right now i practice anywhere between 4-5 hours a day while preparing for college auditions. but after reading biographies i notice that some pianists would do up to 10-14 hours a day, and one of my friends told me that his minimum was 4-5 hours 😭 and he usually can go to 8. but also according to lots of research it says that anything after 6 is potentially harmful and counterproductive. what are your guys’ thoughts on practice hours?

I've wanted to learn music for years—not just to play songs, but to understand music deeply and eventually compose my own. Unfortunately, I always ended up telling myself, "I'll start learning once I buy an instrument." As a result, I never actually started, and at 23 I'm still basically music-illiterate.

I'm currently preparing for internships/jobs, so buying a digital piano will probably have to wait another 3–4 months. Instead of letting that time go to waste, I want to build as much musical knowledge as possible so that when I finally get a piano, I can focus on playing instead of starting from absolute zero.

So far, I've been thinking about learning things like:

• Ear training and active listening
• Music theory and harmony
• Reading sheet music
• Rhythm training
• Relative pitch
• Song analysis
• Basic piano fundamentals (without an instrument)
• Finger independence and coordination exercises
• Score analysis

The problem is that these are all huge topics, and I have no idea which ones would actually give me the biggest head start.

I'd really love to hear from people who have been through this themselves or want to guide me in this.

• If you had 3–4 months before your first piano, what would you focus on that would help later in your journey?
• Since my long-term goal is composing rather than performing, would you approach things differently?
• Which of these skills will genuinely make learning piano easier later, and which ones aren't worth worrying about yet?
• Are there any daily routines(like listening to scores or anything) that you'd consider a high return on investment?
• Finally, are there any piano pieces or scores that every aspiring composer should study (classical or otherwise)?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences—whether you're self-taught, classically trained, or somewhere in between. Any advice, resources, or even mistakes you wish you'd avoided when you started would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to learning from all of you.

P.S. I am new to reddit and this is my first post here so pardon my English and reddit etiquettes.

Thanks everyone for the detailed responses—really appreciate it. I wanted to summarize the main themes.

From the discussion, there seems to be a general consensus that the most useful early foundations are:

1. Notation & Reading Music

• Treble and bass clef
• Rhythm values and time signatures
• Key signatures and basic dynamics

2. Rhythm & Internal Timing

• Clapping/tapping along to music
• Developing a steady internal pulse
• Understanding rhythm independently of pitch

3. Ear Training

• Interval recognition (very commonly emphasized)
• Hearing scales and basic harmonic movement
• Connecting sound to notation

4. Scales → Chords → Harmony

• Major and minor scales
• Building triads and 7th chords from scales
• Understanding chord relationships (functional harmony / Roman numerals)

5. Applying Theory in Practice

• Using tools like apps, keyboard, DAWs, or notation software
• Connecting written theory to actual sound
• Learning through experimentation rather than theory alone

6. Progressive Learning / Keeping it Simple

• Starting with simple melodies and basic reading before complexity
• Developing understanding gradually rather than jumping into advanced concepts

Overall takeaway

The advice seems to converge on building notation + rhythm + ear training first, then gradually moving into harmony and composition, while keeping learning progressive and grounded in simple musical material.

More responses are welcome ❤️

I passed my Trinity grade 8 last year and want to start preparation for the ATCL exam.
I just looked at the repertoire list and it's close to 250 pieces 😵
I'm currently not with a teacher since my family aren't in a great place financially, but do you think I should consult with a teacher on which pieces I should prepare instead of choosing them myself? Any advice from current students or students who passed the ATCL?
Thanks in advance!

I’m thinking about starting to learn Mozart’s Piano Sonata K.279, but I have a question about the tempo.
The score says Allegro, but I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to play it at around 120 BPM. Even if I could, I’m not sure I would actually like how it sounds at that speed, especially because of measures 14 and 15, which close the first theme and seem technically quite demanding.
Would it still make musical sense to play the movement at around 80 BPM, or would that make it lose too much of its character? I’m curious to hear what more experienced pianists think.

Hi all, i've been playing piano for several years, cumulatively, but only been serious about lessons in the past year or so, playing somewhat intermediate repertoire (2part inventions etc) but nothing advanced yet.

one thing i thought i was missing was ear skills so over the past couple of months, i taught myself, using apps, some ear skills:

- scale degree recognition (benbassat method) and am pretty accurate for all diatonic degrees of the major or minor scale (>95%) but not chromatic degrees.

