When it comes to learning the piano, or any feat or project in life for that matter, we believe that goals are important, they give us a sense of purpose, help us celebrate the little achievements and give a great realisation on how far we’ve come.
When it comes to the piano, giving yourself small or larger goals can be a fantastic motivator to begin either a big project or for giving you a better focus on the right areas to put your efforts into. For those who use the instrument as a relaxing hobby or something you do in your downtime, setting yourself goals can seem either counterproductive or even a little stressful, but we assure you that as long as the goals aren’t stressing you out, or you put harsh deadlines on them, they are a fantastic way to motivate your playing and fall in love with the piano that little bit more.
That is why below we’ve listed 50 quick, fun and simple ideas for both small and large goals that you can (and should!) set yourself to help improve your piano playing, understanding and even enjoyment of your instrument.
If you often find yourself lacking motivation to practice or aren’t quite sure on the best ways to practice piano, learn more about improving your piano practice structure by reading our guide here, or if you feel like your instrument might be holding you back from achieving these goals, read our guide here. If you are in need of any further advice, our showroom experts are here to help!
So without any more delay, let’s find you a new goal! Feel free to write down the goals from this list that you like the sound of, set yourself a ROUGH timeframe of when you’d like to achieve them and get to them!
Beginner Goals:
These goals are fantastic for either new learners or those looking for quick fire goals that you can achieve in either a day, week or fortnight or so.
- If you’ve never learned before, or you used to play, start playing!
- Learn which style of learning the piano works best for you. Read more here
- Learn all of the common major and minor chords
- Practice the piano for at least 10 minutes 3 times a week
- Try to develop your hand independence
- Learn your favourite song on piano - even if it’s an easier version!
- Learn how to read the basics of sheet music
- Buy your first piano book - We’d recommend our friends at Presto!
- Attend a piano concert - This website is a fantastic source to find events near you!
- Attend a piano meetup group - Let’s Play The Piano is a great place to start!
- Buy yourself a real piano stool
- Improve your piano posture - Learn more here
- Get into classical piano music - Not sure where to start? Read our guide!
- Read a book or novel about the piano - Here are some of our favourites!
- Put on a private concert for a family member or friend - Read more on how to overcome the fear of playing infront of others here!
- Begin learning grade 1 piano - Read our guide to grade 1 here!
- Learn how to warm up your hands properly - Easy piano warmup exercises
- Attend a piano bar or restaurant - there’s a sensational one in Birmingham that we love!
- Learn at least 5-10 songs on piano from start to finish
Intermediate Goals:
If you’d consider yourself a little more of a seasoned player and know your majors from your minors and your fortissimo from your pianissimo and are looking for goals that will either introduce a new way of thinking or technique into your playing, these goals might be more suited to you!
- Learn to play a song with your eyes closed
- Develop your pedalling technique
- Help inspire someone else get started with the piano - family or friends are a great place to start!
- Try getting a job in the piano industry - Learn about piano based careers here!
- If you’re a jazz player, try learning some classical!
- If you’re a classical player, learn jazz. (or insert any other genre here!)
- Play at an open-mic night or music night.
- Record your favourite piano piece in either a studio or home studio
- Compose your very own piano piece - Learn more about composing here!
- Learn the different parts of a piano action and how it works
- Start a piano club in your town or village (if there isn’t already one!)
- Learn at least 50 songs on piano from start to finish
- Start a piano social media channel and share your skills and love for the piano - it’s worked out well for our friend Nicole!
- Practice the piano for 30 minutes every day for a month
Advanced Goals:
For those looking to really enhance their skills, and truly hone in on an area of advance piano technique that often either get overlooked or will help improve your playing to new heights, we’d highly recommend giving these goals a try!
- Learn how to add more expression into your play
- Visit a piano factory - We’d highly recommend either C.Bechstein in Germany or the Pearl River Factory in China
- Start teaching piano privately
- Discover the nuances within Bach’s piano playing - Learn more here
- Take a piano masterclass, or if you’d consider yourself and expert in your field, why not give one!
- Renovate or upcycle an old piano! - Learn more here
- Deep dive into Rachmaninoff’s (or insert other composer here) piano playing - Learn more here
- Put on a piano performance and raise money for charity
- Learn more about the works of famed jazz pianists throughout history
- Learn 100+ songs on piano from start to finish
- Do your own research into a composer of your choice - speak to experts in their field, they’d love to talk to you!
- Write a book about piano playing
- Learn about the different wood types on pianos and how they impact your sound.
- Learn to play a relatively difficult song with just one hand
- Put your own twist on an iconic composition or piece by changing the key, tempos, melodies etc.
- Do a piano tuners course
- Learn the entirety of (YOUR FAVOURITE COMPOSER)’s repertoire
So there we have it, a few quick and easy goals to give you either some focus or inspiration on how you can take your piano playing to the next level! Did we miss your goal? We’d love to hear it on our social media channels and add it to our list to help inspire others to take up the call to learn the piano or develop their playing!