How many times have you said to yourself?
- This music keeps falling off the piano.
- Where is that song? I can never find the page.
- When am I going to do something about this music?
- I'm tired of stopping in the middle of the piece just to turn the page.
- I can't believe it, the recital was only three weeks ago, and I forgot how much I liked that piece.
Think about how frustrated you have been by trying to deal with the majority of your musical material constantly in such a mess!
Think of how many times you couldn't face going to the piano simply because the thought of pulling your music together was far too overwhelming.
Wouldn't you like to maximize the return on the investment that you have made and continue to make in your musical development?
As they say in the business world:
What's your ROI (Return On Investment)?
After countless hours of practice, many years of piano lessons, hundreds of dollars spent on instruction and sheet music, you're stuck, frustrated and immobilized.
Why not take advantage of your freer summer season schedule to stay connected to your musical favorites?
Here's how: just follow this simple step-by-step method:
1. Pull all of your music books together into one place
2. Look through one book at a time to remind yourself which pieces you enjoy playing and mark each piece with a post-it note or paper clip
3. Make photocopies of each selection
4. Sort all of the music into stacks of categories.
5. Here are some suggested types of groups:
a) Classical and popular styles
b) Fast and slow tempos
c) By composer, group or singer
d) Key signature
6. Pick an organizing system
a) Looseleaf books with non-glare page protectors
b) Pocket folders (put labels on the front)
c) File folders: staple each piece onto a folder and put these into a portable filing system
7. Experiment: once the music is organized in one of these three ways, you can change the order or arrangement of music for a few practice sessions until it feels satisfying.
One Final Note
Organizing your music is a surefire method for increasing your return on investment.
Yes, it will take some effort, but it will really pay off.
You will have created a dependable tool which is guaranteed to energize your musical growth and development.
You will gain a whole new perspective on practicing the piano, and you'll feel great about yourself!
It's Not Too Late!
Copyright © 2007 by Ed Mascari
Ed Mascari has been teaching piano privately to children and adults for nearly three decades. He is a seasoned performer (pianist/ jazz organist) of show tunes, jazz and popular music as well as a published classical composer and church musician. Visit Ed's website at: http://www.mykeyboardsuccess.com
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