Are you struggling to make practicing the piano a priority?
Have you lost your desire to “go for the gold”?
Recently, the mother of a young student told me that she was concerned about her daughter’s lack of motivation to practice the piano.
When I questioned Katy about this issue, she told me that she needed inspiration… and that it was my job as her teacher to inspire her.
You may feel the same way.
But what happens when your goal to improve your piano playing needs daily inspiration?
How will you get it?
Composer Maurice Ravel said that inspiration comes as a result of daily work (practice).
Business guru Michael Gerber, in his book E-Myth Mastery, sheds more light on this subject:
“organization…is the fountainhead for inspiration….people have a container within which to be their most creative.”
But how can you get inspiration and use it to succeed?
3 Building Blocks for Successful Piano Playing
?Organization: look at each of the parts of your musical program
o Your Music: Are the books and/or the sheet music for the pieces you want to learn all together in one place as well as clear and easy to read with any necessary place marks in the books? See my article about organizing your music. Your Practice Spot: Do you have good lighting, a comfortable seat or bench, an area free from noise and distractions? How is your energy level? Will you be able to concentrate? Here are some ideas to help you use your practice spot to succeed.
o Your Schedule: Have you set aside times during the week when you plan to practice? This could be at different times on certain days, but you need to have blocks of time (even 15 minute spots) scheduled for each day.
o Your Goals & Priorities: Have you selected the songs you really want to play? Are you practicing difficult sections several times so that you can master them? Do you have a target date for learning each of your pieces? Take a look at these tips for success.
? Inspiration: Once you have put each of the elements of organization into your practicing routine, you will have a plan to follow. As soon as you start using this success building structure on a regular basis, you will notice an increase of inspiration.
You will start noticing that you are more focused, more confident and more energized.
? Motivation: When you start seeing results and hearing improvement, you’ll become much more enthusiastic. Organization plus inspiration will give you the motivation to practice more often, more effectively and more successfully. You will amaze yourself which how much better you can play, and as a result you’ll want to practice.
Action Exercises
Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, create your success structure by putting the organization of your music, your practice spot, your schedule and your goals & priorities into place.
Second, start following your plan and commit to making this new way of practicing a success habit. The longer you maintain this discipline, the more enthusiastic you will become. Inspiration will increase and energize your daily work.
Third, remember that the way to keep the motivation to persevere on your journey to successful piano playing is to create and apply organization to your practicing routine. The more consistent you become with this, the more you will experience inspiration.
If you want to get great results from all of your piano lessons and really succeed, combine the Three Building Blocks: Organization + Inspiration + Motivation.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your piano playing will sound super! Before you know it, you’ll have plenty of motivation to succeed because you started with organization which gave you inspiration!
Copyright © 2007 by Ed Mascari ed@edmascari.com
