Daily piano tip #1.

When learning a new piece, the first thing you should do  is research.

Ten minutes on Wikipedia or Google, or the Grove dictionary of music will save you hours of practice. It will also save your teacher from having to tell you a lot of things you could easily find out by yourself with just a quick check on the Internet, a book, the prologue to your sheet music or in a CD jacket. Make sure you can answer a few simple questions about what you are about to play.

Who is the author?

Where was he from?

When did he live?

What was going on in his life when he wrote the piece of music you are about to play?

Did he write anything else related to or that is like the piece?

What is the title of the piece? You'd be surprised at the number of students who don't even know what the piece is called. I am sure it makes a difference if the piece is called "Roses of Spring" or "Clashing thunder" or "I'm so happy, happy, happy." or "Death, Death. Oh sad music of gloom and despair" or "I sound like I am happy but I am really very sad."

Is the piece based on something? It irks me to hear people play the second movement of the Prokofiev seventh sonata without the slightest idea that it has the same melody as a song by Schumann that is about showing a happy face to the world while being torn up inside. They'll even come out and say "Wow, this movement seems really out of place, it's so happy."

How were similar pieces played back then?

What does the name of the piece mean? You should at least try to learn the meaning of "suite", "sonata", "fugue", etc.

After all that, check through the piece. Did you find any words that you don't know the meaning to? Look them up! All those Italian, French or German terms have definite meanings that are easy to find, and they also have a big impact on how you are supposed to play a particular place in a piece.

With the Internet at our disposal, and thousands of interpretations of classical music free on the web, there is absolutely no excuse to not know at least what it is that you are playing. Before sitting down to play the first note, go out and look it up, it will only take about ten minutes of your time but it will save you hours of practice. It will also make your piano teacher like you a lot more.