Music Lessons

How To Practice Piano Every Day

25 January 2022 No Comments

Having piano lessons is one of the most rewarding hobbies out there, but unless we practice regularly and with commitment, progress will be limited. In this article I’ll be giving you some ideas on how to practice piano every day, while finding enjoyment and musical fulfilment along the way.

I always say that 95% of your improvement happens between your piano lessons. Your weekly lesson is a great chance to check-in so your teacher can see how you’re doing, and set you some new goals. But without effective practice, you may not reach those goals.

I hope the following tips are helpful, they may not all be suitable for you and your particular schedule, but it might just give you a few ideas:

6 tips for How To Practice Piano Every Day:

1. Get clear on what you are practising

Without goals and targets, practice is going to feel muddled and pointless. You hopefully always leave your piano lessons with a clear idea of what is expected of you for your next lesson.

You might be trying to memorise a piece, you might be trying to bring out the dynamics, or maybe you’re simply trying to get a particular section to a consistent speed. Whatever you’re working on, make sure you’re super clear and focussed on that.

With my students, I always make sure they have a notebook for lesson notes, where I try to be as clear as possible about what needs to be practised that week. Not all teachers do this and that is fine, but either way, having a record of your lessons, what you went through, what you learned, and what you need to practice is truly invaluable.

2. Set a realistic goal for practice time

Practice is hard mental work. No, wait a sec… focussed practice is hard mental work. Very few people can practice for hours on end with concentration and focus, especially in our world of distractions, dopamine addiction and social media notifications.

My advice? Set a realistic time goal for your practice. For beginners and children, it might only be ten minutes. But you can do so much in ten focussed minutes. For more intermediate players it might be twenty or twenty-five minutes. Whatever you decide, set a timer, and then keep your phone away from you for the duration of your practice. Smaller chunks every day will achieve so much more than a panic-stricken couple of hours on the morning of your lesson.

3. Practice at the same time each day

This is where we will all be different. For me, I do my best work in the morning, so that’s when I try to practice. We’re trying to build a habit here to practice the piano every day, so try to create a routine for your practice. Maybe you do it first thing in the morning, so it’s done for the day. Maybe for you, after work is the best time, and a good way to switch off from work. Maybe it’s after the kids have gone to bed (if they can sleep through it of course!)

4. Build a habit stack

If you really want to know how to practice piano every day, try building other habits around your practice. You could make yourself a cup of tea to drink while you practice, or do it right after you brush your teeth in the morning. For children, it could be after school but before food or homework. If it’s in the schedule and built around other habits, it is more likely to get done.

5. Remember that the hardest part is starting

It’s like going for a run, the hardest step is over your own doorstep. With the piano, the hardest part is the mental reluctance to just sit down and start. This is just your mind wanting to avoid the challenge of practising. Challenge yourself to just do five minutes (time it), once five minutes is up, you’ll probably be happy to carry on, but if not – no worries! We’re trying to build a habit here, it’s what you do most days that counts. Forcing yourself when it is just not happening will only make you more reluctant the following day.

6. Practice the hardest things first

My Auntie Janet always used to say to me: “Do the things you have to do before the things you want to do.”

This is an excellent motto for practice. That difficult piece you avoid? Start with the bit you are really struggling with. Melodic minors proving elusive? Start with those.

This has a few benefits, firstly, you do the hardest practice when your mind is still fresh, and secondly, you then can practice your other things knowing that you’ve already tackled the biggest challenge. Practising all your favourite pieces and then trying to summon the motivation to practice the scary piece is horrible. Save yourself from this torment and do the hard thing first.

So those are just a few tips on building a daily practice habit. If you’d like to get in touch with me about piano lessons in York, click here. You may find this blog post interesting too.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below – how do you plan to make practice a daily habit?

Music, Music Lessons

Piano Lessons in York

2 December 2021 2 Comments

Are you looking for piano lessons in York? My name is Angelina and I teach the piano from my home in Foxwood, York. Read on to find out more about booking in for your piano lessons in York.

In this article I’m going to talk about:

Who piano lessons are for.
Why you should book in with me.
What piano lessons involve.
Do you need a piano at home?
Why it’s better to book direct, rather than go through an agency.

