Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you ever wondered what the best practice strategies are? D’you want some music tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years? Mastering playing an instrument or singing can be both challenging and rewarding. D’you need some help? I’ve been teaching music lessons for over thirty years. In that time, I’ve gained tons of tips that’ll improve your skills. I’ll share a few of the best ones in today’s post, and even more tricks in the All-Purpose Music Tips and Topics posts. Read more to get these valuable tips.
This post uses technical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the article.
The Most Important Music Tips and Tricks I've Learned Over the Years
Do you want some of the music tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years? I’ll give you the most important ones first:
- Break things into small manageable steps. As I discussed in Should I Learn to Play the Piano One Hand at a Time or Simultaneously?, one of the most effective ways to learn a piece of music will be to break it down into smaller sections. This way, you can focus on mastering each task before moving on to the next one.
- Identify where you’ve made a mistake and work on that section. When practicing a new piece of music, it’ll be essential to recognize when you’ve made a mistake and quickly correct it. That way you won’t keep practicing mistakes.
- Start by practicing at a slower tempo and increase your speed until you can play the piece with a steady tempo. It’ll be tempting to play a piece of music at full speed right away. However, starting at a slower tempo and gradually increasing the speed will get you better results. This will let you focus on playing the piece accurately with a steady beat.
- Once you’ve gotten a section down, repeat it until you feel confident playing it. Repetition is key to learning a new piece of music. Once you’ve gotten a section mistake free, it’s important to repeat it until you feel comfortable playing it. This helps to build muscle memory and reinforce the musical patterns in your mind.
Other Useful Music Tips and Tricks I've Learned Over the Years
Some of these music tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years will also prove useful:
- You need to understand the role of myelin in gaining skill. Myelin coats neural pathways in your brain when you work on a new skill. As I said in Special Needs Music Success, the more you practice, the more myelin optimizes your neurons, making them fire faster and more efficiently. This helps you master new tasks, making them become automatic. Thus, explaining why repetition is critical for learning a new piece of music.
- Identify the point of diminishing returns. When you play, you need to recognize the point when the energy you put in exceeds the results you get out of your practice. You’ll know you’ve reached it when you’ve gotten so tired that you find yourself making minimal progress. When that happens, you need to stop and take a break.
- Don’t practice for more than 45 minutes at a time. When you practice, you need to take breaks, or you risk getting an overuse injury. After 45 minutes, take at least a 10-minute break before resuming practice. Don’t go to another hand intensive activity such as typing. Give your hands a good break too.
- Don’t suddenly increase the amount you practice. When you increase your practice time, you need to do it slowly over time. If you suddenly increase the amount you practice, you’ll risk getting injured. Increase your practice slowly over several weeks, adding five minutes to your practice time each week.
Concluding Thoughts to “D’you Want Some Music Tips and Tricks I've Learned Over the Years?”
To sum up the tips:
- Break things down into small manageable steps
- Identify mistakes and work on those sections
- Practice at slower tempos
- Repeat sections until you feel confident playing them
- Understand the role of myelin in gaining skill
- Identify the point of diminishing returns
- Don’t practice for more than 45 minutes at a time
- Don’t suddenly increase the amount of your practice time
These are some of the most important music tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years. Using them will help you improve your musical skills and let you enjoy the process of learning while staying healthy.
Have fun playing!
More Music Tips and Tricks I've Learned Over the Years
Read these posts for more of the music tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years:
- How Does Your Brain Learn to Play the Piano with Two Hands?
- Ways Around the Difficulty of Playing the Piano Due to Short Fingers and Small Hands
- How to Overcome the Fear of Performing in Front of an Audience
- Why It’s So Hard for Someone with a Good Ear to Learn Sheet Music
- Why Do Minor Keys Sound Sad to Me?
- Do I Really Have to Learn Music Theory to Learn How to Play Piano?
- Why Do Pianists Occasionally Play Their Hands at Different Times as They Perform
- What Are the Small “>” Signs Above or Below the Notes?
- After They Can Sight-Read What’s Left for Musicians to Learn?
- Should I Learn to Play the Piano One Hand at a Time or Simultaneously?
- Tips for How to Stay Calm and Cool Before a Concert
- How Can Legato Notes Be Played Staccato?
- On the Electric Keyboard Can You Play Dynamics?
© 2023 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
Back to the All-Purpose Music Tips and Topics category blogs page
Glossary
Can I Learn to Play Piano with a Mini Key Keyboard?
“Can I learn to play piano with a mini key keyboard?” Electronic keyboards come in all sizes, including keyboards that have different sized keys. If your keyboard has keys that are smaller than an adult finger, it has mini keys. Will mini key keyboards be a good choice for practicing for your piano lessons? Read more to find out. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More
How Do I Find the Key of a Song with Accidentals?
Do you need to figure out the key for a song? Whether you have sheet music or figure out a song by ear, it’ll be useful to know the key of a song. This will help when adding harmonies, improvising, memorizing, or for just generally understanding the music. Plus, you can find out if the music changes keys during the song. Keep reading to answer the question, “How do I find the key of a song with accidentals?” Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More
Silent Night: Videos, Lyrics, and More
Do you want to sing “Silent Night?” In this post, you’ll get: 1) three videos (The Original Version, The German Version, and The Temptations Version), 2) the “Silent Night” full lyrics, and 3) easy-to-read shape note sheet music with a sing along song track. Keep reading “Sing Silent Night: Videos, Lyrics, and More” to get the music and the words. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
How Do I Switch from Singing Shaped Notes to Standard Notation – Part 1
“How do I switch from singing shaped notes to standard notation?” Because they’re easy to read, shape notes will always be a good choice for struggling readers, and it makes a great introduction to solfege too. However, the limited shape note repertoire means that shape note singers may want to learn to read standard notation as well. Click to learn how to transition from shaped notes to standard notation. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More