[Overseas Piano Forum] "What is the best piano advice you've ever received?" (Translation)

The piano subreddit on Reddit, an English-centric forum, brings together a large number of piano enthusiasts, from beginners to professional concert pianists.

I will be selecting and translating helpful threads from there.

The one I am introducing this time is "What is the best piano advice you've ever received?"

The full text is here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/comments/1t1zbbp/what_is_the_best_piano_advice_you_ve_ever_received/

Original poster:
"What is the best piano advice you've ever received?"
From this subreddit, teachers, masterclasses, anything at all.
Whether it's about piano or career-related.

"Record yourself."
At first you won't like it, but it reveals very fine details that you don't notice while you're playing.

→ Now and in the past, this is the fastest way to improve.
A recorder never lies. (Professional musician)

→ This is the best comment.

→ I often record myself too.
A teacher I used to study with told me I sounded like Stevie Wonder.

"There are no shortcuts."
It is a mistake to say that practice makes perfect.
It is more accurate to say that practice makes progress.

→ "Practice makes permanent."
Don't practice making mistakes.

→ That's important.
I think it's always overlooked.
Speaking from my experience teaching, the biggest problem is practicing mistakes without realizing it.
Because that gets reinforced through practice.

→ My teacher always tells me that when I'm developing bad habits (lol). I think the most important thing about taking lessons is knowing the difference between good practice and bad practice.

"Start by practicing very slowly with a metronome."
This is the best advice that is obvious but no one cares about.
The difference between playing at full speed from the start and practicing slowly is unimaginable.

→ That's right.
Once you've learned the notes, set the metronome to about 50 (quarter note) in 4/4 time.

"Only play the pieces you want to play."

→ This!
I make a list of pieces that match my level and some that are a little above, and I always listen to them to confirm if I really want to play them.

→ Even if you only want to play a small part.
It doesn't necessarily have to be the whole piece.

"Maximum control with minimum movement."

"Relax your shoulders."

→ This was a big one for me.
It improved my sound quality and accuracy.

"Practicing and performing a piece are two different things" (0-4 years, classical)

"Slow enough that you can control everything"

→ With no wasted movement, using minimal effort.

"Don't forget to breathe"

"Practice the scales and arpeggios of the pieces you are learning"

"It's hard to make a living just from piano"

→ That's life.

"Don't hunch over"
It's a typical pianist posture, but it causes back pain and stiff shoulders.
If you sit straight, your arms can relax and you can use your full body weight.

"Use a metronome. If you make a mistake, slow down until you can play it accurately. Not by muscle memory, but at a speed you can fully control."

"Imagine the piece you are playing is being performed by an orchestra. As if each part is being played by a different instrument."
This advice made my playing and interpretation more natural.

"Don't fight the piano. The piano always wins."
"Never fight the piano. It always wins."

"Don't practice 'only' slowly."
I think it might be hard to understand at first glance.
I didn't believe it at first either.
I always learned using a metronome slowly.
But even when I sped it up little by little, I struggled with playing musically.
Because it basically sounded like a machine playing.
There are some things you can only learn at the original tempo.
Now, for scales, I do both: practicing to build accuracy by gradually speeding up the metronome, and practicing without a metronome to play musically in one breath.

"Making mistakes is unavoidable; playing (practicing) without emotion is unforgivable."

"If you are completely relaxed, you will stop 'pushing' the keys. Your fingers fall onto the keys. Gravity creates the sound."
For me, this is timeless advice.
If I remember correctly, I think this was originally advice from Chopin.

"Keep Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in your repertoire."
This is what a professor told me when I was at the conservatory.
I was supposed to play the Well-Tempered Clavier with a friend for five lunchtime concerts, but my friend declined, so I ended up playing it alone.
There were three things I gained from it: one was that it gave me confidence.
Second, I was able to use the recordings of those concerts even after graduation.
Third, my repertoire increased by five hours' worth of music.
I can still recall them even now if I have a few minutes. (Concert pianist)

"Heart → Brain → Ears → Fingers"

"Listen well first"

"Be the CEO of yourself" (Professional pianist)

How was it?

There was a lot of advice to practice slowly.

When I have 10 minutes left, I always struggle with whether to play a 5-minute piece twice or play it once slowly.
And my pattern is to play it twice and regret it.

#ConsistencyIsKey #AdultPiano #SeniorLife #PianoPractice #AdultHobby #PianoBeginner #RestartingPiano #PerformanceVideo #SelfTaughtPiano