Studying piano : tips for pianists

When starting out as a piano-student, do not expect merely pleasure and entertainment, but rather be prepared for much hard work. Look not at the end of the road you are to travel, but rather to the single step you are taking. Do your daily work well, do honest work from lesson to lesson, and you will succeed. Read good musical books, a list of which you will find in the Musical Hints to the Million." Use every means at your disposal to obtain a correct appreciation to the art you are studying. This will be a means of inspiration, a power that keeps alive within you a love for work and a desire for knowledge.

Studing piano tips

Do not expect to become a perfect pianist in one year. If it requires years of application to master a trade, how much longer time is necessary to perfect yourself in an art?
Pay the strictest attention to your teacher's instructions, and faithfully apply them when practicing. If you cannot remember all that has been told you, take notes. If you find anything in the lesson that is not plain to you, write it down and ask the teacher for the desired information. Every intelligent teacher likes to have his pupils ask questions, for this is a sure indication of an active mind. Be not afraid to ask questions, for the lesson hour is your own. When asking questions, however, be careful that you wander not from the lesson in hand, for this would be a waste of time. Never say you understand a topic, when you do not; ask for a repetition of the explanation, for the teacher would rather repeat it ten times to-day, than to be forced to return to it at a later time. Be sure your teacher will discover all your deficiencies, and your progress is sure to be interrupted by passing over a lesson without fully comprehending it.

Suggestions and tips for studying piano

Make it a cardinal principle to practice slowly and intelligently. Never hasten, never be careless. Take nothing for granted, but read every sign and note carefully, before you play. In short, watch and consider everything in connection with your lesson. Put your whole mind to your work, for that alone deserves to be called practice. The mere playing over of pieces and exercises is not practice. Pay special attention to the difficult places, both in exercises and pieces, and play them alone, until you have mastered them, then play the whole smoothly from beginning to end.