First rule to play the piano? Have patience. It is impossible to achieve good results if you cheat and skip basic steps. Problems will come later. It’s like building a house without a solid foundation: at some point, by dint of enlarging it, it will collapse.

So let’s see together some small tricks to learn to play the piano in the necessary time, without falling prey to easy shortcuts or mistakes.

Who goes Slow and Steady Wins:

As already mentioned, haste is the enemy of virtue. There is a precise order to learn how to do things and nothing should be left behind. An example? Before trying to play with both hands make sure you can play with only one. Doing this is very important to give our brain the possibility to assimilate everything correctly. For this reason, when starting with the study of a new piece it is good to start with one hand only; doing otherwise you risk fatiguing the brain by not being able to coordinate all the actions to be performed.

The brain in the moment of learning the new song must focus on learning first what needs to be done with the right hand, then what is done with the left and finally to coordinate both hands playing at the same time. Learning to the best of your abilities means having the patience to work on each of the aspects of learning for as long as you need and exclusively.

A well-balanced training program should include, for example, a precise routine. First, divide the piece you want to learn into sections ranging from 4 to 10 seconds. This is the optimal length that allows the brain not to go under excessive strain. Learning will therefore be greatly facilitated if you concentrate on memorizing one piece at a time.

One day you can practice five minutes on the first section of a piece with your left hand, five minutes with your right, and ten with both hands. Do this every day moving on to the second section, then to the third and so on. By doing this you will be sure to take the time for focused learning.

Start with a song you really like:

Starting with a song you really love will keep your motivation high in times of trouble! Did you understand what it is? Good! Throw yourself into the study of the piece in question as soon as you have learned the basics of the piano, the reading of the keys and how to position the hands. It is also fundamental to choose a song of the right difficulty. If the piece is too difficult you will tend to get discouraged and, conversely, if it is too easy, boredom will ensue. So rely on the guides that show you the difficulty level of the beginner songs, identify your favorite and start right away!

Exercising daily is the key to success:

Never as in this case, daily exercise is essential. Half an hour a day is worth much more than three hours once a week. Furthermore, forcing yourself to sit at the piano for three hours in a row can change the perception of the activity: being so tiring, you may begin to perceive it as a duty and no longer as a constructive challenge. A half hour a day, on the other hand, will ensure that playing the piano remains a pleasant entertainment inserted within everyday life. You need to read the review first before buying a digital piano.

Learn the correct posture right away:

It may not seem like it, but you have to be very careful with your posture. With respect to the floor, one must sit neither too high nor too low, neither too far nor too close. The reason is that, assuming the wrong position, you risk aching and pain in the shoulders and back.

So what is the correct position to take? First plant both feet well on the ground, parallel. Keep your back straight while learning the digital piano. To help keep your back straight, pretend you have to balance something on your head. The arms should be dropped to the sides and then the forearms should be positioned parallel to the ground. The position will be right if your fingers easily reach the keys without you having to lean forward or lift your shoulders. And now your hands: to make sure you keep them in the right position, arrange them so that your fingertips touch the keys. At this point you will have to arch your hands by curving your fingers as if you were holding a ball in your hand. Et voila!

Be constant over time and don’t put the piano aside:

Instead of an exploit that involves three hours of practice every two days, you prefer a long-term structured program. Overdoing it, you risk losing the urge that prompted you to start very soon. Stopping playing for weeks because you are saturated is the wrong thing: because in the blink of an eye all the work you have done will be lost. So remember: little, every day and in the long run.

Having established the right amount of time to train daily, pay attention to long breaks. The further away you are from the piano, the less you will want to sit down and practice. Create a special corner and make sure it is well-kept and welcoming, with the right light and climate. This will make you want to sit down and enjoy your nice half hour even today!

Pay attention to the fingering:

Learning which fingers to use to play the notes is essential. And even if you will be tempted, at first, to proceed in the simplest way, know that you will regret it. The easiest way does not lead to excellence. Often the fingering is not as obvious as it may seem and there is always a reason. Sometimes it happens that, learning the fingering on your own, you are unable to play the piece at the right time. And changing it later will be really difficult!

There is no more valid reason, therefore, to start taking your first steps in the best possible way, whatever song you play.