Start Practicing Piano Again

This lesson is all about how to start practicing piano again, if you have found yourself unable to get motivated or inspired to sit at the keys.

How do you get to that point?

It usually goes like this…

You miss a day of practice. No big deal, you’ll just catch up tomorrow.

Then another day goes by. And another. And another.

And before you know it, it’s been weeks (or even months) since you last sat down at the keys.

And your piano…

Is quickly becoming an expensive piece of furniture.

Kaitlyn knows that feeling all too well.

She started learning with Pianote in 2019 and was making fantastic progress, even playing in her very first Christmas concert.

But then it happened.

“I felt like I was struggling a bit so I kinda just … gave up.” ~ Kaitlyn

This is completely normal!

You’ll know when you reach a point where things start to get more challenging. The rapid progress you have become used to slows down, and it feels harder and harder to get results.

So here are some strategies to help you get reinspired and start practicing piano again.

Remember WHY you wanted to learn

This is key.

Tapping into WHY you wanted to learn the piano in the first place will help you get motivated and excited to start playing it again.

We all learn for different reasons. So what’s yours?

For Kaityln, it was all about playing songs.

So we’re going to USE songs to help her get motivated to sit down and start practicing.

Come up with a plan – and keep it SIMPLE

If you’ve been away from the piano for weeks or months, you can’t just sit down and expect to be at the same level you were when you last played.

So it’s super important you have a clear plan for your practice. What are you going to play?

And a super important part of that plan…

Is to keep it SIMPLE!

Start with something easy that’s also beautiful to listen to. For Kaitlyn, that was exploring the chords within C major and finding the notes that sound good together.

It’s not technically difficult but still beautiful to hear. Plus, she’s helping her fingers get used to the sensation of playing again, while also feeling really positive about WHAT she’s playing.

“It felt like I was actually being able to play instead of feeling frustrated NOT being able to play the song I wanted to play.” ~ Kaitlyn

Because if you come back to the piano with a big, intimidating list of things to accomplish, you can feel overwhelmed.

Which is exactly what drove Kaitlyn to stop playing in the first place.

Play songs

This ties in with the first point. Kaitlyn wanted to play songs on the piano, so it makes sense that learning songs will help her feel inspired to keep practicing.

The key is to choose simple songs.

For Kaitlyn, it’s the song “I See The Light” from the Disney movie Tangled.

🎹 Play REAL Songs…The Ones You Love 🎵

The best way to learn music is by playing, not reading. Start off on a good note with our 500 Songs in 5 Days course pack. Free with your Pianote membership.

START PLAYING SONGS TODAY

But here’s the thing…

We’re not going to start with the song itself.

We’re only going to look at the CHORDS that are used in the song. This is a simpler and less intimidating way to approach learning the song.

Because Kaitlyn won’t have the immediate stress of trying to sound exactly like the recording.

It also helps her get used to the chord shapes and feel comfortable moving around the keyboard so that when she IS ready to play the entire song, it will feel more familiar and she’ll have a greater chance of success.

Always keep it simple.

Be kind to yourself

I can’t stress this enough.

Be gentle with yourself. There is no pressure or anything that you HAVE to accomplish.

Playing the piano should be FUN.

Talking down to yourself about why you aren’t better or why you haven’t been practicing does not help you get better.

It only makes you feel worse.

And a great way to help with this is my final point…

Find a community

As piano players, I feel like we have a habit of being very independent and isolated from our fellow musicians.

Having a community to be part of is so useful for encouragement and support.

You can hear stories from other players who have gone through the exact same experience as you, and get advice on how to stay motivated.

Plus, it’s so great to have someone to share your successes with!

It’s one of the reasons I love Pianote so much. We have the best online community of learners who are nothing but encouraging and supportive of each other.

You can try Pianote free for 7 days by clicking here.

And once you sign up, come and say HI in the community forum and discover how amazing it is to learn with other piano players from all over the world.

Good luck, and I hope these tips have been helpful to inspire you to start practicing piano again.

SHARE THIS: