Why Old Keyboard Instruments Still Matter to How You Play
Most of us learn on one instrument. You sit down…
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Stop Practicing for 30 Minutes. Start Practicing with Purpose.
“Practice for 30 minutes” is not deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is a rigorous methodology based on decades of cognitive psychology research, formalized most notably by psychologist Anders Ericsson.
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Why Mixing Up Your Practice Routine Leads to Better Results
Traditional practice wisdom often recommends intensive focus: drill one scale for ten minutes, then move to arpeggios, then work on that difficult passage. This blocked approach feels productive because you can hear immediate improvement within a session. But research in cognitive science points the other way. Mixing your practice activities produces stronger long-term learning, even though it feels harder in the moment. Interleaved practice (the deliberate mixing of different skills within a single session) creates deeper retention and better transfer to performance situations.
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The Six-Hour Rule: Why Spacing Your Practice Sessions Matters
Most pianists understand that practice should be spread across multiple sessions rather than crammed into one marathon day. But the science goes deeper than general wisdom.
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Why Practicing Piano Before Bed Might Be Your Secret Weapon
We often hear that consistency matters in piano practice, but timing matters too. Recent neuroscience research reveals that when you practice matters almost as much as how long you practice.
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Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante: A Journey Through Technical Brilliance
Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante from the Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22 is a spectacular work showcasing both Chopin’s compositional genius and the virtuosic demands he placed on pianists.
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Fast Practicing Gives Slow Results, Slow Practicing Gives Fast Results
I recently came across a quote from pianist Palavia Mahidhare that stopped me in my tracks: “Fast practicing gives slow results, and slow practicing gives fast results.” She practices 80 percent of her repertoire slowly, and I couldn’t agree more. When you practice slowly, you’re being intentional with every note, every finger movement, every musical phrase. You’re programming your muscle memory accurately from the start. When you finally do play at tempo, your fingers know exactly where they’re going because you’ve trained them carefully and deliberately.
