Saturday, June 21, 2014

Making Piano Lessons Worth The Effort

By Ina Hunt


Mastering a musical instrument is an achievement that will open up new worlds to you. It keeps your brain in good shape and being able to play music is a great way to unwind after a stressful day. You may even make music your career once you've managed to master the instrument of your choice. A good way to start is with piano lessons but you need to know how to make these work for you.

Taking formal lessons is much better than just learning to play by ear. A teacher will show you how to sit, how to move your hands and fingers to the best advantage and the many different techniques of playing the instrument. You'll learn too how to read musical notation and about the theory of music, which will be useful for learning other instruments too. In other words, learning to play the piano can become the basis from which you can learn other instruments too.

One of the most important things to remember is that becoming a skilled pianist takes time. At first you'll learn very simple, basic pieces and this may be frustrating. However, these pieces will lay the groundwork for the more difficult ones you'll be playing later on. Like with everything else in life, you need to start small and be patient. A tennis player can't expect to win Wimbledon the first time round and in the same way, you can't expect to play a full piano concerto after only a couple of weeks.

A great thing about learning to play music is that it also teaches you discipline. You can't just sit back and wait for the magic to happen; you need to work for it. This involves practicing and practicing, preferably every day. The more you practice, the sooner you'll see some progress.

When you practice, don't only focus on the pieces you're learning. Set aside time for practicing scales too. These may be incredibly boring but they lay the groundwork for understanding the different musical keys, such as C major or A minor. In addition, they're a great way to loosen up your fingers and make the muscles in your hands strong and fit.

It's not only scales that will help you gain understanding into the structure of music. An important part of music education is musical theory, which involves learning about the different symbols and terms as well as how a piece of music is put together. A good teacher will include theory tasks in your classes and will even give you homework assignments to do.

Your choice of teacher is very important. This is the person who will help you unlock the secrets of music and there should be a good rapport between the two of you. A great teacher isn't necessarily the most accomplished pianist but instead is the one who will push you, support you and encourage you to become the best you can be.

An absolutely essential trait to have when you learn the piano is the ability to persevere. There will be times when you become frustrated and want to throw in the towel. There will also be times when you just can't seem to make any progress. However, these times will pass, so just learn how to get through them without giving up and you'll be on your way to becoming a great pianist.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment