5 Bad Habits Beginners Should Avoid | Piano Lesson 

So, which of these bad habits do you find yourself doing? 0:00 5 Bad Habits to Avoid 0:32 Habit 5 2:01 Habit 4 2:55 Habit 3 4:03 Habit 2 5:05 Habit 1

Another bad habit, according to my teacher, is what he calls "biting off more than you can chew", in other words, wanting to play through the whole piece all at once, instead of starting off with a few bars and not going on to the next few until those have been mastered. It can be slow going -- and a little frustrating when you are chomping at the bit to move forward -- but I think the approach does ultimately obtains the best results.

Jazer, I came into this very curious about what bad habits you were going to address, and I was astonished to find out that these are all things that I say to my students already. BUT, it's very refreshing to know that I am already telling my students the same things that a pro pianist at YOUR level would also say. I guess I'm a better teacher than I thought . . .thank you for the encouragement! Subscribed!

Something very important to note about sleep: your brain actually solves problems while you're sleeping, too. I have noticed that if I practice a small chunk of something difficult (very slowly) before going to sleep, I almost always end up having the ability to play it perfectly after I wake up. Compared to just practicing one time at some point in the evening, I have noticed significantly better results when I practice a bit first thing in the morning, and then save whatever is causing me trouble for just before I go to bed. _Morning_ practice is incredibly effective, and it pairs perfectly with the whole sleeping thing. Often times the first thing I do when I wake up is start tickling the keys just to see if I can finally play whatever thing I was trying to practice the night before. I don't go through a whole practice routine when I wake up, but I do at least try to run through whatever small part I was working on the night before. Practice every single day for sure, but if you can manage it, save whatever is giving you the most trouble for right before you to go bed. Try to work it out, then go to sleep. And the first chance you get when you wake up, try to play it. You just might surprise yourself!

Here's a teacher generous enough to make teaching videos for free, and gracious enough to call people "self taught" while teaching us. Thank you Jazer Lee!

3:08 that is true to me! For me, hours of practicing even just a few notes will NOT translate into a smooth piece of melody until the next day. And magic just happens the next day after I woke up, it's like my brain and my hands kept on practicing while I was in bed. But the key for me is to practice right before I go to bed.

1) I'm a memorizer and definitely need to work more on my sight reading. 2) I was about to object to the point about emphasizing practicing both hands separately, but then remembered you said this was for "Beginners." I definitely agree that it's critical for beginners to do that, so don't take this as a criticism--I think what you said was perfect. For me, however, with more than 30 years of playing music, my brain *wants* the different hands doing different things. It's hard to describe, but the closest I can get is if you're playing polyrhythms on drums, where one hand is in 4/4 and the other is in 5/4, or something similar. For me, it's actually more difficult to separate them out and NOT play simultaneously, because my hands begin to play off each other, like a dance. My right hand "knows" when to move to the next note because it's following my left hand's direction, and vice versa, so when I try to only play one hand, that hand gets confused because it's lacking a director. I still do play one-hand at a time through super complex portions while slow-playing to learn it (which is super important, as you stated). But when I do that, I have to focus on counting to such an extent that it's basically the same mental work needed to just play with the other hand keeping beat (in fact, sometimes I'm tapping with the other hand anyway, just because the kinesthetics help me keep my rhythms better). But even saying all that, I know that 1) I am weird so this could be just me, and 2) it took decades of playing various instruments that forced both hands to do different tasks simultaneously for my brain to get to that place, so definitely not for beginners.

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been playing for ~40 years, and I've slipped into multiple bad habits, my playing got stale and my motivation dropped. By getting back to these important foundations you've refreshed my perspective, and my playing has found a new lease of life! I am so grateful :)

I’ve been self learning for about 2months now and I’m glad I came across your videos even before I started playing. Every video I’ve watched makes me conscious of what my potential bad habits are, so I’m trying my best to correct them as I’m learning. Keep the amazing vids coming!!

I'm definitely more of a memorization person, so I need to work more on my reading. I also never really considered going back to slow practice after learning songs, so that's something I'll have to start doing more. Always appreciate your videos, Jazer!

Memorizer. Even after memorizing a piece, I can’t follow the sheet while playing. I can relate to all of these. Thanks for the reminder.

