When first beginning to play piano, many people acquire bad habits. These habits will make it more difficult for you to learn and master this art and can make practicing a very frustrating experience. As a piano beginner, you may not even realize that you have developed these bad habits, but continuing these will make the learning process much longer than it needs to be. Here are 5 habits that you must not develop.
1. Not sitting correctly at the piano
The way you sit and position your arms and hands directly affects how well and easily you are able to play. Your back should be straight, shoulders relaxed, upper arms vertical, forearms and hands horizontal and fingertips resting comfortably on the keys.
2. Being tense….Not having your fingers totally relaxed
In order for you to play smooth and eventually professional sounding, your fingers must be relaxed. Flex your fingers regularly to loosen up the joints, and practice moving your fingers across the keys in a smooth and relaxed manner.
3. Not making sure that you are playing each note with the correct finger
This is a big no no! Always make sure that you are playing using the correct finger for each note. Follow the finger numbers until you know them by memory.
4. Skimping through the music….Not reading the music correctly
You must make sure that you have your timing and rhythm right. As a beginner, you can not skimp through the music because it will throw the song off. Not skimping means that you may have to play very slowly initially, but don’t worry about that. You will eventually speed up. A piano pro can skimp through the music and get away with it, still sounding great. A piano beginner can not. Don’t try to play like a pro. Read the music correctly each time.
5. Not keeping your fingers on each key long enough so that the note will last for the correct number of beats.
Make sure that you are counting out the timing of each note so that you will know how long each note should last and how long each rest should last. This is what makes the music sound right. If you don’t master this, your song will consistently be off beat. Make sure that you understand the timing of each tune.
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