The benefits of mental piano practice
There are many different ways to practice the piano, and not all of them involve playing it. In fact, there’s one that requires no instrument at all, purely your imagination: mental practice!
A study on mental practice for music memorisation by the University of Milano-Bicocca showed that 30 minutes of mental practice accompanied by 10 minutes of physical practice leads to a similar level of performance as 30 minutes of physical practice. So, as you can see, while it’s not a complete replacement for traditional physical practice, it can be equally beneficial when you don’t have time to sit at your piano and play. This method can turn any time and place into an imaginary practice room, where you visualise yourself playing, and ‘hear’ the notes while paying attention to how your hands move.
Let’s take a look at how exactly mental practice can help strengthen your piano skills and keep your mind learning the piano even when you’re away from your instrument.
3 benefits of mental practice
Strengthen your memory skills
You don’t necessarily need to fully memorise a piece, note by note, but gaining a better understanding of it is sure to make your performance stand out more. By using mental practice, you’ll get your mind more used to memorising notes, and won’t be as heavily reliant on your score when playing the piece on the piano. Plus, this will strengthen your memory in general, and who wouldn’t like to have a great memory?!
Helps you stick with daily practice
Time and commitments can really impede a pianist’s practice time. While mental practice isn’t a substitute for time spent playing the piano, it’s a great way to accompany your regular practice. This habit will help you think about the piece you’re playing more often and keep you entertained in your commute!
Helps you overcome challenges
It may be that you know, in your mind, how to play a specific passage in your score, but struggle to replicate that when physically playing it on the piano. Mental practice allows you to take a moment to distance yourself and really focus on what your hands need to do to play that section in the way you’re aiming to. It could even help you spot mistakes you didn’t realise before, and give you a little confidence boost by imagining yourself overcoming those challenges.
How to get started with mental practice
Step 1: Pick up a piece you’re currently trying to memorise. This should be something that you’ve practiced physically before but have yet to master.
Step 2: After playing the piece on the piano, try playing one section of it again with your hands but without actually emitting any sounds. Instead, imagine what each key you play would sound like!
Step 3: Then, stop moving altogether and re-play the piece with just your eyes following each note alongside the page, as you ‘hear’ the notes only in your mind.
Step 4: Close your eyes and try to ‘play’ the piece again in your mind. If you get stuck, don’t be afraid to simply re-open your eyes and check the score.
As you go about your day, try to do the same, again and again. Until you feel confident that you’ve memorised the piece. Just make sure that, if you have any doubts whatsoever, you check the score to ensure you don’t memorise the wrong notes!
It might feel weird at first, but mental practice can be so beneficial, especially if you feel short on time to practice the piano. To be clear, this can never become a replacement for ‘standard’ physical practice; it should just be a nice addendum to your weekly practice that helps you better memorise your piece. Happy practice!
