It is a FACT that practice technique will absolutely affect how quickly you learn a piece. With music being my life for the past decade or so as a composer for TV and film, music producer, professional keyboardist and piano teacher, I’ve learned how to practice efficiently and effectively. As a coordinator of my own music school which provides Los Angeles and Orange County piano lessons, voice lessons, guitar lessons, drum lessons and other music lessons, I’ve also taught these practices to many students and teachers as well. Here are some tips that are guaranteed to streamline your practice of any instrument.

1. Slow your playing!! One of the most crucial things you can do to learn your song faster is to SLOW DOWN. We’re all eager to rock out with our new songs but trying to play a song at full speed or even half speed is like running before learning how to walk. Have some patience with your song and you’ll find that this is the quickest route to mastering it. Playing your piece slowly will allow you to take everything in from your hand positioning and flow to recognizing notes and rhythm as well as transitions from part to part.

2. Focus on the unfamiliar parts!! In every piece there are sections that you will need more practice on. Instead of playing your whole song repeatedly to refine little crucial sections that need work, you should pick out those parts and play just them until they get better. If you have to single out an entire section, a line, a few measures or even a few notes, do it!! You can practice transitions more effectively this way and with the time you save you can do whatever else you want.

3. Start with the hardest parts first. Like the last tip with playing just the parts you don’t know, learning the most difficult parts of song first can be of benefit to you. This is especially the case if you are facing time constraints and need to learn the song by a certain time. Sometimes the intro may be the most difficult but often times the middle part or latter parts of a song are harder than the other sections. Whatever the case if you start with the hardest part first, you’ll have a better grasp on it sooner.

4. Listen to your count!! Sometimes rhythm can be a complex beast. If this is the case, it is always beneficial to count out loud while you’re playing. This will help you learn the irregular rhythmic patterns and eventually you’ll be able to play it without counting.

5. Always end your practice session by playing your song slowly, even when you’ve learned it well. When you’ve played a song over and over again, it is inevitable that you will have memorized most or all of it. However, to make sure your brain memorizes the piece as opposed to just your fingers memorizing the piece, you need to play your song slow. This breaks up your finger’s muscle memory and forces your brain to kick in and work. Once you’re able to know exactly what your fingers play note for note, you will have the song internalized, otherwise if you rely only on muscle memory, you may find that any small mistake or anomaly such as the feeling that you played a wrong note or something sounding off may completely derail your song. So make this a good practice!!

Keep up your practice routine using these tips, and you will master your songs in a short time!

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