10 minutes.
10 minutes a day.
That’s all it takes.
10 minutes of practice a day is all it takes to learn how to play piano.
When you’re either learning something new or trying to get better at what you already know, piano practice can sometimes feel daunting and overwhelming to start working into your schedule.
But I have great news!
All it takes is 10 minutes a day.
I know you’re probably raising an eyebrow at me and waiting for the punchline, but there really isn’t one. You know the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Well that’s especially true with increasing your musical skills.
Too many people start out with either immeasurable goals, or too many of them. When you don’t have small goals that are achievable, then you won’t be able to measure if you’re making progress, and that’s one of the main reasons people quit.
But that isn’t going to be you!
Because you’re here and you’re reading this.
And I’m going to help you break down that elephant into bite-sized pieces.
EVERYONE HAS 10 MINUTES
Ok, here’s how it’s done, are you ready?
- Step 1. Grab this Circle of Fifths and this free set of 2 Hanon exercises.
- Step 2. Play them.
Seriously though, if you play through your scales and one Hanon exercise or drill each day, that takes about 10minutes. If you need help learning your scales, contact me and I’ll point you in the right direction!
Everyone can find 10 minutes in their day.
I frequently hear the question, “Isn’t it better to practice for a full 30-40 minutes each day?”
Well yes, of course it is! But it isn’t required.
That would be your goal and something to work toward. But if you’re going through a busy season, or if you’re struggling to fit that kind of timeslot into your day, it’s going to be more worthwhile to narrow your focus down to 10-minutes a day and KEEP AT IT.
Don’t fall prey to the temptation to put it off and then aim to double down with a super long practice session. That’s not a constructive habit to begin with and now you know that it’s really not even particularly effective.
Not everyone can fit in an extra 30 minutes, 5x a day.
But EVERYONE has 10 minutes.
There have been busy seasons when I have gotten in bed and then realized, “Rats, I didn’t practice today.” So I got myself out of bed, against my will, and spent 10 minutes running some exercises. Then got back into bed, knowing I’d still conquered my goals.
Everyone has 10 minutes.
Sometimes you just need to decide that it’s worth it. Investing in yourself is worth it. Stewarding the gift and call God has given you is worth it.
Everyone has 10 minutes.
Just play your scales and one exercise.
That’s 10 minutes.
That’s enough to make some serious progress.
CONSISTENCY VS. PERFECTION
You see, what is most important is consistency. Consistency is better than perfection. In fact, when it comes to the motor skill needed to get better at piano, playing for 10-minutes a day, 6 days a week is FAR BETTER than playing for 1 hour, 1 day a week.
Same amount of time.
But one is MUCH better than the other.
Even if you’re not in a busy season of life, sometimes starting small will be what it takes to build for the long-game. Often as you start getting very consistent with 10 minutes, that amount of time will naturally increase to 15, and then 20 and up.
Or it turns into 10-minutes in the morning and then again in the evening. Or a quick run-through as you’re walking past your keyboard or piano because it’s getting fun and you know it doesn’t take long. And I won’t lie, ALL my students wind up loving Hanon cuz it makes you sound way more advanced than you actually are and shhhh… no one will ever know how easy it is to learn. 👀🤫
It’s about repetitions.
It’s about daily consistency.
It’s about not giving up.
That’s what’s going to move the needle. That’s what’s going to take down the elephant.
Weekly Challenge 💪🏻
Create an actual 10-min appointment in your calendar (or write it in if you’re a paper-and-pencil type) for 5 days this next week. Then sit down during that time, set a timer, and work through your scales and a Hanon exercise. When the timer stops, you’re done, no matter how far you’ve gotten!
Practice that this week and then tell us how many you were able to achieve on Takeaway Tuesday! Remember, consistency… not perfection.
Drill of the Week! 🎶
This week’s drill is a skill drill called the Thumb Tuck!
CLICK HERE to view the demonstration
When you play your scales, it is tempting to move your entire arm when tucking your thumbs under to finish out the last half of the scale. But in reality, that is supposed to be a simple thumb tuck under and your elbow shouldn’t move.
This exercise will help stretch those muscles and train them how to tuck under smoothly.
If you’ve done this one before, make a mental note of how much faster you can go now compared to last time!
Practice this one about 20x per hand, it’s super quick!
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