I’d like to add a clarification about sight reading. Normally sight reading isn’t something that you practice. But in this video I am recommending that you do some practice on pieces that are at your sight reading level.
How come the like button is disabled? This is the 2nd time I have been here, & I really like your videos. I subscribed already, but I am surprised that the like button didn't work every time I tried.
Love all your videos!! Very informative and helpful. Thanks so much! totally agree with your idea to set aside daily time to practice. It's easy to skip a few days and get busy with life...
Yes life is extremely busy and there’s definitely been periods in my life when I haven’t had much time to practice. We really appreciate your support! 💖
Yes I could make a course on this topic. Great idea! We have piano lesson courses on our website but they are advanced and about specific classical pieces. We are working on some courses that all pianists can benefit from. Thanks for your comments!
Every piano teacher under the sun advocates starting with the key of C, and I get it: no sharps or flats, all white keys, easy to read. Chopin disagreed, and I'm in his camp. C is the hardest key to play in because it's furthest from the natural reference position of the hand. Counterintuitive though it may sound, start your students in the key of B major and they'll have a much better time: the long fingers will be falling on the black (high) keys, and they'll learn very quickly to slide in and out of the black-key zone, keep their wrists up (you can't slide smoothly into and out of the high-key zone without doing that), and they won't get in the nasty habit of curling their fingers because they're used to having to try to get all the fingertips (including the thumb and pinky) in a straight line. Progress to black-key-rich keys like F#/Gb, Db, Ab, and E, then Eb, A, Bb, and D, and finally, F and G#. Save C for the very last because, although it's the easiest key to read, it's the hardest to play with good body mechanics. Your students will thank you later in their careers once they realize the favour you did them.
Yes the key of C Major is definitely difficult and I always talk to my students about why that is. It’s important to learn the circle of 5ths though and I was trying to create a simple practice plan in this video that people could follow. Thanks for your comment!
Hey! Thanks for the video. I have some questions in the following steps you said: Step 1) I wanna practice 1 hour p/day, so, i should do 1 key, starting from the C and follow the circle of 5⁰, per day? Or i should just change the key, when i masterize it? Step 3) (Sight reading): Can i use the hanon 100 progressive studies Op 139, vol 1., to practice the sight reading, in order, 1-100, pick up 1 study from it, and just go to the next one when i masterize it? Thanks!
Hi! For technique, stick with one key until you master it (1-2 weeks). Push yourself on the speed with the metronome. I recommend the Keith Snell Scale Skills series. Czerny, Hanon and Fingerpower is the exercise part of your technique (not sight reading). I would stick with 1 exercise and work up the speed for 1-2 weeks before moving on to the next exercise. I hope this helps! Thanks for reaching out.
thank you for always giving us great content. i noticed you didnt talk about existing pieces. i see many students start a new piece to add to their repertoire and they focus on it so much they forget their previous pieces! chances are you are not going to attempt playing something u are learning to an audience and you will play something you know well. but wait...u havent practiced it for a while. where and how do you slot in those pieces in your daily routine. thank you!
Great comment! Thank you! I would say that if you’re trying to revive a piece, you would use some of your repertoire category practice time. It’s all about time. If you have more than 20-30 minutes a day to practice you should include more repertoire and sight reading. I personally don’t continue practicing old pieces. I let them go after I’ve mastered them. If I want to revive a piece, I start practicing it again and it comes back pretty easily.
I have watched SO MANY of these “improve practice efficiency”. In comparison to this video, they are RUBBISH! These videos are so very useful and so clear. 👍👍
Thank you! I’m not quite sure I understand. Repertoire is a term that is used to describe a piano piece, generally speaking. It’s not technique or an exercise.
Really nice and you’re mother is also a cool women much blessings from Jehovah almighty god trough Jesus Christ I prayed I learn also piano I hope you will get much subscribers and can live from it good thanks for the content
Thank you for reaching out. This may be a good video for us to make on our channel. I’m sure you’re not alone in wondering how to get back into playing! You could try to revive a few pieces that you played in the past. But I would definitely recommend learning some new pieces that you’re excited about that you can finish in a matter of weeks. You’ll quickly learn what level you are at once you start playing. Of course, I recommend practicing technique to get your fingers moving again. I linked some books in the description of this video. Good luck!
Oh absolutely! It’s so important to practice from technique books like the ones you mentioned to continuously give our fingers new, quick learn challenges. Thanks for the comment!
This is really helpful for me. I just started learning and was focusing on trying to grasp all of the keys to quickly. Now I'm just starting slow mastering C (scale chords arpeggios), then on to the next key.
I’m so glad to hear this was helpful! If you get a scale book that I linked in the description it will help you progress gradually. It builds on concepts and is organized in the circle of 5ths order.