- melodic interval recognition (harmonic feels much harder to me): more around 80-85% accurate whether within one octave or for compound intervals (the 10th feels like a major 3rd but 'wide', etc)

- chord quality: still sometimes struggle with augmented vs diminished

- scale type recognition: easy as long as we stay with major and the 3 minors (i cannot do modes)

- 7ths: only ones i find easy are dominant ones to tell by ear.

you get the idea. now the thing is i don't know what to do with...that? how do i make use of these skills at the keyboard? what improvements should i expect from this if i'm just gonna be playing repertoire by the sheet?

i can remember a piece of music and more or less plod along a single note melody on the keyboard with a bit of trial and error (i have done this for some main themes in chopin's 2nd and 4th ballade for example - right hand only).

in some cases, i have accurate pitch memory (but not perfect pitch overall) and will start on the exact right notes (happened to me with pathétique's intro chords because i played something else that started on the same C minor progression, or so i thought, and i was right), but not always. i would struggle to reproduce the bass/harmony, and i certainly can't play by ear anything more than incomplete fragments.

my teacher is doing some harmony and improv work with me, (basically simple right hand melodies with I V I V or I IV V chords in the left hand) but i feel like there is a bridge to be gapped here i just... don't know how, exactly? the app training 'works' and i'm not displeased with my progress within strictly the app context but it feels...disconnected ?

if anyone has tips or ideas i would love it :). TIA !

Hola, soy nuevo en reddit y esta es mi primera publicacion, queria pedir consejos sobre este estudio de chopin, algunos tips o maneras de practicarlo, lo voy a preparar para un concurso para el siguiente año, tambien me gustaria escuchar sus experiencias abordando esta pieza y cualquier consejo que tengan

Hey everyone,

I am going to play the piano for my schools graduation ceremony and for my final song I wanted to improvise over a few farewell songs. But so far I only know 'Auld lang syne' and the german song 'Möge die Straße uns zusammenführen'.

Can you reccomend/name some additional farewell songs that are well-known?

The obvious answer is probably join a group. But it doesn't seem so straightforward. I joined a community orchestra but due to the nature of piano in orchestra, I have rarely had a chance to play with everyone. It took a year after signing up to hear about a part, and then waited an additional 3 years for another opportunity. It's a bit disheartening to see that other musicians have much more opportunity to play, and therefore able to improve. I've played mostly piano solo, although performed very little as well.

Wouldn't all the notes be covered, therefore you'd just use one set of key signatures? Whats the point of the flat key signatures? Maybe I am misunderstanding but getting a grasp on the logic would be much appreciated.

I’m having the hardest time being able to play with and/or be in a chamber music group. It seems there’s an expectation that the piano player either already knows the music or is a master sight reader. Neither is true for me. If I want to play chamber music do I need to spend time learning several trios or quartets before considering playing with other people? I’ve signed up for workshops and classes with beginner players but I’m expected to already know what to do such as lead. And in some cases I’m placed with beginner string players where they’re still learning how to find their notes. It’s a bit frustrating when I can play advanced solo music but can’t keep up with a group or need to just play the bass line when it gets too complicated with the tempo speed.

Hello all! I've been playing piano on and off since I was 6 years old. I'm 27 now. I, to this day, cannot play a single piece with confidence, and I've only ever learned one complex piece well (Rachmaninoff's prelude in C# minor, which I later forgot, and have been trying to relearn but am failing to achieve the same proficiency). I'm debating if I should leave the instrument behind. I have two major problems I've noticed:

1. I have unmedicated ADHD and OCD. Focus and patience are extremely hard and always have been. I have a tendency to play everything too fast, put my hands together too early, ignore warming up, and just generally rush to "hear the piece" rather than actually master it. What usually happens is I get good enough to play something with only a few mistakes, then I get bored and give up because I've rushed through the hard parts so much I messed up my technique and it's too hard to fix, and the excitement is gone so I don't care about the piece anymore.

2. I have severe performance anxiety. As I said above, I've learned some fairly complex pieces, even if not as well as I like, but if someone asks me to play something, I can barely get through the first measure of fur Elise. I almost instantly forget anything I learned, and my OCD makes me obsessively anxious about messing up, so as soon as I start playing I get too in my head and can't play at all. This happens, to a lesser extent, even if I'm alone. If I know a specific part of a piece is giving me trouble, I will get it wrong almost always because I'm so worried about getting it wrong that I panic when I get to it. It probably doesn't help that I was trained by my mother, who was trained under the harsh tutelage of a classical music conservatory in the Soviet Union (where she's from), and thus can be rather harsh herself. Ironically, she, who's worked as a piano teacher and nearly got her Bachelor's in it, has performance anxiety so bad that she dropped out of school because she couldn't play in front of others. Funnily enough, I play guitar too (self-taught), and don't have the same problems at all. Guitar is easy, chill, and I can play in front of others without much issue. I'm a Bard in a DND game, and play the guitar in front of my friends like every week. Granted, it's mostly pop and indie; nothing to match classical piano.

All this to say that piano is stressful, frustrating, and anxiety-inducing. I both love it and hate it. I've put so much time into it, I have so much respect for it, and yet it feels like my worst enemy. I don't want to lose the skill, but sometimes I just don't think I really can get better. And I'm not sure it's worth the stress. Thoughts?