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For this blog, I want to share with you a few tips which made me a better pianist. 1. Age will be your advantage One of the big differences between learning piano as an adult and children is that you have more patience and more passion for playing. Kids are often put in lessons by their parents, some kids love it but some hate it. Also, nobody is going to force you to practice so you can decide how much pressure you want to give yourself depending on your flexibility.  2. Make Active listening part of your Practice Routine My teacher told me, a good player has to know how to distinguish a good sound and how to imitate it. In order to achieve this, we have to develop a good ear. Imagine yourself with your instrument, do you have an idea of how the song is going, can you tell which chord has been played and in root position or inversions? Does the song change key? If you listen and try to distinguish frequently you will gradually develop these techniques. 3. Work on your Problem Area...

      Hi, everyone! I will do a brief introduction first. I am Rachel Xu, a super senior at the University of Washington studying vocal performance major. I am very interested in piano as well and I passed the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) eighth grade piano exam a year ago. I am now teaching voice and piano in my free time and it is my last quarter at UW. This is my first blog so I decided to talk about something I encountered with piano teaching.      I have always wanted to play the piano as a kid but my parents couldn't afford to buy a piano. I started learning piano at the age of 19, so I have a lot of experience with adults learning the piano. First thing you have to keep in mind: It is never too late to play the piano as an adult. As a pianist, I always thought I started playing the piano too late and gradually I feel unconfident. I will tell you this: If your goal is to become a piano star, you might want to start early. If ...