We’ve all heard it a million times. To be good at something, you have to practice.
It’s true. There is no way around that.
Matter of fact, the truth is, to be good at something, you have to practice A LOT!
For most people, the piano is an extra-curricular activity. We all have jobs, school, friends, sports, Netflix shows to catch up on, and we’d like to get some sleep in there too if possible.
How are we supposed to fit in piano practice? Even more, how are we supposed to fit in A LOT of piano practice?
Here is the answer.
Stop practicing so long.
So many of us think that in order to get good at the piano, we have to sit there and practice for hours on end. In a perfect world, yes that would be great. But here is what happens in the real world.
You tell yourself that in order to get good at the piano you have to practice at least an hour a day. You start off strong, but then life gets busy. Next thing you know, you have one full day after another and you can’t find an hour anywhere to practice. So instead of practicing a little bit, you blow it all off saying something like “If I can’t get my full hour of practice in then what’s the point?”
After a few weeks of that, you stop trying. Eventually, you don’t even touch the piano anymore. You quit taking lessons because you are frustrated and not making the kind of progress you wanted to.
Sound familiar?
Here is the truth that most people won’t tell you.
You don’t have to practice for an hour for it to count.
You don’t even have to practice for 30 minutes for it to count. Little chunks of practice go a long way.
What if you could practice 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there? Do you think you could find that time? Of course you could.
And you know what else? You would probably enjoy yourself more because you feel way less pressure to sit there for an hour torturing yourself.
And guess what? 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there still adds up to the same amount of practice. Matter of fact, I guarantee you will actually get MORE practice in this way because you are not blowing the whole thing off because you can’t get a full hour of practice in.
So here is your permission to let yourself off the hook. Stop telling yourself you have to practice an hour every day. Stop telling yourself if you don’t, then it’s not even worth practicing at all. It’s not true.
You don’t have to practice as long as you think you do.
You don’t have to be a piano practice superhero. Try getting in 10 minutes before and after work or school. Those 10 minute practices will add up fast and by the time you are sitting at your next lesson, you will see some serious improvement.
And remember, the whole reason you got into this piano thing was to have fun. Let those 10 minute practices be a break from your busy day. A little mini-musical meditation.
I’ll take 10 minutes of peace over 60 minutes of torture any day.