How you practice your instrument WILL make the difference between learning a song swiftly and struggling with it at a painstakingly slow speed. Having been a professional TV and film composer, keyboardist, piano teacher and music producer, I’ve garnered much knowledge in methods of practice throughout my career. I also have a music school in sunny California which offers Orange County piano lessons, guitar lessons, voice lessons, drum lessons and a multitude of other music lessons. I have collected a list of crucial tips to help any student maximize their practice time.
1. Slow your playing!! One of the most crucial things you can do to learn your song faster is to SLOW DOWN. We’re all eager to rock out with our new songs but trying to play a song at full speed or even half speed is like running before learning how to walk. Have some patience with your song and you’ll find that this is the quickest route to mastering it. Playing your piece slowly will allow you to take everything in from your hand positioning and flow to recognizing notes and rhythm as well as transitions from part to part.
(continue reading…)