Can relate to all of them, particularly the last one where you get “trapped” in bad muscle memory when having practised a piece for a few weeks and everything sounds muddled and uncontrolled. It’s so very irritating. You just can’t be bothered going back to playing slowly but you know you really should…

I’ve bee playing the piano for over two years now and I have couple of these bad habits. Practicing with both hands most often, I automatically memorize and my reading is not great, sometimes I practice fast, 😣 Thank you for this video. It helped me to become aware of my bad habits and I will change them.

Thank you so much for your brilliant, thorough, and thoughtful teaching! I've learnt so much from you and every video is really helpful. I've been trying to learn both reading and memorizing. So glad to hear you recommend this.

Thank you Jazer for all these lessons. I love your way of teaching and the setting. My husband, who plays the bagpipe, never uses sheet music once he's learnt the song; me, on the other hand, rely heavily on the sheet if I'm playing a wind instrument. If I'm playing the piano I prefer relying on my memory once I've mastered the song. I am guilty of playing too fast and have been working on it.

These videos are so succinct, practical and really work! I love sight reading but think I rely on it too much and find it hard to memorise pieces. I actually find occasional pieces sound a lot more interesting and nuanced when played at a slower pace.

These tips were extremely helpful. In fact it reminds me of the things that my piano teacher taught me forty years ago. I'm just staring to learn again after 40 years so this was very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for this video. I am definitely a sight reader! I also recognize myself in some of the bad habits. I love the pedal, but recently I've been noticing that I use it to hide small mistakes and to be less precise in my playing. And the practicing too fast is also a weakness of mine, I get very inspired and instead of working out all the little mistakes and taking time to polish the piece, and then it doesn't sound neat.Thank you for these great videos. Really enjoying them.

I am self taught for 1 year and 8 months.. good to know I haven't fallen into these bad habits. I've practiced daily since I started in April 2020, and found on my own that practicing each hand seperately before putting them together helps, and all the other tips you gave. My main issue, is I have no idea how to sight read. I am 100% the second group. Although everyone's goals are different. For me, my dad taught me how to play by ear, and I mostly do that now. (obviously not for classical pieces though) It's a very different way of learning to sheet music. But for me, it is useful to be able to play anything on the spot without anything written down, transpose to any key to match a singer's vocal range, etc. It's also just cool to understand chord progressions and why things sound the way they are, and it keeps me interested. So yeah, learning sheet music will certainly be useful and I probably will one day, but right now it's probably okay.

This is super helpful. You are a great teacher and I’m glad I found you early on in the process

Thanks for emphasizing on these mistakes, I'll try applying the corrections.

Sight reader here. I have done all of these. Not practicing daily is my week has been my weekness. One other advantage of not playing with the pedal to much is that it forces you to learn to play legato better. The pedal also hides mistakes (sort of) that should be addressed and not covered up. It becomes easier to play cleaner without the pedal.

Just started watching your videos Jazer and I want to just thank for your time and your effort in doing these videos, I’m an older student but you inspire me to play my piano!

Love the fact that I watched this only 1 month in. I realized many of these mistakes while playing although I always thought it needed a teacher to show you how to fix it. RU-vid does the job!

I only work from memory and ear due to my visual disability. Slow and steady with feel I do prefer, but at times with speed 🎹😎

Great content. Would like to see you talk about arm movement and hand position on the keys to generate different sound qualities. For example contrasting the different techniques required to play Bach vs Rachmaninoff to create the sound.

Not a pianist, but a violinist, I still think some of these are good tips, especially the practicing ones. I very much prefer memorizing pieces than reading, but I know how important both are! Also, some pieces sound cool when you change the tempo, sometimes the general vibe of it completely changes, so it’s fun to play both fast and slow!

Wow, thank you so much! I am more of a person who memorizes music that I want to learn, I hear it and memorize it, then play it sometimes a bit every day. But your definitely right about the pedal, I use it all the time! 😅 I need to learn to prioritize when I need to use it. Thank you so much! This was really helpful! 🤩

Jazer, every video of yours I watch assures me that I'm doing practice in a constructive way, and always offers me at least one thing to think about or to improve on! My bad habits i watched this with: 4: foot has always been on the pedal for exactly the reasons you said. Starting now, I will not practice with it! Makes sense I'm a memorizer, but I always use sheet music in practice to take me beyond where my memorization starts to fail (building new memorization) so i dont think i'm bad here :P I do both, i know i wont be able to memorize everything... just the really important songs

Thank you Jazer. Your videos are absolutely the most helpful out there for an intermediate pianist like myself. I recently began practicing "slow" as you recommend, and it does help. I also find it helpful, when playing to slow, to play all the notes loudly and emphatically. That seems to (1) require more accuracy, and (2) embed the movements into memory a little more. What do you think about that? I also found your comments about daily practice and memory very interesting. I sometimes (not always) find the first time I play a piece in a day is somehow better than all the subsequent attempts.

I started learning to play when I was 70! I am in book three of Alfred's Adult lessons. I can relate to ask of these but most esp wanting to always play with two hands! Thank you!

I took piano class last year, and I'm glad how ut turns out. My teacher always gives me so much time to practice, the scales, the chords and a lot of advises. I also agree with you in no. 5. I always practice with my right hand first since I'm left handed. My left hand can cope up with my right hand easily that's why I always worked with my left hand first. I also agree with you to practice slowly and practicing everyday. Additional: At first I memorize the chords and notes of the songs but now I realized that I don't need to do it since it was easier to look at the sheet of the song

Awesome core truths about the principal fundamentals of learning and how they apply to piano! Only way this could have been better is if you would have talked a little bit about why relying on ONLY sight-reading sheet music is also bad. I feel that TOO much reliance on the logical and "thinking" about a piece ties up all of your brain's processing power, then you have nothing left to focus on the "big picture" as well - like making sure that your playing is dynamic, and conveying emotion and an overall feel - being able to manage larger dynamic ranges where appropriate, your louds and softs, etc. You need to be able to go beyond more than just note letters and timing. A great analogy to this is typing while reading. You should be able to read and "stream" the typing - you shouldn't be thinking about where each letter key is. It just all comes together and flows!

Wow, this is great and exactly what I needed to hear. I related to many of the bad habits, mainly not practicing daily. I get sidetracked too easily. Thank you for your many lesson tutorials. I have learned so much from you and look forward to many more. You help make learning piano for adults fun and inspiring.

Thank you Jaser. These tips are very useful.

All your points are spot on and reminders of where I need to focus. Thanks, Jazer!

Thank you Jazer. Could you please make a video on chords inversions? The best way to practice them. Thanks

Jazer, it's apparent you not only are a talented musician in your own right, but a wise a highly skilled teacher as well. I've never played piano and have still yet to start my first physical lessons but I can tell you've already helped me step up my game. I've subbed so look forward to more of your videos!

so happy to have found you. ! well, i tend to memorize almost all the times and yes i do play in fast motion too, to not mention the other habits too. i m just so glad to know this channel from now ON

I love your piano lessons. This one is so important. Thank you from USA.

I’m definitely a memoriser- that thing you said about your skill feeling capped is actually exactly what I’m going through right now, if you have any tips for how I could improve my sight reading it would be much appreciated (or if there are any videos you can link)

I have four of the bad habits you mentioned and the worst habit of mine is that I don't practice everyday. I have an electronic piano which doesn't have a pedal otherwise maybe I would have had all the five bad habits. For me the most valuable tip in this video is to isolate two for practice.

Such great tips! Thank you

I'm a professional adult educator and teacher trainer (think "trade skills") and also a semi-pro musician (strings) who has come late to the piano. I absolutely love this video. The "5 mistakes" expose underlying "core principles" of adult learning. I think the 5 "principles" here are completely adaptable to any new complex skill that demands a novel "psycho-motor" technique. Bravo Jazer Lee! Love your work!

Hi Jazer. I would love to be a part of the second group (memorisers), but my memory is not strong enough, so I am forced to stick to reading music from my sheets. Great videos, BTW! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for such an informative video!! I'm a self taught pianist nd I've always memorized notes nd played it without the sheet music😞I'm trying to change it but my lack of knowledge in theory makes it hard to read sheet music. But I'll try my best 🙃thank you once again!!

First time watching your channel and I am already a fan. Thanks tons for sharing this insight. Some people like me would have spent years not realizing about these bad habits and this ones a huge eye opener for me.

