How much should I practice???
This answer depends on your skill level and goals. For beginners, building finger strength and stamina takes time, so longer practice sessions aren’t possible. as a reuslt I recommend between 15-20 minutes for beginners. (If beginners are keen to do more I suggest a morning session and an evening session). The quality of practice is more important than the lenght of time. For example a focused 10 minutes of practice is far more valuable than 30 minutes of distracted practice. Lastly when does practice happen? After school, before bed, first thing in the morning? Its important to check you have planned your practice time so that you are not tired or distracted when you come to practice your instrument.
The following is a daily suggestion of what practice should include;
Beginner students – 10-20 minutes a day
Elementary students (Grades 1-2). 25 minutes a day to include; 5 minutes of scales/arpeggios, 5 minutes of sight reading.
Transitional students (Grade 3-4). minimum 35 minutes a day to include; 10 minutes of scales/arpeggios, 10 minutes of sight reading, (this could include exploring new repertoire.)
Intermediate students (Grades 5-6). 45 minutes a day to include; 15 minutes of scales/arpeggios, 10 minutes of sight reading, 5 minutes of studies.
Advanced students (Grade 7-8). 60 minutes a day to include; 15 minutes of scales/arpeggios, 15 minutes of sight reading, 10 minutes of studies and 5 minutes to maintain your repertoire (of previous pieces).
Sight reading skills
Sight Reading points – in order of importance.
Unless you are going to learn to play the piano by ear, being able to read music well is an essential skill for pianists – we have to learn to read two lines at once (sometimes more!) whereas most other instrumentalists and singers only read from one line. Over the years I have seen many young learners get completely stuck, sometimes to the point where they give up, because they have not learnt to read properly at the start. This involves a lot of THINKING, and can seem like very hard work, but it is exactly why learning an instrument has been proven to be so good for the brain!
So here are just a few basic tips on this theme:
- Keep your eyes on the page – this is the most important point of all! Learn to trust your fingers and not to look down, except for quick glances where necessary.
- Avoid beginners’ books which start with the thumbs on middle C all of the time – this is unnecessary, and is much less fun than changing positions for different pieces.
- Develop a good system or method with your teacher for learning the note-names. Flash-cards and anything that makes learning to read music more enjoyable are a good idea. Work on your reading of music away from the piano as well.
- No guessing! Think! Saying the note-names out loud as you play them can be very helpful at the start. This applies equally to scales and sight-reading.
- Music really is a language, and – with good practice and habits – we can learn to read it from the page just as easily as most people read a book or magazine. And you don’t have to be a Mozart or a Beethoven to do this!
Pulse – without a pulse we die, keep your music alive
Rhythm – (time signature) without clear rhythm, its difficult to maintain a steady pulse
Pitch – (key signature) reading the pitch of notes is vital
Articulation – staccato, legato, accents
Phrasing – look for patterns, cadences, end and start of musical lines
Accidentals – check for accidentals, modulations and anything that might catch you out
Dynamics – bring the music to life by following the directions given
Tempo – this is the least important when sight reading, its best to slow down so that you can acquire the points above.
Aural knowledge for Grades 5 +
Late Renaissance (until about 1600)
Composers include; Byrd, Bull, Palestrina, Tallis
The Baroque Period (1600-1750)
Composers include; J. S. Bach, Handel, Purcell, Vivaldi
The Classical Period (1750-1820)
Composers include; Mozart, Haydn, Gluck
The Romantic Period (1820-1900)
Composers include; Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky
The Modern Period (1900-to date)
Composers include; Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen
Kwan Music 