Learning Piano: What is the best way to restore my piano performance after a break?
Exercises – Yes! For some bizarre reason I once went three months without playing (not quite 5 years but long enough to feel very rusty.) When I came back to it I started a daily regimen of scales and arpeggios, this is how I did it: Always use a metronome (or a beat track if you don’t like the click but make sure you know what tempo you’re working with). If you’re massively out of shape – start at a super low tempo – say 101 beats per minute – this will give you time to think about finger position (something you won’t have when you get to the higher tempos.) Start out one hand at a time, in C major and just focus on performing one octave correctly – (make sure you are using the correct fingering – you don’t want to be practicing bad habits.) then move from one octave to two octaves, then to three then to four. Every time you make a mistake, start from the beginning again. Once each hand can perform four octaves with no errors, then play with both hands together. Again, if you make a m
