Sometimes when we practice, it feels like we are getting nowhere at all. Okay, frequently anyone can practice regularly and do all the things that they are supposed to be doing and it feels like they are not making any progress at all.
This would have to be the biggest down side of learning to play the piano. Actually, it is probably the biggest down side to learning any new skill.
Feeling like you are going nowhere fast can be so frustrating and irritating. Unfortunately everyone goes through it. When I say everyone I actually mean that everyone I have ever known to play a musical instrument and all my piano students. One hundred percent of them have felt frustrated with a lack of progress despite practicing, at some point in time.
So really my first point is to remember that everyone feels frustrated at some stage about practicing and not seeing the benfits of those practices. Sometimes, this can help ease the frustration because you know that you are not the only one to ever be in this annoying and frustrating predicament.
The next point is that just because you don’t feel like you are making progress and you are practicing regularly, doesn’t mean that you are not any good at playing the piano or that you should never have started playing the piano in the first place. This is false thinking. What it means when you are not making progress despite practicing is that you are stuck – nothing more or nothing less. I have seen so many piano students question their own capabilities and potential when they have got stuck. I get that it is easy to do and I have done it myself with learning other skills, but I am here to tell you that being stuck ONLY means that you are stuck.
I am also here to let you know that when you get stuck (notice how I said ‘when’ and not ‘if’), if you persist through the frustration and keep practicing, you will get past any blockage or difficulty and you will be able to see and feel like you are making progress again. Persistence will pay off if you don’t give up or quit trying. I can guarantee that you will make progress again if you keep persisting.
When whatever you do when your piano practice seems to have no impact on your progress, just remember that it happens to everyone at some stage and that if you persist with practicing, you will feel like you are making progress again.