Hello, friends!
It’s finally getting warmer in St. Paul and our Spring Recital (and a casual Performance Salon for adult students!) is already coming up next month. With students selecting their performance pieces and all of us looking forward to summer and post-pandemic lessons, I thought we’d celebrate with some piano learning advice from Albert. Albert has been studying piano for over three years. He’s currently working on Friedrich Burgmüller’s Angels’ Voices and the Super Mario Bros. Theme by Koji Kondo—and he composes his own music, too!
Q: What’s your favorite part of learning how to play piano?
A: Well, the end result is always good. When you start, you can barely play whatever song you want to learn (unless it’s something really basic and you’re not new) but in what seems like no time, all of the sudden you just can play the song and it sounds good when you perform it.
Q: What do you think the hardest part of playing piano is?
A: For me, it’s when I make mistakes. Sometimes the pieces are just really tough and it feels like I never get it right. But, some advice to you all: you shouldn’t give up because eventually you’re going to get it. And—let me tell you—you’re going to make mistakes. It’s a guarantee. But just keep at it. You’ll get it eventually.
Q: Do you have any other advice for someone who might be starting piano lessons?
A: Even I tend to break this rule, but go slow. And also, if you’re the one picking the music, don’t pick something that’s too hard.
Q: You like to compose your own music, too. What do you like about composing?
A: I like how when you compose, you can create wonderful pieces of music out of nothing except your imagination. When I compose music, I don’t really like to write it down, I just kind of like to play. Usually I have a theme or a story in my head to start—like one of my old pieces has a volcano theme:
Q: Do you have advice for someone who might be nervous to perform for the first time?
A: Practice the piece beforehand so your hands really know what to do. And also, it helps to just know the piece. If you can play it by heart without any music, you probably have it down. Try to perform in front of parents or friends. Although that might not be possible here during the pandemic, but you can perform for parents. And then when it finally comes time to play, don’t think about the fact that there are at least fifty people watching you. Just think about the music, and envelope yourself in the music. I’m not sure I can tell you about a time that I was nervous because performing in front of others kind of comes naturally to me.
Knowing your music really well before performances, learning to be okay with mistakes, and taking it slow are excellent pieces of advice. Want to join us this summer? Fill out the Contact Form and get the ball rolling on piano lessons!
Happy practicing (and performing, and composing),
Lillie