Mistakes, metronomes, measures, scales... do they all tie together? Yes, actually, they do! The final tip for better piano practice ties directly into the last three we have covered. In the last three posts, we have talked about starting with scales, using the metronome, and starting measures over if you make a mistake. This leads us to our fifth tip... if you don't have it down, slow down!

When practicing your scales or songs, if you are struggling or making continual mistakes, you should use your metronome AND slow down the speed you are playing it at. Why do this? Because when you are struggling, it may likely be from your brain not being able to keep up to the speed your playing. This will cause you to trip over your fingers, struggle with rhythms, and have trouble with your song or scale overall. Slowing down will allow you time to think ahead to what is coming, making you prepared for where you hands need to be next and which "struggle notes" you are approaching. This minimizes mistakes you may be habitually making.

To prevent mistakes and struggles before they come, try using the metronome and going slow right off the bat. Though it may seem painfully slow and super easy, this means it's working! Slowly bring your speed up until it starts to get difficult. Stop at that point, go down a little in speed, and practice it multiple times over. Then, you can continue to bring your speed up until you get to the next difficult speed.

In conclusion, start out slow with the metronome each time you start something new. If you have learned mistakes or if you are finding a song difficult, slow down!

Make sure to tie together all of the five points we have discussed! You will not get the most out of using just one or two here and there. These points do not stand alone, they are meant to go together. Here's a short summary of to remind you of each of the points and what we have learned:

(1) Practice 30 minutes per weekday, (2) starting each practice time with scales. (3) Make sure to use the metronome to prevent mistakes! (4) If you do make mistakes, remember to start the measure or bar over and repeat it multiple times if needed to "unlearn" it. (5) As you are working on scales and songs, start out slow with the metronome and work your speed up. If you have learned mistakes or are struggling, slow down your speed to help!

Read the whole series, "5 Tips for Better Piano Practice", here