Happy New Year 2025 - Tips for Successful Piano Progress.
Published: Jan 3, 2025 | Category: Motivation
At this time of year, many people make resolutions to improve their lives. Making a resolution implies that one is coming from a place of hardship and struggle. That’s fine. However, many of us simply want to continue developing something we started and to get better at it. Here are some suggestions to stay motivated and consistent with your piano progress:
Step One: Reflections
First, reflect on your personal goals, which may range from significant milestones (diploma, exam) to more immediate skill improvements (more confidence in public performances, consistency, fluency).
What do you want to continue developing in the New Year, but with a deeper intensity, more habitual, and to become more rewarding?
Next, considering your intentions and endeavours this past year, can you honestly reflect on the areas you fell short of? What would help you this year?
Do you think you need more focus or intention so that you won’t fall short? Let’s explore ways you might put more effort and intensity and give a little more focus and energy.
Remember to give yourself credit for all your hard work and progress so far. Be grateful for your creative projects, accomplishments, and opportunities that helped you and your diligence explore new levels of skill and expression. See yourself in a positive light to continue fulfilling your new intentions.
Step Two: How do we practically make our ideal intentions work?
1. Talk about them. Talk with your teacher and set realistic yearly, monthly, and weekly goals based on your intended practice schedule.
2. Consistency. Follow and complete the weekly assignments, and the next lesson will go brilliantly!
Talk with your family to gain their support in your progress. Enlist your family in helping you to set out your intended practise schedule, blocking time on the family calendar. That’s your time at the piano, so guard it well and revel in this time for you!
3. Positive self-talk.. Maybe this is a good time to start a new Practice Journal, a new book for a new year, to keep your weekly assignments and journal your progress.
You may wish to note all of your practice sessions as a physical record of your investment. Consider reflecting on what worked or didn’t, at least exploring a monthly assessment of your progress toward your goals and intentions. Pause and reflect. This may be a way to find your strengths throughout the year.
Step Three: See Your Intentions unfolding into Positive Changes!
Ready to set some positive intentions for more successful practice? Let’s explore what this might look like:
1. Set your practice schedule and stick to it: this is YOUR time.
Each of us works best at certain times of the day. You will progress best if you can schedule your practice during your peak time of productivity: morning, afternoon, or evening. For others, you may need to schedule practice time around work, school, or family responsibilities.
Determine what time works best for you to practice, clear your surroundings of any distractions, and make it a routine to sit down at the piano every day at that time. If you make practice a routine, you will soon see prosperous results in your musical progress.
2. Be thankful for your family’s support.
Be sure your family knows of your schedule and respects your need to be free of distractions, notably sharing the space. If you stick to your routine, your family will adjust regularly, allowing you a free workspace. In turn, you will be less likely to procrastinate.
This New Year, keep your mind positive and focused on your intentions. Your music study is a privilege. Be grateful for the opportunity and for the people and circumstances who are supporting you in this extraordinary journey.
3. Find ways to make your practice productive.
Acknowledge what you did accomplish at each practice session. Set a goal – write it down! – for the next day’s session and look forward to it. Focus on what you enjoyed the most in each session, too.
Pride yourself for your regular and concentrated efforts. Then, hunker down and focus: follow your teacher’s assignments. Test out the methods that you worked on in the lesson. Be objective about what works and what needs more attention. Practice is a way to achieve results as much as a way of self-discovery about which methods work best for you.
Fear of making a mistake, procrastination, and faulty methods are only some of the obstacles that stand between the musician and progress, sponging up hours and yet yielding fruitless results. Sometimes, results won't be apparent, so be sure to find ways to stay positive and on schedule: if you avoid your piano practice for long enough, you may develop a sense of guilt and frustration. Only one thing is sure: you won’t get your work done. Worse yet, the more you avoid practicing, the greater the void you create. Like Nietzsche’s abyss, this void may begin to stare back at you.
Clear Intentions Actualized
Once you have determined a routine practice schedule, develop productive ways to structure your sessions based on set short- and long-term goals. Here are a few practical examples:
Determine a daily goal that contributes to your weekly goals and assignments. You may wish to begin with some “warm-up” technical exercises followed by reviewing what you accomplished yesterday, then focus on a primary task.
