Table of Contents
Do you want to get your piano skills to the next level?
Use your brain!
OK, said like that it sounds rude.
What I mean is that you can train your brain to get better on the piano using mental visualization.
Let’s see what that means!
Watch the video:
What is mental visualization?
This mental practice is not new.
It has been used in many disciplines, including sports and music.
The main idea is to create an imaginary situation as realistic as possible.
In music, you will live mentally the whole performance before actually doing it.
Why use mental visualization?
When you visualize a situation such as playing a piano piece, your brain engages fully in the experience.
Since your hands, your fingers are controlled by your brain, if you fine tune the wiring of your brain, you will improve your playing.
Also, it can be seen as a kind of meditation. This technique will bring you in a relaxed and focused state particularly good to learn new things.
It is used by many professional musicians before a concert as a preparation. Why not use the same tools as professionals to grow your musical skills faster?
How to use mental visualization to get better on the piano?
The best way to use it is to focus on a particular goal.
As I recommended elsewhere, practicing with a purpose, an intention already set you for accelerated learning.
But you can combine that with mental visualization.
Let’s take an example.
You want to play a song on the piano. Or learn a new song.
Before starting your practice session, relax, close your eyes if you want to.
Now, imagine yourself playing this song perfectly well.
Try to live this situation the most realistically you can.
Feel the keys under your finger, how they move when you press them.
Ear the sounds you would produce.
Feel the emotions of the song, the rhythm.
Do this from the start of the song till the end.
It might seem a bit awkward at first. A bit difficult to be focused for the whole song.
That’s ok. It is a new technique you are learning. You need to get used to it, to practice.
Set this new habit at the beginning of each session.
I took the example of a song, but it is useful for any kind of practice.
Even before doing a simple exercise such as playing a scale.
Conclusion
This is powerful and will help you get better and faster than your usual practice routine.
Don’t forget that music, and playing the piano in particular, originates from your brain. Nothing surprising that training it will help you to actually play notes on your instrument.