Thanks for another great video Heather 😊 I fall into the group that practices too many pieces. I wouldnt say that i am playing above my ability but i would like build my repertoire up to at least 5-6 pieces, in memory. The metronome definitely helps with this. The problem I have is Ill work on those five or six pieces than start playing another piece or two for a couple days (or weeks) then jump back to what I was previously working on. Yup, those 5-6 pieces are still not in memory 😅
I like to practice a lot of pieces too. I get bored easily. 🤗 So I usually use an A day B day practice schedule and that keeps practicing interesting. I think it’s really important to finish most pieces because that’s what really takes our playing to the next level. But variety is good if you have the time! Thanks for your comments Scott 🫶🏻
I agree that finishing the pieces takes us to the next level. I like your method of using an A day B day method to keep practice more interesting each day. Thank you for your feedback and all of your hard work putting these videos together for us!@@BRILLANTEPianoLessons 🙂
great lesson! thx! what is the difference between the song you want us to learn in the sight reading section in 1-2 weeks, vs the repretiore song in the third section of the daily practice routine? thx
The repertoire piece should take you a month or more to master (how long is up to you). The sight reading pieces are easy enough to master in 1-2 weeks. I hope my video wasn’t confusing! Thanks for your comment!
Structure... lol sounds like me. I open flowkey, "play" the beginner pieces, i get through the first 2 or 3 bars and literally move on to another peice cause i can't get it. Then i repeat the same process with other pieces lol.
Thanks for your comment! This is very common. Hopefully my video will give you some ideas about what and how to practice. Getting a teacher can also be extremely helpful because you will be given assignments. You’ll also be more motivated to go to your lesson prepared because you’re paying for it.
I’d like to add a clarification about sight reading. Normally sight reading isn’t something that you practice. But in this video I am recommending that you do some practice on pieces that are at your sight reading level.
How come the like button is disabled? This is the 2nd time I have been here, & I really like your videos. I subscribed already, but I am surprised that the like button didn't work every time I tried.
Looking forward to the next video!
Any ideas?!!! 🥰
Thank you for all these resources.
You’re so welcome! 💖
Love all your videos!! Very informative and helpful. Thanks so much! totally agree with your idea to set aside daily time to practice. It's easy to skip a few days and get busy with life...
Yes life is extremely busy and there’s definitely been periods in my life when I haven’t had much time to practice. We really appreciate your support! 💖
Thank you very much! Going onto the next one and then going to sit and play something :)
We’re honored that you’re watching more than one of our videos!
Maybe you can make a full piano course like learning the basics I would buy it if I would have money thanks again for the help
Yes I could make a course on this topic. Great idea! We have piano lesson courses on our website but they are advanced and about specific classical pieces. We are working on some courses that all pianists can benefit from. Thanks for your comments!
Every piano teacher under the sun advocates starting with the key of C, and I get it: no sharps or flats, all white keys, easy to read. Chopin disagreed, and I'm in his camp. C is the hardest key to play in because it's furthest from the natural reference position of the hand. Counterintuitive though it may sound, start your students in the key of B major and they'll have a much better time: the long fingers will be falling on the black (high) keys, and they'll learn very quickly to slide in and out of the black-key zone, keep their wrists up (you can't slide smoothly into and out of the high-key zone without doing that), and they won't get in the nasty habit of curling their fingers because they're used to having to try to get all the fingertips (including the thumb and pinky) in a straight line. Progress to black-key-rich keys like F#/Gb, Db, Ab, and E, then Eb, A, Bb, and D, and finally, F and G#. Save C for the very last because, although it's the easiest key to read, it's the hardest to play with good body mechanics. Your students will thank you later in their careers once they realize the favour you did them.
Yes the key of C Major is definitely difficult and I always talk to my students about why that is. It’s important to learn the circle of 5ths though and I was trying to create a simple practice plan in this video that people could follow. Thanks for your comment!
You've been teaching for 30 years? Were you teaching piano as an infant you look about 30 years old.
Well you made my day! 💫I started teaching at age 16.
Hey! Thanks for the video. I have some questions in the following steps you said:
Step 1) I wanna practice 1 hour p/day, so, i should do 1 key, starting from the C and follow the circle of 5⁰, per day? Or i should just change the key, when i masterize it?
Step 3) (Sight reading): Can i use the hanon 100 progressive studies Op 139, vol 1., to practice the sight reading, in order, 1-100, pick up 1 study from it, and just go to the next one when i masterize it?
Thanks!