Be sure to limit the time you spend on corrections of this work if you are a perfectionist given to over-practice. Avoid giving in to frustration that snowballs into tears if a mistake is not solved on the spot. When facing complex technical challenges, it’s a good idea to break the music into smaller units, focusing only on one phrase or section of a piece.
You may wish to schedule one day of the week to review general material, fine-tune passages, or strengthen memory.
How much time to practise? The time it takes to get all of your weekly assignments completed!
A one-hour practice session, as a model, could be timed into three twenty-minute sections. It’s okay to break up your hour-long session with short breaks in between sections; say, each 20-minute unit is followed by a five-minute break. In each of these short units, you can practice some five-minute technical exercises, then work on goals in one piece or central section of a composition for ten minutes, followed by some review and fine-tuning for five minutes. Take a short break to stretch and relax, then come back and work on a second composition the same way.
What is important is that you persist in your practice routine and stick to your schedule, armed with various methods to address the challenges with a hearty attitude that you will succeed.
To Begin is Important: Building Confidence.
If you find yourself staring at the music on the page for several minutes, though you have not yet started to practice it, do you continue to procrastinate? Certainly, it is preferable if you can begin practicing the most challenging music first while you are most alert and rested, but if you feel stuck, then simply move on to the next piece.
Suppose you find yourself continuing to procrastinate with the next tasks. In that case, other musical activities can restore your sense of musical joy and confidence: play some fun review pieces, work on your technique, practice aural skills, finish some theory, or practice performing a piece that you have memorized.
Take some time to listen to professional recordings of your music. It’s often fascinating to compare several pianist’s interpretations, and it can be pretty inspiring to want to get to the piano in pursuit of your own success.
Often, it is simply a matter of doing it, keeping a clear vision of your positive intentions, and turning off the negative voices. Just get going, a little at a time, and with a light spirit – as in sports -- some days, we may need a ‘recovery’ session or time to pull back on our high demands to maintain that sense of enjoyment. Find ways to invoke your musical creativity and a sense of expressing joy and restore a sense of accomplishment so you can return to the more challenging tasks with grit and resolve.
Happy New Year, and I wish you all success!
Step One: Reflections
First, reflect on your personal goals, which may range from significant milestones (diploma, exam) to more immediate skill improvements (more confidence in public performances, consistency, fluency).
What do you want to continue developing in the New Year, but with a deeper intensity, more habitual, and to become more rewarding?
Next, considering your intentions and endeavours this past year, can you honestly reflect on the areas you fell short of? What would help you this year?
Do you think you need more focus or intention so that you won’t fall short? Let’s explore ways you might put more effort and intensity and give a little more focus and energy.
Remember to give yourself credit for all your hard work and progress so far. Be grateful for your creative projects, accomplishments, and opportunities that helped you and your diligence explore new levels of skill and expression. See yourself in a positive light to continue fulfilling your new intentions.
Step Two: How do we practically make our ideal intentions work?
1. Talk about them. Talk with your teacher and set realistic yearly, monthly, and weekly goals based on your intended practice schedule.
2. Consistency. Follow and complete the weekly assignments, and the next lesson will go brilliantly!
Talk with your family to gain their support in your progress. Enlist your family in helping you to set out your intended practise schedule, blocking time on the family calendar. That’s your time at the piano, so guard it well and revel in this time for you!
3. Positive self-talk.. Maybe this is a good time to start a new Practice Journal, a new book for a new year, to keep your weekly assignments and journal your progress.
You may wish to note all of your practice sessions as a physical record of your investment. Consider reflecting on what worked or didn’t, at least exploring a monthly assessment of your progress toward your goals and intentions. Pause and reflect. This may be a way to find your strengths throughout the year.
Step Three: See Your Intentions unfolding into Positive Changes!
Ready to set some positive intentions for more successful practice? Let’s explore what this might look like:
1. Set your practice schedule and stick to it: this is YOUR time.
Each of us works best at certain times of the day. You will progress best if you can schedule your practice during your peak time of productivity: morning, afternoon, or evening. For others, you may need to schedule practice time around work, school, or family responsibilities.
