5-Minute Piano Lessons

Practicing Piano Scales is Most Worthwhile when Done Smartly

I don’t know why I was surprised when the site’s “analytics” (the statistics that tell me each week what folks have been interested in reading) told me that the “big draw” recently was practicing scales – something I only rarely assign to my piano students. This interest makes sense, however, considering that music teachers have been pushing scale practice for centuries. This is sad to me, because more time and attention is wasted on lousy and inefficient scale practice by aspiring hobbyist pianists than almost anything, other than lousy and inefficient practice routines in general. I’d like to set the record straight on this topic and hopefully save you readers time and frustration.

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Why this Question has Little Real Meaning for Most Adult Piano Students

Since, 2006 I’ve posted weekly to a Blog for Piano Students, both those taking lessons from a live teacher and those learning online. I received the following question to one of my posts and my reply is worth the reading, especially for those students in countries that offer some formal exams and qualifications: (more…)

Separating Effective from Ineffective Online Piano Lessons

We have seen why and how treating the adult piano student as if they were a child will not help the adult learn piano, either via online piano lessons or with a live teacher. Hopefully, I have made it clear that by separating out what doesn’t work to train adult piano students that we can zero in on what does. These essays are not just a “complaint session.” (more…)