Piano lessons in York — Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

Who piano lessons are for

Piano lessons are for anyone who is interested and wants to play the piano! My students are a mix of adults and children. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never read music before or even touched an instrument before, we’ll go through everything you need to know.

Some of my adult beginners perhaps played piano or another instrument when they were at school, and are just coming back to it now that they have time to devote to a new hobby.

Piano lessons are a great choice for children. Not only do music lessons encourage creativity and musicality, music lessons also improve a child’s concentration and ability to focus. Piano lessons can also improve a child’s self-confidence and self-discipline, as a certain amount of discipline is needed to cultivate a regular practice habit.

Students who learn an instrument tend to get higher grades in school, and having an extra-curricular activity will be a welcome break from school work too. It’s a win-win.

Why you should book in with me

My name is Angelina and I teach piano lessons in York. I have been playing the piano for as long as I can remember. My father, John Warburton, taught me the piano from around the age of four. Along with the harp, I studied the piano at Chetham’s School of Music with Jonathan Middleton, where I achieved my Grade 8 Distinction. Every year I would compete at Blackpool Music Festival, and won several trophies along the way, both as a soloist and for playing duets with my dad.

Since then, I have played and taught the piano, and have recently started to play the organ at a local parish church. Although I primarily earn my gigging money with the harp, I have a passion for teaching the piano – especially beginners. Learning to read music and play the piano is such a rewarding thing to do. I can’t recommend it enough.

What Piano Lessons involve

Piano lessons with me are usually 45 minutes long. Every lesson is different of course and will take into account your personal goals with the piano.

A standard beginner piano lesson will usually involve some theory learning, which takes place at the piano, some scales to warm up and then the pieces that you are currently working on. I use a notebook to keep track of your progress and to set little goals from lesson to lesson, so you always know exactly what you’re aiming to achieve for your next lesson.

Do you need a piano at home?

You will need an instrument to practice on, yes. However, electric pianos are an affordable option and don’t take up too much space. Lots of people are actually trying to get rid of their pianos, so you may be able to get an older piano for free, or for a very small amount of money, and then you’d pay a piano mover to bring it to your house.

Use my contact form to get in touch if you’ve seen a piano online that you’d like an opinion on. If you’re buying an older piano, you may need to spend some money having it tuned, there will be costs involved, but it is lovely having a real piano in your house (I’m still of the opinion that every home needs a piano).

What a lot of students do is start out with an electric piano, and invest in a real piano once they know that they love their lessons and want to carry on long-term.

Why it’s better to book direct, instead of using an agency

The internet is full of agencies these days, which, in my opinion, makes life harder for self-employed musicians. These sites can take up to 25-30% of the fee for each lesson, meaning less of your money goes towards the hard-working musician, and a substantial proportion is just going towards some agency who did nothing more than provide you with your teacher’s name.

Whether you choose me as your teacher or not, my advice would be to book directly with the teacher of your choice, ideally via email so everything’s in writing.

So that’s about it for now – if you have any questions or wish to chat further about your piano lessons in York, use the contact form and get in touch.

If you are interested in hearing from me in the form of my monthly newsletter, click here to join my email list.

Music, Music Lessons

Learn to play the harp

10 January 2021 No Comments

Whether you’ve wanted to learn to play the harp since you were a child, or you’re looking to pick up a beautiful and unique hobby, learning to play the harp is a rewarding activity that can bring a lot of joy to your life.

In this post I’ll be outlining a few things to think about before beginning to learn to play the harp.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Do I want online harp lessons or in-person harp lessons?
Which harp to buy, lever harp or pedal harp?
Do I need to know music theory?
Committing to the journey of learning an instrument.
Defining your goals

Do I want to learn to play the harp online or in-person?

At the time of writing we’re still in the midst of Covid-19 lockdown and we must take this very seriously.

Online lessons are our only option at the moment, but thanks to modern technology it is a viable option. You can learn to play the harp both online and in-person, have a think about which is right for you.

In-person lessons are a great choice if you can find a local teacher. I live in York and teach from my home (Covid guidelines permitting). So if you’d like some harp lessons in York – pop me an email.

Online lessons are an option if you’d like to learn with a specific teacher, but live too far away. The harp is an unusual instrument and teachers can be hard to find. Zoom and facetime are helping with this issue.