Determine what time works best for you to practice, clear your surroundings of any distractions, and make it a routine to sit down at the piano every day at that time. If you make practice a routine, you will soon see prosperous results in your musical progress.
2. Be thankful for your family’s support.
Be sure your family knows of your schedule and respects your need to be free of distractions, notably sharing the space. If you stick to your routine, your family will adjust regularly, allowing you a free workspace. In turn, you will be less likely to procrastinate.
This New Year, keep your mind positive and focused on your intentions. Your music study is a privilege. Be grateful for the opportunity and for the people and circumstances who are supporting you in this extraordinary journey.
3. Find ways to make your practice productive.
Acknowledge what you did accomplish at each practice session. Set a goal – write it down! – for the next day’s session and look forward to it. Focus on what you enjoyed the most in each session, too.
Pride yourself for your regular and concentrated efforts. Then, hunker down and focus: follow your teacher’s assignments. Test out the methods that you worked on in the lesson. Be objective about what works and what needs more attention. Practice is a way to achieve results as much as a way of self-discovery about which methods work best for you.
Fear of making a mistake, procrastination, and faulty methods are only some of the obstacles that stand between the musician and progress, sponging up hours and yet yielding fruitless results. Sometimes, results won't be apparent, so be sure to find ways to stay positive and on schedule: if you avoid your piano practice for long enough, you may develop a sense of guilt and frustration. Only one thing is sure: you won’t get your work done. Worse yet, the more you avoid practicing, the greater the void you create. Like Nietzsche’s abyss, this void may begin to stare back at you.
Clear Intentions Actualized
Once you have determined a routine practice schedule, develop productive ways to structure your sessions based on set short- and long-term goals. Here are a few practical examples:
Determine a daily goal that contributes to your weekly goals and assignments. You may wish to begin with some “warm-up” technical exercises followed by reviewing what you accomplished yesterday, then focus on a primary task.
Be sure to limit the time you spend on corrections of this work if you are a perfectionist given to over-practice. Avoid giving in to frustration that snowballs into tears if a mistake is not solved on the spot. When facing complex technical challenges, it’s a good idea to break the music into smaller units, focusing only on one phrase or section of a piece.
You may wish to schedule one day of the week to review general material, fine-tune passages, or strengthen memory.
How much time to practise? The time it takes to get all of your weekly assignments completed!
A one-hour practice session, as a model, could be timed into three twenty-minute sections. It’s okay to break up your hour-long session with short breaks in between sections; say, each 20-minute unit is followed by a five-minute break. In each of these short units, you can practice some five-minute technical exercises, then work on goals in one piece or central section of a composition for ten minutes, followed by some review and fine-tuning for five minutes. Take a short break to stretch and relax, then come back and work on a second composition the same way.
What is important is that you persist in your practice routine and stick to your schedule, armed with various methods to address the challenges with a hearty attitude that you will succeed.
To Begin is Important: Building Confidence.
If you find yourself staring at the music on the page for several minutes, though you have not yet started to practice it, do you continue to procrastinate? Certainly, it is preferable if you can begin practicing the most challenging music first while you are most alert and rested, but if you feel stuck, then simply move on to the next piece.
Suppose you find yourself continuing to procrastinate with the next tasks. In that case, other musical activities can restore your sense of musical joy and confidence: play some fun review pieces, work on your technique, practice aural skills, finish some theory, or practice performing a piece that you have memorized.
Take some time to listen to professional recordings of your music. It’s often fascinating to compare several pianist’s interpretations, and it can be pretty inspiring to want to get to the piano in pursuit of your own success.
Often, it is simply a matter of doing it, keeping a clear vision of your positive intentions, and turning off the negative voices. Just get going, a little at a time, and with a light spirit – as in sports -- some days, we may need a ‘recovery’ session or time to pull back on our high demands to maintain that sense of enjoyment. Find ways to invoke your musical creativity and a sense of expressing joy and restore a sense of accomplishment so you can return to the more challenging tasks with grit and resolve.
Happy New Year, and I wish you all success!