15-Minute Piano Practice
WHEN FACING A TIME CRUNCH…
If your schedule is packed with urgent work responsibilities or family duties over the next week or two, don't worry! A focused 15-minute practice session can guarantee you stay connected with your piano and keep your skills sharp until you're able to devote more time.
To get the most out of these 15 minutes, you will need a clear practice plan in mind so each minute delivers maximum benefits. This short essay clarifies the practice plan.
This plan is designed approximately for the intermediate piano student, but it can be modified for the elementary piano student or intensified for the advanced pianist.
WARM-UP EXERCISE
Dedicate the first half of your 15-minute practice to an energizing, athletic keyboard workout that keeps your technique alert and flexible, so you are in good condition when your schedule clears up again.
Just like professional athletes, you can kick off your warm-up with Hanon’s first exercise. Begin by playing it in contrary motion, using a slow, heavy touch—and feel the strength and articulation of each finger.
Next, repeat the same exercise in parallel motion at a slightly faster pace, using a lighter touch. Then, move on to a different Hanon exercise, played quickly with a lighter weight. Listen for clarity and evenness.
This quick warm-up will take just 90 seconds, giving you a positive start to your 15-Minute Piano Workout.
SCALE OF THE DAY
Choose a ‘scale of the day’. First, play slowly up and down one octave with a firm touch to reconnect with that scale. Then, double the tempo and expand to two octaves with a lighter touch. If you prefer, you can play three or four octaves. While you're at it, play all three minor scales: natural, harmonic, and melodic.
WHY BOTHER WITH SCALES?
Playing those major and minor scales will only take you three minutes, and they are well worth your time. Scales are the basis of understanding intervals and chords, so it is to your advantage to keep all the scale patterns at your fingertips.
A helpful guide is Alfred’s Complete Book of Scales, Arpeggios, and Cadences.
CADENCES & CHORDS
Now take just 30 seconds to play cadences in the same scale of the day, and play them in both major and minor. The Alfred Scale Book is, again, a good reference.
Now play full octave chords with a firm, strong grasp. Play up each inversion and back down in both major and minor. In both your fingers and the bridge of your hands, feel the strength and security of your grip.
ARPEGGIOS
Moving forward, turn those octave chords into broken chords, rolling them back and forth slowly and with a heavy touch.
Then, double the tempo and turn them into arpeggios, playing them up and down at least two octaves, in both major and minor, at least three times. Broken chords and arpeggios promote both your strength and finger independence.
DIMINISHED ARPEGGIOS
Diminished arpeggios are a terrific exercise to build both finger independence and strength!
Begin the diminished chord just like you do with the Hanon exercises—start with the same method in contrary motion, making sure to emphasize each finger clearly. Continue by practicing the diminished arpeggios in parallel motion a few times, playing up and down two octaves. Repeat this at least three times for the best results.
Feel free to experiment with different types of arpeggios; a helpful resource is “Essential Finger Exercises” by Ernst Dohnanyi.
MOVING FORWARD…
That wraps up the athletic workout. You have developed strength with slow heavy movements in various configurations and cultivated elasticity, speed, and touch with lighter, faster movements.
All of that in just 8 minutes!
SIGHT-READING
In the last seven minutes of your 15-minute workout, you’ll be sight-reading. Nothing keeps the musical mind sharper than sight-reading!
Improvising can be fascinating, but it’s easy to get lost in a dreamland without really getting anywhere, and we don’t really have time for that today. And with repertoire, we can fall into an over-rehearsed routine that doesn’t challenge us enough in just seven minutes.
But sight-reading demands total alertness every moment. And by any standard, sight-reading is a great skill for any pianist to develop!
CHOOSE THE RIGHT MATERIAL
Sight-read with music that is at least two or three levels below your current technical level. That would be music you can read at a moderate but consistent tempo without playing too many wrong notes or having to stop and start constantly.
VISUALLY SCAN THE MUSIC
Before playing, check the key and time signatures. Visually scan over the music to take note of the various types of configurations the composer uses and the general form of the music.
Every composition has a rhythmic pulse. You want to find what that pulse is. Then, at a slow and consistent tempo, visually read the first couple of measures of the piece with that pulse, and without skipping a beat, play right into that pulse.
After you have played through the piece, see if any rough spots that could use smoothing out. Play through a second time, playing slightly faster and with more confidence. You can play a third time, if you wish, before moving on.
And before you know it, those 15 minutes really flew by!
You've accomplished a vigorous technical workout; you will maintain your hard-won technique while improving your sight-reading skills. Short piano sessions can be surprisingly effective when intelligently planned.
Once your schedule frees up again, you'll be able to take quality time to practice the repertoire you love, exploring your choices in fingering, pedalling, and phrasing.
