I am still continuing to learn Let it Be and still finding it difficult, but better! My mom who knows how to play piano is currently away right now, as she had to go visit my 98-year-old grandma. I don’t know when she will be back, but definitely feeling less prepared with this piece than my previous pieces due to the support I received from her with those. This has made me realize how useful music teachers can be!

I think pushing past initial frustrations is very important when learning a new instrument. It is really easy to be faced with something difficult and put it aside. I think experiencing this firsthand, probably gives all of us learning new instruments an insight as to how children might be feeling with learning something new!

I have done some research online to find out what people say about how to successfully learn an instrument on your own and here are some of the tips that I have been applying to my learning journey:

  1. Regular practice as a habit in your daily routine: I have probably talked about this one before, but I do think it is the most important aspect of learning anything new.
  2. Select simple pieces of music: the first two songs that I chose were quite simple and I found it easier to stay motivated to learn them. I knew that Let it Be was going to be more difficult, but I wanted to give myself a bit of a challenge so regardless I am feeling good about the song I am learning.
  3. Practice slowly: I find that by practicing harder parts over and over again slowly that I have more success when I play the song from start to end.
  4. Warming up hands: as mentioned in my previous blog post, I am continuing to practice my other pieces and I feel that this helps me warm up.

These tips are small, but I find that even knowing I have a few things I am keeping up on constantly helps me succeed overall.