OK, it’s time to throw your preconceptions about piano practice out the window.
A common mantra among piano teachers is that beginners should practice at least 30 minutes a day 5-6 days a week.
Assuming you’re one of the millions of piano students around the world that try to follow this approach, let me ask you a question…
How much practice did you do in the last 7 days? (Be honest).
If you achieved 30 minutes or more on at least 5 of the last 7 days, that’s great. Keep it up.
But for most students (especially adults) a truthful answer is likely to fall well short of the standard recommended practice amount.
Common reasons why most students struggle to achieve 30 minutes a day is because they are too busy, too tired, and / or in some cases a little bit lazy.
It’s true we tend to lead hectic lives, and so these are likely factors in why you’re not practicing more, but the real reason is actually much more simple than that…
It’s not that there is anything wrong with doing 30 minutes practice (or more). Far from it. The problem is that you are far less likely to do 30 minutes of practice if you tell yourself that you have to do at least that much on each of your practice days.
Let’s say today you’re busy, tired, etc. and you really don’t feel like practicing. In this scenario, 30 minutes seems like a lot. And so you’re far more likely to not do any practice at all — instead putting it off until tomorrow. And then tomorrow, what happens? History repeats itself. And at the end of the week, you’ve done bugger all practice.
But what if all you required of yourself is 10 minutes practice 5 days a week? That seems like a lot less and therefore it’s much easier to achieve. So even if you only do 10 minutes practice today and no more, that’s perfectly fine. 10 minutes is way better than no practice at all.
Plus there’s an incredibly simple hidden gem in this strategy that makes it really effective (this is the important part)… Once you sit down at your piano or keyboard and start practicing, quite often you’ll find that you’ll tend to keep going for longer, and so 10 minutes becomes 20 minutes, 20 minutes becomes 30 minutes, and so on.
To use a painting analogy, the hardest brushstroke by far is the very first one on a blank canvass. But once you make a start, who knows where it will lead you.
So make a start today!
You don’t have to practice for hours, or even 30 minutes! The only commitment I ask you to make to yourself is to do 10 minutes practice (5 days a week). What you do beyond that is a gift to yourself and to the collective musical consciousness we all share.
On a related note, if you (dear reader) would like to experience the joy of piano lessons where you never have to practice alone because your teacher is always with you, now you can. With Musiah, the world’s first A.I. virtual piano teacher, it’s just like having your own private teacher available 24/7 to support and guide you while you practice.
So discover today what you can achieve with this revolutionary approach to learning and practicing piano. Take our Musiah Piano Lessons 14 Day Free Trial.
And if you have any questions about Musiah’s piano lessons, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks for reading.
Brendan Hogan L.Mus.A, A.Mus.A.
Piano Teacher & Musiah Inventor
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