Improving Your Piano Practice: 6 Effective Practice Strategies for the Advanced Student

Are you an aspiring classical pianist preparing for an RCM exam or an upcoming performance? Have you ever looked at a piece of music for the first time and felt a sense of dread? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you’re in the right place. 

When I was in my last year of university, I had 8 months to prepare for my graduation recital - a 90-minute performance almost entirely by memory. I remember sitting before my teacher a month before the performance, telling him I was convinced I was going to fail. He told me, “Go for a walk in the park and talk to some ducks.” I laughed, but I think what he said was really valuable.

Sometimes, when we feel unmotivated or overwhelmed, we believe that none of our efforts are of any use. I practiced 3 hours a day in preparation for my graduation recital, and I can’t count on two hands the number of days when I felt discouraged. What I realized after a successful recital was that no matter how you feel, any effort you make counts.

So, I want to share some of my personal practice strategies here.

Put your headphones on 

The first thing I do when I learn any piece of music is grab a score, open up YouTube, and listen to a recording. It doesn’t matter which recording you listen to just yet- the goal is to gain an understanding of how the piece sounds and how the score is laid out. Later on, you can compare recordings for interpretation inspo. 

Get creative

Grab your colored pencils and get ready to analyze. If you don’t want to mark up your book, you can always photocopy the score. 

Music is so much easier to learn when you understand how it is structured. It can be helpful to split your pieces into sections and even subsections to keep things organized and make your life easier. You’ll want to look for patterns and repetitions. Piano sonatas, for example, consist of 3 sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation. You could split these sections into smaller, bite-sized chunks to create achievable practice goals. 

Have a plan 

I always bring a notebook and a pencil to my practice sessions. At the end of every practice session, I jot down a few things I need to work on, as well as what pieces I will work on next session. This is an especially helpful tool to have on those days when you’re feeling a little sluggish. Having your practice session already laid out for you means one less step for you.

Set achievable goals

With a multitude of repertoire to learn, it’s important to divide your time evenly between each piece. It’s like a careful game of juggling. Instead of spending your entire practice session on one piece, choose a few pieces and set specific goals for the day. You might choose 1 section that you will aim to play at a steady tempo. The key is to set an achievable goal - something that you feel confident you can accomplish by the end of your practice. For more complex pieces - Bach’s fugues, for example - your sections might be as small as 4 measures. It might feel like treading water, but you will be successful if you’re effective and consistent. 

Consistency 

This one sort of speaks for itself, but I want to stress how important it is to be consistent. This isn’t to say that if you fall off for a day or two you’re doomed to failure. But it is important that you strive to keep a consistent practice schedule and that you plan your practice sessions in a linear fashion. I get a lot of students who say to me, “I swear I could play this yesterday.” Chances are, if you have a line of music mastered on Monday, you’ll return to the piano on Tuesday to find you’ve regressed. It’s important to keep track of what you practiced the previous day and build on your progress the next day to keep those “piano muscles” active. 

Do a full run through of your pieces

This may be for a bit later in the game, but it’s important to run your pieces from top to bottom once in a while, especially if you have a performance approaching. By doing this you’ll be able to easily pinpoint where things went wrong and (hopefully) prevent those things from going wrong in a performance. 

Final Thoughts 

We’ve probably all heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect.” While this has some truth to it, it’s important to know how to practice effectively to maximize progress. Remember, effective and consistent practice leads to success. 

What are your practice strategies? Let me know in the comments!