Top 10 Myths of Learning Piano – Myth #4
Myth #4: Talented people don't need as much practice
Top 10 Myths of Learning Piano – Myth #3
Myth #3: After a year, I should be able to play advanced pieces
Top 10 Myths of Learning Piano – Myth #2
Myth #2: Adults can skip over beginner pieces
Top 10 Myths of Learning Piano – Myth #1
Myth #1: Adults can't learn to play piano at a high level
How to Practice Creatively – Identifying the Problem – Part 9 of 9
Welcome to the final article in this series, How To Practice Creatively! If you've read all of the previous articles in this series, you may be wondering why I saved "Identifying the Problem" for last. That's because this is the longest and most involved part of creative practicing. Finding creative solutions is the most
How to Practice Creatively – Just Playin’ – Part 8 of 9
So far in this series I've talked about being very focused on practicing, detailing what specific tasks you should plan for each day, troubleshooting your problems, creative ways you can maximize your time and enjoyment at the piano. But there's one very important part that's missing from the process - what I call "Just
Performance Anxiety – Part 7 of 8 – Self-Assessment
We come to the last component of dealing with performance anxiety: self-assessment. This part comes after a performance is over usually, although one can do this anywhere in the process (EXCEPT during a performance! that’s a no-no!). This is where you reflect on first what went well, and when you’re ready to think about
Performance Anxiety – Part 6 of 8 – Having the Right Perspective
When you play in front of an audience, it can appear that they are against you. After all, you have a group of some size - whether just a few, or thousands - facing you and outnumbering you! Even though most people know in their conscious minds that they're not really against you, this perspective can play tricks
How to Practice Creatively – Daily Practice – Part 7 of 9
To some of you, the idea of practicing every day seemed fairly obvious when you decided to take up piano. But I know that for others, this is a real struggle. Sometimes, you desire to get to it, but you have so many demands on you during the day that by the time you get
How to Practice Creatively – Short Sessions – Part 6 of 9
Have you ever been working really hard on a project for a long period of time, and you just needed to get up and walk away from it for a bit? Perhaps when there was a good place to stop, like at the end of a segment, you went to the kitchen grab a