Whether you already play piano or are about to learn, you want to play well. Maybe you want to impress your family. Or perhaps you want to be able to impress your friends. Maybe you simply want to play well for your own enjoyment. There are many things you can do to ensure that you don't fall into any bad habits while perfecting your playing. This article will offer some piano playing tips that will help you develop your skills.

Tip #1: One Hand At A Time

When learning to play a new piece, begin by playing with only one hand. Learn the hand movements and play the piece with each hand separately. If you are right-handed, this exercise will strengthen your left hand. Once you know how to play the piece with each hand separately, you may be surprised how easy it is to play it with both hands.

Tip #2: Foot Off The Pedals

When playing a piece that normally requires the use of the pedals, try playing the piece without the pedals. Doing so will allow you to hear the passages more clearly and identify any notes that sound wrong, ill-timed, or uneven. When using this tip, take care not to "hold" notes in an attempt to mirror with your fingers what the pedal would normally do.

Tip #3: Use Variety While Practicing

Any piano playing tips that are effective will focus on your mind. While strengthening your hands and fingers and gaining coordination in them is important, your brain will naturally begin to tune things out after a prolonged period of time. When learning a piece or practicing scales, use a little variety to keep your mind interested. Doing this will strengthen your memory.

Tip #4: Be Regimented While Practicing

Though you may be tempted to simply sit down and play when practicing, resist this temptation. This often results in developing bad habits that can impair your playing ability in the future. Instead, resolve to follow a regimented practice routine when learning or improving upon techniques. You may find that doing so allows you to learn to play pieces efficiently in half the time it would normally take. But, make sure to also give yourself some time to "just play" during your practice session. Balance is productive.

5. Change your practice routine every three to six weeks. While it is important to have a consistently balanced practice routine, that doesn't mean you have to practice the same stuff in the same way forever. Change to a different warm up plan once in a while and you'll learn piano in a more holistic way mentally. Throw in different chord scales into your warm ups as you learn piano. Learn a different style or piece now and then. You may think if you like one style of piano piece better than others the best way to learn piano is to concentrate on that style. It is true that you should spend the most time on the style you like the best, but learning as many styles as possible will actually increase your versatility within the style you like best. You may even find yourself mixing in some things to create a whole new style of music that is your own as you learn piano.