By Max Walker

Everyone knows that to gain proficiency in anything, one must practice diligently. This is where we often hear the saying “if you devote ten thousand hours to your craft, you will become a master”. However, while practice is necessary to master any skill, it is not quite as simple as doing anything related to your craft for a vast amount of time. To truly master something, you must not only practice, you must practice right. While there are a multitude of angles for looking at smart practice, I will be covering several categories that have helped shape my own practice routines. These three ‘pillars’ of practice are: consistency, focus, and variety. I hope that this outline might shed some light on mapping out a daily routine, and maintaining it.

By Esther Joh

There is a population explosion of older people, many of whom are eager to study the piano. Therefore greater attention than ever before is currently focused on instructional techniques and materials for the person who begins piano study later. Claims are made that within the past few years more adults have begun piano instruction than children. A relatively large number of books have appeared since 1960 whose titles indicate that they are written for the adult beginner. Articles in professional magazines offer advice on what must be borne in mind when merits of offering instruction for the adult beginner. Since the title “adult beginner” is elusive, the authors of “The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher” classified six categories of adult students:

The Secret to Practicing Smart

Teaching The Adult Beginner