Curve your fingers and play with the tips of your fingers.

Practice slow! It the mistake of many beginning piano players to try and rush when they think they're getting it. Be patient and keep it clean first and foremost. Speed will come gradually on its own.

Tune it or die! This is a funny old saying that applies to all instruments but it is so true and so important. Preferrably, you should have your piano tuned by a professional. Pianos will tune up best in mild, dry temperatures.

Create! Many young piano players are used to reading everything note for note and some never stray from the page. Make yourself play something creative and unique. Challenge yourself to stray from the music now and then and improvise. Let your creative juices flow. - Make music!

Remember to utilize all piano resources at your disposal. Aside from teachers, there are method books, piano dvds, lessons in software packages, internet sites that specialize in piano, and more.

Try to play with other musicians as quickly as possible. This interaction is priceless in applying everything you've learned on the piano to a real-world musical setting.

Avoid scratches on your piano by assuring that any object that are placed on it have something on the bottom to protect the piano (felt, cloth, etc.)

It's been said many times before... practice,practice, practice!

Always use a metronome when practicing. This helps you establish a strong rhythmic base. The more you work with a metronome with piano, the less you'll have to worry about time fluctuatioin. This helps not only you but the band or orchestra you'll be performing in

Clean your piano with a very soft cloth or a feather duster. Do not use furniture polish. Too much of this over time can break down the finish and moisture can get to the wood.

Find a piano teacher that suits your, or your childs, personality. Meet with them before they start training you or your child to see if it will work or not. Get recomendations from others who have studied with them before.

It is important to keep your fingernails trimmed as low as possible. The clicking of your nails against the keys becomes a distraction, especially to your instructor. Because of the angle in which your fingers are required to rest, you should keep your nails leveled with the tip of your finger.

As a technical exercise, try to "dip" your hand toward the direction it is playing a run. For example, if you are playing a two octave ascending C major scale with both hands, tilt your hands slightly so that your right pinkie and left thumb are the closest fingers to the keyboard. Hanon exercises are good for implementing this widely approved technique.

Many players and teachers insist that you can change the tone of the note not just by how hard or soft you strike the key, but in the way you strike the key (ex. pulling at the key, v/s pushing into it). Others disagree. Try it for yourself and see what you think!

An investment in the Harvard Dictionary of music will make sure you can always find out what any obscure markings on your sheet music mean.

When playing an ascending passage, bring the thumb under the rest of the hand, rather than resetting the placement of the hand all at once. This will make for a smoother phrase. When descending, do the same, but with the pinky.

Train your ear as well as your hands! Try to play melodies and eventually songs by ear. Start by listening to just a few notes at a time on a favorite recording.

Consistency is key. You'll be surprised how much you can lose on a piece you're studying when you lose a few days of practice.

Try to do a recital, competition, or graded jury now and then. This type of goal will keep you on track, almost like some runners do when preparing for a marathon.

There is excellent piano music in many genres. Stay open to all of them, but concentrate on those you like best to keep it interesting for yourself.

Correct use of the pedals is an oft-neglected art. There are entire books written on usage of the pedal. Experiment with it - and not only the sustain pedal, but the soft pedal and sustain pedal as well. And remember that not using any pedal at all is better than just keeping the sustain pedal down all the time.

Play on the best instrument that you can, even if you don't own it. It is worth a trip to a local church now and then for the experience of playing on a great instrument - you'll be surprised what it can bring out of your playing.

Do use different pianos from time to time. Every piano is different. You never know what piano you might be called to perform on. Playing different pianos will help you remain flexible in this sense.

If you play a lot and have a decent piano, consider installing a humidity regulation system in the piano. It can really keep it in tune a lot better. You'll just have to remember to water your piano from time to time!

When you practice just before a recital, you may find that it helps to play everything at exactly one half tempo. For some, this helps to engrain the "muscle memory" one last time.

When you want to increase your ability to play a passage at a faster tempo, start at the tempo you can play at and increase your tempo by one setting on your metronome until you can play it 3 times correctly in a row. Then, you can go to the next setting.

Listen. Listen to the sound you are creating. Listen to the music as you play it. Become not only a performer, but a listener and critic/ teacher to yourself as well.

Don't do anything unusual to try and strengthen your hand, such as use an odd contraption, or any device that causes pain. There is speculation that famous composer Robert Schumann permanently injured his right hand by doing so.

Make up fun ways to remember the basic music staff for reading music. For the empty spaces remember: FACE. For the lines, remember EGBDF: Every Good Boy Does Fine.

In the old days, many colleges forbade students from playing jazz on university pianos out of fear that it would damage the instruments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some classical pianists even say that you have to break a few strings from time to time to really play to your full dynamic potential!

It is a great idea to practice one hand at a time on a challenging passage or song before putting them both together.

Please, learn to count properly. Pianists are notorious for not counting correctly. This is mainly a result of the ability to be lax in counting and still play solo with errors mostly unnoticed or at least listenable. Many pianists fall on the unfortunate crutch of simply looking at how the notes line up between the two hands without calculating the exact duration of the notes. This becomes a real problem when playing in a group, accompanying a soloist, playing a concerto with an orchestra, or even playing a solo piece incorrectly that listeners are familiar with. Rise above the crowd!

In general, try to keep your hands r e l a x e d...

Your memory is a wonderful tool. Many musicians are fond of saying that you can make more music when you can get away from the printed page. It only makes sense that if you don't have to process what you are looking at, you can focus more attention toward your creativity.

Learning jazz improvisation as a pianist. It can be an arduous process. Here's a technique that has been successful for the few who have taken advantage of the technique. Find a local jazz pianist whose playing you enjoy. They don't have to be a teacher. Tell them you want to pay to come listen to them play privately and learn from them - non-traditional lessons. Then, simply have them play. When you hear something you like, stop them and ask "How do you do that?" Take notes. Then, take it home to practice it!

Pianists are some of the few musicians who are apt to get overly caught up in work on technique such as scales, arpeggios, and technical exercises. Make sure you are working on pieces for performance, and that you are performing them every chance you get - for family, friends, gatherings, and if possible in recital, gig, or concert!

Parents - want to help your child succeed in Piano. Get involved! If you just let any kind of musical endeavor go on its own, chances of success are much lower.

Parents - PRAISE your children on the sounds they are learning to create and the progress they are making in their piano playing. You can also praise their determination, courage, intelligence, consistency, creativity, interpretation, effort, and skill.

Trying to make your practice or your child's practice more regular? Work it into your schedule using something regular that happens each day. You could practice:
- when you first wake up
- after dinner
- when you get home from work/ school
- after your favorite tv show
- just before bed

Some suggest not worrying too much about the length of your/ your child's practice session. Practice to learn and improve. When you begin to become fatigued, put it away. You can come back to it later if you like.