So I have a student on Crenshaw, Los Angeles, and the other day I’ve asked her “What do you do when you get frustrated when you do your piano practice?”

She said… to step away! And we both started laughing and to this date I still make fun of her about this.

Ok, there may be instances where it is applicable but in most cases no.

There are many reasons why a person would start to frustrated when practicing piano and are some of the guidelines that I have seen work:

• Slow down. As you got frustrated, that part you were practicing right then or right before it, you may be practicing it too fast. Sometimes it takes longer to “digest” a section. Slow down for that particular part. There is much more about this “slowing down” tip but for now that’ll do.
• Find out which point in your practice your were doing fine and when it turned to the “dark side” A few things may have happened right there where it got messy and buttered with frustration. And at that point, one of several things may have happened: you skipped over something you didn’t fully understand, you didn’t fully master a section and were practicing it too fast, you continued pounding yourself on a section you already did well to a point of total slavery, and a bunch of other things.
• You may have started to practice in a hurry being concerned about things that are external to your piano practice. In that case, you may just want to realize it and either continue your practice or if it’s really urgent or bugging you, end your practice and go handle it!
• You may be just straight tired and/or hungry
• And though you should use this one as an excuse for being frustrated and finding fault in others, you may have had an upset with someone making it hard to practice. When you practice…. well, you practice. And if you’re going to waste your time semi-practicing and thinking about upsets, well then, don’t practice OR just push it aside, push through it and zero in on your practice and move forward. Though I recommend that after your practice, you repair the upset you had with the person or whatever was bugging you.

Interestingly enough, the first 2 points are probably the most common. Many time students will practice too fast, skip something and start being frustrated.

I teach piano in Hollywood and many different parts of Los Angeles (Burbank, Glendale, the Valley, Shadow Hills, Tujunga and Sunland) and if you are interested in piano lessons you can always reach me at 323-953-1655.

Patrick
info@lapianolessons.com