Why Practising Piano is Both Challenging and Rewarding
Overcoming Common Challenges in Piano Practice
Technique, style, coordination, sight-reading, fluency, harmony, rhythm, articulation… These are the most common challenges a pianist faces while practicing. Ultimately, these are the tools that a musician needs to develop to reach proficiency and expressivity. Any motivated individual aiming to achieve a competitive level with their instrument will find themselves busy with these challenges for decades.
Music as a Collective Expression
There is, however, a less obvious set of challenges that are deeper and harder to define. These challenges often go unnoticed because they are tied to our individual perceptions of music and our unique experiences. Music has the power to touch us collectively, resonating with our sense of community, friendship, and personal emotions, whether we are in the audience or performing on stage.
Understanding these deeper aspects of music’s impact can help us see why the process of practising an instrument is often filled with unexpected hurdles. These challenges lie within the music itself, making practice not just a technical task but a journey of personal discovery and growth.
Pleasure vs. Method
Listening to music provides a sense of freedom and joy—it’s an emotional, intellectual, and even physical pleasure. But when it comes to playing and practising music, this sense of liberation often turns into frustration and rigidity.
- Emotional freedom: Think of how music helps release our melancholy, sadness, or joy.
- Intellectual freedom: Consider the awe inspired by a Beethoven Symphony or a Bach Mass, hinting at a deeper universal meaning.
- Physical freedom: Music often moves us to dance, channeling our instinctual energy into physical expression.
However, many students struggle to find this same sense of liberation in their practice sessions. Practising often feels like a chore, a repetitive exercise that lacks the joy of simply listening to or playing music spontaneously.
Creating a Fulfilling Experience
We all crave the fulfillment that comes from playing music, but we struggle to accept the discipline and challenges that practice demands. A good method can help by providing structure and clarity, guiding us through the complexities of learning. However, the method should not come at the cost of joy—it should enhance our enjoyment of playing, not stifle it.
Freedom through Planning, Self-Control & Order
It might seem contradictory to find freedom through planning and self-discipline, yet this balance is essential to progress in music. The true art of practice is finding the right mix of discipline and creativity that allows both pleasure and productivity to coexist.
Methods and structured practice plans are crucial for development, but they should never completely replace the joy of playing. The goal is to find a line where pleasure and discipline meet—a line that changes as we grow and learn. This is what makes practice both challenging and deeply meaningful.
