Learn like a Concert Pianist

Question: Albert, with little time to study every day, do you think it’s wrong to wake up, sit down and study a piece or is it necessary to do at least a half hour of exercises such as Czerny, Hanon and Cinq Doits?

– Daniel Avzaradel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Albert’s reply:...

Question: I can get easily distracted from playing piano, whether it be my phone going off, hearing the TV or going to the computer and listening to a song for a second (which turns into hours). I really want to get good at the piano because I want to be a music teacher but I can’t stay...

Question: Do you have any tips for singing from memory? I can never remember it all and usually get stuck in the middle.

– Courtney (UK)

Albert’s reply: It’s most important to integrate the different types of musical memory as you practice. The brain absorbs information...

Question: Hello Albert,

I studied piano for five years, and the course was focused on jazz, blues, bossa nova, and other Brazilian styles. These styles are quite different from classical since there’s not much to read; it’s more a matter of rhythm, “swing” and...

Question: I am a late learner (75), probably grade 2 or 3. I am to play in a concert in 3 weeks’ time. I will play the first and third movements of Clementi’s Op. 36, No. 2, which takes about 10 minutes. I can play it at high speed, 3/4 speed and without any particular mistakes but...

Question: What about feelings taking over you by what you listen to before you produce the idea on the piano? Until what point can a pianist deal with passion evoked through the music he/she is listening to in the head before reproducing it? I am talking about the difference between the listener...

Question: Hi,

I want to know how to learn to play a piece without making mistakes.
I have tried practicing the piece over and over. And when I am at home alone I can seem to get through it with out making mistakes.
But when I get in front of the church or even in front of my family I simply...

Question: Thank you for putting up this site! It has been really helpful!! However, I get rather confused when it comes to the topic of scales, in certain places you say that it is essential to practice scales evenly and with a metronome, and in some other places you say that scales should be...

Question: I am a beginning piano player and want to start on a path to being a good piano player. I have started practicing scales, but it bores me to death. I find myself going back to playing songs after only a minute of playing scales.

Is it possible to get better at playing the piano without...

Question: What do you mean by “mistakes are ‘unwelcome guests’ and we are to check them at the door” (quotation from your Piano Practice page)?

Albert’s reply: One of my teachers once asked me to imagine that every time I made a mistake in practice, a trap door...

Question: I’m a retired church musician (organist/choirmaster) who’s been asked to play eight noon recitals at a public library over the course of next year starting in January. I’ll be playing the WTC Book II plus preludes by lots of other composers. I’ve never had the...

Question: Is it possible to practice piano playing without a piano? Just like athletes need to go to gym to strengthen their muscles.

Any comment?

– Tingting (Hong Kong)

Albert’s reply: Practicing away from your instrument is not only productive, done properly it can be even more...