I've had the opportunity to speak with many of you about practice lately. Since the recital preparation time is upon us, this is a timely subject. Many families are evaluating how well practice is working for them, or wondering how it should be working for them. I wanted to share my ideas and expectations with my studio as a whole.
What a "good" practice session looks like:
1. A warm up. This looks like at least one of these:
Scales and chords (at least 3 or 4)
Sight reading
Playing an old piece that they know well
Working on something from a technique book
2. Working on new pieces. This should include
slow practice tempos
working in small sections
repetitions of sections or whole piece
3. staying at the piano until all pieces on the assignment have been played
What a practice session should NOT look like
1. Up and down from the piano, easily distracted
2. playing everything very fast
3. Playing songs over and over from beginning to end with no pause to think
Each session needs the 3 P's: Patience, persistence, and perception.
Patience: seeing things through to the end, give yourself permission to make a mistake, know that progress doesn't happen overnight
Persistence: playing something many times, have a consistent weekly practice routine, stick with it even when it doesn't sound great, even when it is hard
Perception: always listen for improvement, be aware of steady tempos, be listening for clear tone, have a plan for what you are trying to say at the piano
My time expectations
Time spent at the piano is different for each of us. However there are minimum guidelines I expect everyone to follow
Young Beginning students (first year or two, depending on age) 20 min, 5 days a week
Elementary Students (3rd grade and up, depending on years of study) 30 min, 5 days a week
Middle School Students : 30-45 min 5 days a week
Advanced High School Students: 1 hr, 5-6 days a week
Older Beginnging Students (6th grade and up): 45 min- 1 hr, 5 days a week
