About six months ago I posted this video:



The next day I took a second look at it and decided then and there that I wanted to play like her and particularly play that song. I also decided, at the time, I was doing too much messaging and not enough practice. So....for a good 4-5 months now I've been doing nothing but left hand work on the piano...playing anything and everything...bass lines, walking bass, chords, octaves, left hand melody, stride, scales, arpeggios. It was quite the grind in the beginning but I was determined. At about the three month mark something "clicked" and I was off and running. Everything left hand suddenly became easier and more natural. Even my Jerry Lee Lewis boogie style took a giant leap forward. Then the ultimate comment. The folks in the hospital where I play grand piano twice a week remarked that I was playing so much better and wondering what caused the change.

I was actually going to post how I did this whole improvement thing in less than six months using "power of the mind" principles but I didn't think anyone would be interested. But I might still post it if it helps just one person to get better.

Learning to play well is NOT about practicing and learning scales. It's about using the mind. I learned the principle of using your mind to learn things quickly when I was studying French Musette music some 20 years ago and I was real anxious to play that kind of music. And that's what I did this time around with my left hand program because now I'm hell-bent on playing the above song correctly.

As an example, of the many techniques I used....never, ever, practice for long periods at a time. The mind is not designed that way for learning. And...stay in tune with your inner self. When it tells you you're "getting nothing from a practice session...then walk away and come back later...and keep coming back until you hit a session that works for you. Something like "your mind will tell you when your body is hungry for food." Likewise you mind will also tell you when it's ready to absorb a practice session."

One more example that I was reminded of just yesterday. I was experimenting with variations on the song Love Story. I started with left hand arpeggios against the melody, and then I attempted going up and down the G minor and D7th chords using left hand "thirds." I said to myself "I'm not going to get this." I then corrected that statement and told myself "you can do this...set your mind to it and you CAN do this." And suddenly I could do it (slowly of course!).

BTW...these are not MY teachings nor are they new. People around the world have been using them for hundreds of years to make whatever they're doing (music in this case) a lot easier and more efficient.

Well, there I go again with a mega-post that I don't have time to do anymore. I think when I get a minute I'll go into more details about how I went about this whole thing for anyone who is further interested. I'm just really amazed at what your mind can do in assisting you in moving forward with your music if you learn how to tap into it.