Hi! For technique, stick with one key until you master it (1-2 weeks). Push yourself on the speed with the metronome. I recommend the Keith Snell Scale Skills series. Czerny, Hanon and Fingerpower is the exercise part of your technique (not sight reading). I would stick with 1 exercise and work up the speed for 1-2 weeks before moving on to the next exercise. I hope this helps! Thanks for reaching out.
thank you for always giving us great content. i noticed you didnt talk about existing pieces. i see many students start a new piece to add to their repertoire and they focus on it so much they forget their previous pieces! chances are you are not going to attempt playing something u are learning to an audience and you will play something you know well. but wait...u havent practiced it for a while. where and how do you slot in those pieces in your daily routine. thank you!
Great comment! Thank you! I would say that if you’re trying to revive a piece, you would use some of your repertoire category practice time. It’s all about time. If you have more than 20-30 minutes a day to practice you should include more repertoire and sight reading. I personally don’t continue practicing old pieces. I let them go after I’ve mastered them. If I want to revive a piece, I start practicing it again and it comes back pretty easily.
I have watched SO MANY of these “improve practice efficiency”. In comparison to this video, they are RUBBISH! These videos are so very useful and so clear. 👍👍
It's comments like these that keep us going! We really appreciate you.
Great video. Ive had this idea that repertoire are pieces/songs I could jplay without notice. Is this achievable?
Thank you! I’m not quite sure I understand. Repertoire is a term that is used to describe a piano piece, generally speaking. It’s not technique or an exercise.
Really nice and you’re mother is also a cool women much blessings from Jehovah almighty god trough Jesus Christ I prayed I learn also piano I hope you will get much subscribers and can live from it good thanks for the content
Thank you so much for your prayers! We need them. Posting on TH-cam consistently isn’t easy when you’re working and have a family!
I am a piano major but lost my touch haven’t practiced for years and want to play bring back the touch. What will I do please help? Thanks
Thank you for reaching out. This may be a good video for us to make on our channel. I’m sure you’re not alone in wondering how to get back into playing! You could try to revive a few pieces that you played in the past. But I would definitely recommend learning some new pieces that you’re excited about that you can finish in a matter of weeks. You’ll quickly learn what level you are at once you start playing. Of course, I recommend practicing technique to get your fingers moving again. I linked some books in the description of this video. Good luck!
Although part 2 are strongly discouraged by some,, but for me..hanon czerny stuff like that are importnat
Oh absolutely! It’s so important to practice from technique books like the ones you mentioned to continuously give our fingers new, quick learn challenges. Thanks for the comment!
I've been playing for years without a teacher and it's really helpful to get your tips and perspectives. Thanks!
It’s so good to hear that our videos are helping people! Thanks so much for letting us know.
This is really helpful for me. I just started learning and was focusing on trying to grasp all of the keys to quickly. Now I'm just starting slow mastering C (scale chords arpeggios), then on to the next key.
I’m so glad to hear this was helpful! If you get a scale book that I linked in the description it will help you progress gradually. It builds on concepts and is organized in the circle of 5ths order.
Beautifully done. Thank you
You’re more than welcome! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a nice comment 💖
Thanks for another great video Heather 😊 I fall into the group that practices too many pieces. I wouldnt say that i am playing above my ability but i would like build my repertoire up to at least 5-6 pieces, in memory. The metronome definitely helps with this. The problem I have is Ill work on those five or six pieces than start playing another piece or two for a couple days (or weeks) then jump back to what I was previously working on. Yup, those 5-6 pieces are still not in memory 😅
I like to practice a lot of pieces too. I get bored easily. 🤗 So I usually use an A day B day practice schedule and that keeps practicing interesting. I think it’s really important to finish most pieces because that’s what really takes our playing to the next level. But variety is good if you have the time! Thanks for your comments Scott 🫶🏻
I agree that finishing the pieces takes us to the next level. I like your method of using an A day B day method to keep practice more interesting each day. Thank you for your feedback and all of your hard work putting these videos together for us!@@BRILLANTEPianoLessons 🙂
You do not leave in fo on long enough to copy
What info are you needing? Thank you for the feedback
great lesson! thx! what is the difference between the song you want us to learn in the sight reading section in 1-2 weeks, vs the repretiore song in the third section of the daily practice routine? thx
The repertoire piece should take you a month or more to master (how long is up to you). The sight reading pieces are easy enough to master in 1-2 weeks. I hope my video wasn’t confusing! Thanks for your comment!
That’s what I assumed. Great lessons!!
Thank you!
Structure... lol sounds like me. I open flowkey, "play" the beginner pieces, i get through the first 2 or 3 bars and literally move on to another peice cause i can't get it. Then i repeat the same process with other pieces lol.
Thanks for your comment! This is very common. Hopefully my video will give you some ideas about what and how to practice. Getting a teacher can also be extremely helpful because you will be given assignments. You’ll also be more motivated to go to your lesson prepared because you’re paying for it.