This article is part of my guide to improving our piano playing and practising.
How to Structure Our Piano Practice (Once Simple Routines Stop Working)
Organising our practice time is incredibly important. Especially as busy adults, there are many calls on our time and we simply can’t afford to waste it.
But before we get into how we structure our time, it’s worth grounding ourselves in two simple ideas.
First, our practice routine should be something that has us wanting to get to the piano—not something that feels like drudgery.
Second, it needs to be centred around actual music. Playing piano is about making music, and our effort needs to be focused on achieving the musical result we’re aiming for.
Why Standard Practice Routines Stop Working
We’ve all seen the “perfect practice routine”:
- Warm up
- Sight reading
- Scales and arpeggios
- Technical exercises
- …and finally, pieces
We then divide our available time between these categories and adjust the proportions slightly.
For beginners, this kind of structure makes a lot of sense. It gives us a clear starting point.
But as we move into more complex music, this approach starts to become less effective.
At that point, the majority of the challenge lies within the music itself. As that’s where the challenge is, that’s where most of our time needs to go.
A Shift in Emphasis
Once we move beyond beginner pieces, our practice naturally becomes more music-focused.
In fact, we can think of it in line with the idea of “Pareto Practice” (you might want to read this article later):
The majority of our time should be spent working directly on our pieces.
Not because scales or exercises are unhelpful—but because the specific problems we need to solve are already present in the music we’re trying to play.
Developing Technique Through Music
This is where the shift really happens.
Rather than separating “technique” from “pieces”, we begin to develop technique from within the music itself.
Let’s take a concrete example.
A Practical Example
Suppose we’re working on Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin.
Within a single passage, we might encounter:
- left-hand jumps and chords
- a singing right-hand melody
- octave work
- faster ornamental passages
Each of these requires a different skill.
So rather than reaching for a generic “exercise”, we start by asking:
What exactly is causing the problem here?
For example, if the octave passage feels unreliable, we might notice that:
- we can’t comfortably watch both hands
- the left hand continues jumping while the right hand plays octaves
- the octaves themselves aren’t purely stepwise
At this point, simply slowing things down can actually disguise the issue. At very slow speeds, we have time to look at everything—but that won’t hold at tempo.
So instead, we tackle the problem more directly.
We might:
- practise short groups of notes
- work with just the thumb or just the fifth finger
- simplify the left hand while keeping the right hand intact
In doing this, we’re effectively creating our own exercises—from the music itself.
As things improve, we gradually reintroduce complexity:
- expanding the length of groups
- adding back elements of the left hand
- restoring the full texture
Eventually, we move beyond just “getting the notes” and start refining:
- voicing
- balance
- musical shaping
The important point here is that this is technique work—it’s just targeted, relevant, and directly connected to the music.
Working on Specific Weak Areas
Part of structuring our practice time is deciding what we deliberately work on.
We all have things we tend to avoid.
For some, it might be fast passagework. For others, large jumps, voicing, or coordination.
Left to ourselves, we’ll often choose music that plays to our strengths.
But if we want to expand what we can play, we need to spend some time working on things we currently find difficult—especially when we know they’re holding us back from pieces we’d love to learn.
For example, if speed is a limitation, we might deliberately include passages or pieces that challenge this area, and apply focused practice strategies to them.
The key is that this work still sits within a musical context—it’s not separate from our playing.
Structuring Our Time: Variety Matters
One aspect of practice that’s often overlooked is the type of task we’re doing.
Different parts of practice place different demands on us:
- Reading and learning notes is mentally demanding
- Experimenting with movement and sound requires creativity
- Solving technical problems can be physically repetitive
- Shaping music requires concentration and listening
If we spend too long on any one type of task, we tend to become less effective.
So rather than blocking out long stretches for a single activity, it’s often better to:
- work in shorter, focused segments
- switch between different types of tasks
This is closely related to the idea of interleaving—alternating between different challenges to keep both the mind and body engaged.
Letting Our Goals Shape Our Practice
Once the majority of our time is focused on music, we can think about how to use the remaining time.
Here, our goals become important.
Different goals require different supporting skills.
For example:
- If we’re working through an exam system, certain elements (such as scales) are non-negotiable
- If we want to play by ear, we might prioritise listening and experimentation
- If we want to accompany, sight reading becomes essential
- If we’re focused on classical repertoire, reading and interpretation take priority
There isn’t a single “correct” balance.
What matters is that our practice reflects what we’re trying to achieve.
Balancing Easy and Difficult Work
There’s another important consideration.
We naturally gravitate towards what we find comfortable.
That might mean choosing slower, more expressive music and avoiding pieces with fast passagework—or vice versa.
But if we always stay within that comfort zone, we limit what we’re able to play.
So part of structuring our practice is deliberately including:
- things we find challenging (to expand our ability)
- things we find relatively comfortable (to refine and deepen our control)
For example, taking a piece that feels “easy” and trying to shape it with a higher level of control—tone, voicing, balance—can be surprisingly demanding, and incredibly valuable.
A Simple Way to Think About It
Rather than following a rigid routine, we can think of our practice time as having a few key roles:
- working on our pieces (the majority of our time)
- targeting specific challenges within those pieces
- developing supporting skills based on our goals
Within that, we aim to:
- vary the type of task
- include both challenging and comfortable work
- stay focused on musical outcomes
Practical Reality
Of course, all of this needs to work in real life.
Some days we’ll have more time than others. Some days we’ll have more energy.
On days when we’re not feeling particularly motivated, simply sitting down and playing through familiar music can still be valuable.
Equally, it can be helpful to build small habits—for example, setting aside time once a week to revisit older repertoire.
And over time, our goals may change. What we focus on today might not be what we prioritise in a year’s time.
So it’s worth revisiting how we structure our practice from time to time, and making sure it still supports where we want to go.
Ultimately, structuring our practice isn’t about finding the perfect routine. It’s about making sure the time we spend at the piano is aligned with what we’re trying to achieve—and used in a way that actually helps us get there.
You’ll find more ideas on how to improve our playing and practising here.