Thank you so much for sharing this important video 🌷

3:10 - 3:30 so basically I’m hitting a save point when I sleep, if I don’t sleep am I speedrunning…

Thanks for sharing your experiences ! I’m afraid i’m a memorizer so my score reading is below par, unfortunately. Regarding playing slow : it is said that before a concert Horowitz played through his programme so slow that people could barely recognize the pieces. Related to your advise to practice both hands first separetely, I want to share the “trick” to start practicing at the end of the piece. In that way you know you can finish the piece, compared to building up anxiety because you approach the point from where you do no longer know how to play the piece. ;-)

Thanks so much Jazer!

Thank you for sharing this! So kind of you!

I struggle with all of these LOL! I want to play the piece so much that I have to resist rushing in without practicing properly first. I'm definitely a play-by-the-dots person but lately I'm learning to connect theory with playing which helps a lot with memorizing. I would love to see a tutorial on how to practice pedaling - lifting after one chord and pressing right at the next makes my music choppy, but if I don't I get a muddy sound. Also, I'm not always sure when to pedal and when to leave the pedal alone. Thank you!

2:58 If you practice 5 hours and 42 minutes a day, at the end of the week you have practiced 40 hours. So GO PRACTICE !

Excellent advice - thank you! I started playing the piano when I was very small, 3 or 4. My older sister could read music and played very well, and I loved listening to her, and when she was done with the piano I would try and recreate the music she'd been playing, just by ear. I soon found I could play most of her pieces this way, and when I was given piano lessons myself at age 7 or 8, I was already able to play boogie woogie pretty well, as well as some Bach (Jacques Loussier style), and some simple trad jazz and pop songs, as well as hymns I'd sung at school, so the lessons were tedious and boring, and I cheated by asking my teacher to play it through, and then I played it, pretending to read the sheet music. The result is I'm 64 and only started to try and read music 10 years ago - with very limited success! I taught myself to read Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but then found I couldn't play it without the music - how frustrating! Same with Minute by Minute (McDonald). It's a curious phenomenon isn't it? If you learn a piece by repeatedly listening to it, and aching to find that right chord, you never forget it, but reading it constrains you to needing to have the sheet music. What do you think?

Thank you for these ...EXCELLENT

I've been playing piano for 18 years, and I can definitely agree with these points. However, some songs have really strange rhythms and I find it best to practice both hands together instead of mastering them individually. For example, I recently learned the Champion Cynthia Battle Theme. In areas where I tried to master both hands separately, I found my rhythm was horrid. In other areas, I never played the hands separately, opting instead to play both hands very slowly, and I found those parts were significantly more accurate. Of course, this isn't always the case, and it's a bad habit more often than it's a good one. As for Habit 2 (reading/memorizing), I find I memorize a lot of my pieces subconsciously. I don't try to memorize them, but I play them enough times that my muscle memory will let me almost effortlessly play it. Even pieces I hadn't played in years (Eye of the Tiger, Avengers Theme, Bohemian Rhapsody, for example), I'll sit down and play really well without the sheet music, only because my muscle memory hadn't forgotten it. I've also finally been practicing learning by ear-following the advice from a family friend-so I don't even have the sheet music to refer to anymore half the time.

Found myself guilty of almost All habits😬

Excellent tips! Thank you.

I got a piano a few days ago for my birthday and I'm loving it SO much, it's second nature to me just like the first time I picked up the guitar! In terms of what kind of student, I don't memorize any particular notes because I recognize them easily just by listening to it! I did eventually memorize a few basic things like the notes and some chords, I just need to start improving on it! Some tips here in particular helped me clear up some things, I think I know what to do next study session!

I tend to heavily read the sheet music while learning a piece until I’m starting to “master” it then I’ll kinda switch to playing from memory but then often when I play one note wrong I’ll get totally stuck cause I have no idea where I am 😂

Hey Jazer, thanks; another great lesson video! I'm an older (than dirt) beginner. I've always had a good memory, so when I play exercises and simple pieces from my method book, I consciously avoid memorizing the notes, so as to force myself to better my reading skills. I mean, I'm not even at the point where I automatically know all the notes on the scales and where those keys are on the piano, so it seems to me that I should keep on "reading only", at least to the point where I can automagically connect a note on the sheet to a note on the piano. Whaddya think, Jazer?

These are great man, thank you!

I appreciate the summary screen you have at the end of some of your other videos, too.

