I have been teaching piano for many years now, and the one question that continues to haunt me is how much should students practice for their weekly lessons. I have been thinking about it this summer because every year I take some time off to catch up on my own practicing. To be successful in practicing, the student must have a goal. It’s all well and good to say I’m doing it for myself, and I don’t need to be told how much to practice, but without a goal to act as motivation, it’s hard to keep up the momentum. For myself, the goal is to have a Bach Partita ready to perform in my piano workshop in September. The workshop meets once a month and includes teachers and other serious pianists. So I’m not exaggerating when I say to play in front of this group takes a lot of preparation. During this summer break I have more time. Practicing has been a joy, and it’s not unusual for me to work on my piece for two or more hours a day. Yes, I know you’re thinking, two hours on one piece? Well, that September deadline is hanging over me. But here’s the good news. The Bach is getting really good. At first it was a struggle to get through it, but every day, something else clicks for me, and the music is starting to come alive.
For my students, I try different strategies to help them establish their goals. I tell my very young students they have to “play” each of their pieces ten times every day, and to keep track of their practice time by writing it down. This seems like a lot of work to them, but the reality is they are practicing 20-30 minutes each day.
This strategy doesn’t always work with older students for several reasons. One, the pieces are longer and they can’t practice for more than a reasonable period of time. Two, as everyone knows who has ever worked with kids, piano lessons are not the only activity in which they are involved. Oh, and don’t forget the “six hours of homework” they are assigned every single night! Three, as they get older, they are more likely to just not do it because they don’t have the same desire to please as younger students. This is where the goals help them. The easiest way to get them to practice is to schedule a playing class for students in the same age group. Just like me, they are not about to humiliate themselves in front of their peers.
Of course, another obvious goal for students is to have them perform in recitals and competitions. But this is not a one size fits all strategy. Some students don’t feel comfortable performing, and pushing them can backfire.
My latest strategy is to recommend that they practice every day the same number of minutes as their lesson. So, if a student has an hour lesson, then she/he should be practicing an hour daily. I want to be sure they don’t just play through their pieces a couple of times and then declare they have finished practicing.
The whole point is to spend enough time with the great composers, to understand how their music evolves. This is what I call “living with the music.” It starts to get under your skin, becoming a part of you when you have put in sufficient time. That’s how you develop the skills to become a fine pianist, and practicing two or more hours a day isn’t such a big deal.
Coming next: How to practice efficiently
