or the other – they either do it or they don’t. One of the reasons that people don’t like setting goals is because more often than not, their goals never come to be, so they just have resolved that setting […]
The classic question of all classics is how much do I have to practice? The honest to goodness truth is that the amount of time that you practice does not determine how fast you learn. It is how often you practice that determines how fast you learn. What do I mean by that? First, the […]
There are three pedals that are standard on the piano, I will only address the the that is most widely used: The DAMPER pedal is often called “the sustain pedal”. This is the pedal most commonly used and the only pedal option when you purchase a keyboard. When you have three pedals, it the pedal […]
I don’t encourage my students to use stickers. I can’t tell you of the countless times I have had a student rely on stickers too long and can’t play on any piano but their own. It truly is a handicap to you if you mark your keys in any way. It is true that it […]