I always memorize the sheet music, because I can't read it while I have to pay attention to my fingers and the pedal

I had to learn piano through books. The hardest mistake I made was to try reading individual notes. I found that by slowing things down and phasing I could accomplish so much more. The body has muscle memory, it is there forever. Speed comes with time, repetition, and correct fingering. I started out learning chords, then went to notes. I would listen to a piece and slow it down to get the notes, then slowly increase speed. I did all my lessons that way. I would practice one hand then the other till I achieved muscle memory. After I completed that, I could add fill to suit myself. I always played for myself so I didn't have the pressure others had. When I finally could afford lessons, the instructor could not believe how far I had advanced through self teaching. I am so thankful I had the proper books to teach me with phrasing by some of the greatest musicians. I personally found that memorizing phrases is loads easier than memorizing notes. I believe I am saying I got the right books that mimic your style of instruction. Bless you for being there. I can only say that instructors make things loads easier than books, and arpeggios come in every piece at one time or another. I am no Mozart, but I did manage to win the state level and the state talent competition imitating Liberace for fun. Keep up the great work, please. By the way, the instructor gave back my money, and I used it to buy more books and recordings to slow down.

what a great style you have for the beginner. information is presented is so helpful, practical and never overwhelming. thanks so much. P

Thank you for your kindly sharing. It really helps. Subscribed ❣

I'm a reader. Memorization is very difficult for me. It's helping that I have now found some non-book ways of learning to play the piano. Nonetheless I have a long ways to go. Question for a video: why do the classical music programs and conservatories focus solely on book-learning? Is there an alternative route and would it still take you to the same end point?

I have the Hanon - virtuoso pianist book, having been introduced to Hanon many years ago by a piano teacher I was taking lessons with until I had to move to a new place. I’ve been off and on with the piano most of my life, having recently returned to it as an older adult, to take it as far as I can, and I feel I’m making steady, slow progress. Can you recommend any other types of finger exercises I can use to build strength, finger independence and dexterity for those times when I’m not in front of the piano? Since I play by ear fairly well, I often find that I just memorize what I read on the page of sheet music without reallly trying so that, albeit with simpler beginner pieces, I don’t have to refer to the sheet music after a couple of run throughs, but I realize that doesn’t help reinforce my sight reading ability, and I have to force myself to follow the music with my eyes as my hands already know what to do. Any tips to encourage myself to follow the sheet music even if the motions/sound of the music is committed to memory?

i have been playing for like 7 years now and i still practice these bad habits thank you so much for the call out

really helped, thanks a lot!!!

I’m a reader but I think that practice by reading will eventually lead to memorizing. Thoroughly enjoy your videos, just don’t tell my teacher.

Question: What should a beginner not learn? I don’t think you have covered that.

I agree. Thanks!!

This was sooo helpful I definitely needed this! Thank you.

The worst habit is not practicing 40 hours a day

FIVE BAD HABITS 5. . Always practicing hands together. (One plus one equals 5 ) 4. Always practicing with the pedal. 3. Not practicing daily. ( Allow your sleep to transfer memories of whatever little you've learned instead of trying to cram too much into long rare practices) 2. Working too much by memory or by reading. Develop both skills. 1. Practicing too fast. Always go back to slow practice so you can be conscious about the notes and play cleanly

Thanks for this. It's so helpful ☺

great video, thank you! I am looking at beginner piano videos today, looking for quick ways to learn. Thanks for taking us through things to avoid!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU 🙏! BEST TIPS EVER, and not just for piano.

This video is perfect! Bravo!

Good work Jazer. I'm so proud of you.

Always precise and trustfully

Thank-you so much Sir! I am grateful that youtube recommended me this video.😇

Thanks for the video!

Very helpful. I love your manner too!

Thank you for good advice!!! You're great teacher!! You English is so nice and understandable!

Thanks teacher jazer for the lessons

Thank you so much, I learned a lot of tips from you, keep up the great work!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ^~^ it corrects me,and helps me too.

I read music way more then memorise. I have watched 2 of your videos. Thank you! Great advise.

Very informative, thank you.

Excluding learning music from scratch, these are the best advices that i have got, even compared to the professional lessons i took; i have found out some of these by practicing alone, though i wish i knew them earlier so i could have progressed more easily.

Absolutely correct 💯 Thanks alot for your advice. Slowly and steadily always wins the race.

Awesome, Jazer!

I am really enjoying your videos. Thank you Jazer. Lots of great information and advice.

this is priceless, thank you!!!

Superb !!! Thanks

Great stuff man! Will definitely apply all of this to my own piano goals.