| How many times have you said to yourself? | | | | 1. Pull all of your music books together into one place |
| - This music keeps falling off the piano. | | | | 2. Look through one book at a time to remind |
| - Where is that song? I can never find the page. | | | | yourself which pieces you enjoy playing and mark |
| - When am I going to do something about this | | | | each piece with a post-it note or paper clip |
| music? | | | | 3. Make photocopies of each selection |
| - I'm tired of stopping in the middle of the piece just | | | | 4. Sort all of the music into stacks of categories. |
| to turn the page. | | | | 5. Here are some suggested types of groups:a) |
| - I can't believe it, the recital was only three weeks | | | | Classical and popular stylesb) Fast and slow temposc) |
| ago, and I forgot how much I liked that piece. | | | | By composer, group or singerd) Key signature |
| Think about how frustrated you have been by trying | | | | 6. Pick an organizing systema) Looseleaf books with |
| to deal with the majority of your musical material | | | | non-glare page protectorsb) Pocket folders (put |
| constantly in such a mess! | | | | labels on the front)c) File folders: staple each piece |
| Think of how many times you couldn't face going to | | | | onto a folder and put these into a portable filing |
| the piano simply because the thought of pulling your | | | | system |
| music together was far too overwhelming. | | | | 7. Experiment: once the music is organized in one of |
| Wouldn't you like to maximize the return on the | | | | these three ways, you can change the order or |
| investment that you have made and continue to | | | | arrangement of music for a few practice sessions |
| make in your musical development? | | | | until it feels satisfying. |
| As they say in the business world: | | | | One Final Note |
| What's your ROI (Return On Investment)? | | | | Organizing your music is a surefire method for |
| After countless hours of practice, many years of | | | | increasing your return on investment. |
| piano lessons, hundreds of dollars spent on instruction | | | | Yes, it will take some effort, but it will really pay off. |
| and sheet music, you're stuck, frustrated and | | | | You will have created a dependable tool which is |
| immobilized. | | | | guaranteed to energize your musical growth and |
| Why not take advantage of your freer summer | | | | development. |
| season schedule to stay connected to your musical | | | | You will gain a whole new perspective on practicing |
| favorites? | | | | the piano, and you'll feel great about yourself! |
| Here's how: just follow this simple step-by-step | | | | It's Not Too Late! |
| method: | | | | |