Another thing to think about is portability of your instrument. We’ll talk more about this later, but if you’re playing a 20-string lever harp, it’s much easier to come to my house for lessons than if you’re carting around a 47-string concert grand. The harp can be tricky to move, trust me, I’ve been there. If you don’t have a car, or your car isn’t big enough for your harp, online lessons are probably the right option for you.

Which harp to buy? Lever harp or Pedal harp?

Ahh, this is a big question, choosing your instrument can feel like you’re wandering into Olivander’s ready to choose your first wand (where are my fellow Harry Potter fans?) Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that the harp chooses the harpist, but there are some things to consider.

Price – what’s your budget? Pedal harps are significantly more expensive than lever harps, not only to buy but to maintain and transport. Lever harps are not cheap but often more realistic that forking out for a concert grand – unless you have a spare £18k.

Space – if you live in a studio apartment, get a smaller harp.

Commitment – if you’re unsure how much you will like learning the harp, my advice to you is this: hire a lever harp to begin with – I can recommend a company that does this. This way, you get a good quality harp to try, and if you decide to purchase it later, that’s an option for you.

Speaking of quality – DO NOT BUY A HARP FROM EBAY without at least emailing a harpist to check it for any red flags. I will happily look over a listing you think looks good and give you my thoughts as to whether it’s a good price for what it is. Harps are expensive, but once you’ve decided on your budget, focus on quality over everything else. It’s better to buy a simple, well-made 32 string lever harp than a rickety old 36 string harp that has all the wrong strings, no levers and is falling to bits.

My general advice for beginners is to look for a 34 string lever harp. This gives you a good compromise between range, price and portability. You always have the option of ‘upgrading’ to a pedal harp later if you really want to.

What about music theory?

Have you ever learned to read music? Perhaps you learned an instrument at school and already have your Grade 5 Music Theory, or perhaps you’re looking for lessons for your child who doesn’t read music yet.

If you can’t read music yet, never fear! It’s easy to get the basics and from there it’s just practice. I happen to love teaching music theory as it’s such rewarding knowledge to have.

Be open with your prospective teacher and they will help you with whatever stage you’re at with music theory.

If you’re comfortable reading music we’ll dive straight in and fill in any theory gaps along the way. If you’re new to music, we’ll spend a small part of each lesson focussed on music theory and setting up your foundation of knowledge. This means you are ready to apply this knowledge to your music reading and playing.

Commit to the journey

Learning an instrument is a journey. In a world of instant gratification and next-day delivery of anything we want, it can feel like a bit of a shock to progress at something slowly and mindfully. It may be simply a hobby, but it will still require effort, anyone who says otherwise is being dishonest.

Trust your teacher, take their advice. Surrender yourself to being a beginner for a while.

Think about how much time you have for practise between lessons. Remember that little and often will always beat last-minute cramming on the morning of your lesson. Twenty minutes, six days a week will achieve so much more than a two-hour session once a week.

It may not feel like it now, but there will be times when you don’t want to practice. Practice is a matter of discipline rather than motivation. Start small, just ten minutes here and there, and build up as much as you want to (without injuring yourself, obviously).

Define your goals

…and share them with your teacher. Whether you want to just learn to play the harp for your own enjoyment or be the next harpist for Florence and the Machine, think about it, define it, and talk about it with your teacher.

Here are a few examples of goals: taking an exam, memorising a piece, or playing in front of people at a concert – Covid permitting. Perhaps your child wants to audition for an orchestra or music school. One of my proudest achievements as a teacher is guiding one of my students towards her audition for Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. She was offered a place and loves it there.

If exams aren’t your thing, start listening to all sorts of music and see which styles appeal to you. Talk about your findings with your teacher and see if you can learn a piece in that style.

We all have different goals when it comes to the harp. Our goals can and should change over time for us to keep developing as musicians.

Learn to play the harp – Closing thoughts

I hope you’ve found this article helpful and informative on your quest to learn to play the harp. Here are a few take home points from me:

Finding a harp and a harp teacher is just the start of your exciting journey with this beautiful instrument

Don’t buy a harp from eBay

Decide how much you can invest in the harp, both in terms of time spent practising and money to spend on purchasing/hiring the instrument and caring for it responsibly

Decide what you want from your harp lessons and discuss with your teacher

Don’t buy a harp from eBay

If you have any questions or would like ask me about lessons, please email me: angelinaegerton@gmail.com