Here are practical tips and suggestions on How To Play Piano Songs. Find useful tricks to learn piano songs fast.
Okay, so you have taken the initial steps towards learning the piano; be it going to your teacher for regular piano lessons or, if you are learning on you own, going through the lessons in the piano hand book.
You are putting in the efforts, practicing regularly and have been doing it for a few months now, in which case, you would be able to play a few simple songs by now.
The obvious challenge is when you feel like playing some of your favorite songs, which may be a bit difficult or may be lengthier than some of the songs you have been playing till now.
Nevertheless, you want to play those; so here are some tips on how to play piano songs that you may be struggling with to play.
Break It Down
Whether you are playing by ear or sight-reading, it is always a good idea to approach a difficult song by breaking it down into pieces. Try to play 8 bars or 16 bars at a time (you may even go for 4 bars of notes for most piano songs), depending on the size of the song. Once you are comfortable with one section, move onto the next set of bars. Finally, play through the entire song. Follow a similar approach when playing by ear.
Lower the Pace
So why is it important to lower the pace, also known as the temp, of a song?
Here is the explanation; very important if you want to learn piano songs!
The muscular memory of our bodies allows us to physically carry out patterns of motion with little or no conscious involvement. Examples of muscular memory include walking, riding a bicycle, typing, and of course playing a musical instrument.
In order to memorize something new, the muscles need to repeat certain things based on conscious guidance from the mind.
To begin with the mind itself must first understand the pattern, and only then the mind can coach the pattern to the muscles.
The mind to begin with will have to control all the motions of the muscles. The better controlled and precise the motions, the more quickly the muscles are likely to develop muscle memory.
How to Play Difficult Passages on Piano
If you encounter a passage which is difficult to play, try playing that passage at a much lower tempo. This is the secret of how to play piano songs! You need to reduce the tempo to a level where you would be able to play the difficult passage easily and with the correct fingering. Stick to that passage until you are able to play it without any mistake at-least 3 consecutive times, only then proceed ahead to the next section.
Benefits of Reducing Tempo
Practicing slowly (at a lower tempo) also has other benefits.
It allows the mind to teach “antagonistic muscles” to relax. And what are these? Well, antagonistic muscles are the types which move in contrary directions. In piano, you have many instances where you have to do this.
By relaxing antagonistic muscles you’ll be able to cut down the tension and help faster and easier performance and also steer clear of potential injury.
That’s it then. You just learn a useful trick to learn a new song quickly. Learning to play the piano is not that hard you see.
Choose Songs Carefully
Though these steps apply to most of the songs, you also need to be aware of your capability. If you are not able to play a particular song with the above approaches, you may not be ready yet to attempt those songs. In that case, keep that music aside & pick up simpler songs for the piano, stick to your regular piano practice and attempt that song after a couple of months. So choose easy songs for piano initially!
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Summary: How To Play Piano Songs
It is important to make the most out of your piano practice session by learning to practice in a more efficient manner. These useful tips will help you to learn songs on piano. It could be your favorite song that you desperately want to play before a special occasion or if you want to impress someone special. Even if the song seems daunting initially you can learn to play it fast, provided you follow this trick.
See Also
More on Piano technique
More on Piano Lessons and Songs
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