How to practice playing the piano without a piano

It may seem unconventional, but practicing piano without the actual instrument can be beneficial. You can train your fingers by tapping on a table as if playing the keys. While tapping, work on finger movement following the rhythm or play the entire piece. If memorizing the music, learn each measure step by step and play each part on the table. Gradually increase the number of parts and measures until you can play the full piece. Whether you are at an advanced level or just starting, you can also try a few useful practice apps.

Practice the correct hand posture. When playing the piano, your hands should be relaxed and curved. Try holding a ball or placing both hands on your knees. Pay attention to how your fingers gently curve, and try to maintain that shape while playing.

• Properly curved fingers for piano playing should not be bent or tense. You should be able to see three joints in each finger.

Practice scales on the table. Position your fingers on the table as if preparing to play a scale on an actual piano. As your right hand moves the scale upwards, stretch your thumb to reach the 4th note of the scale. Then move the scale downwards and practice stretching your middle finger to play the 6th note.

• When moving the scale upwards with your left hand, stretch your middle finger to play the 6th note. When moving the scale downwards with your left hand, use your thumb to play the 3rd note.

Practice finger movements in rhythm. Starting from the thumb to the pinky, press each finger in order as if moving from the C key to the G key. Tap harder on the third beat to emphasize the rhythm.

• Up and down can be understood as tapping from the thumb to the pinky and then back from the pinky to the thumb. Tap as fast as you can while maintaining the rhythm. Change the emphasized beats, for example, tapping harder on the second and fourth beats.

Try combining finger taps. Assign numbers from 1 to 5 for your fingers, from thumb to pinky. Choose a combination of numbers, for instance, 1, 2, and 5. Practice tapping the thumb, index, and pinky in that order.

• Change up the combinations and increase the difficulty. Try tapping as quickly as possible without making any mistakes.

Spend extra time practicing with your non-dominant hand. Practicing scales and rhythmic finger exercises with your non-dominant hand can help improve hand coordination and dexterity. To further practice, try brushing your teeth, combing your hair, or doing other tasks with your non-dominant hand.

Play a complete piece on the table as if on a piano. You can practice a piece on the table by either reading sheet music or relying on memory. Try to imagine playing the piano in the most vivid way possible. Focus on hearing each note and feeling your fingers glide over the table as though they were piano keys.

• Playing music on the table helps with muscle memory. Even without the piano, you can train your fingers to get used to the rhythm of the piece.

Practice with online tutorial videos. When you're without a piano, watch and practice along with instructional videos. You can improve finger dexterity, gain a deeper understanding of musical notes, scales, and other basic concepts, or receive expert guidance on advanced techniques.

• Berklee College of Music offers free, helpful tutorial videos for beginners: http://www.berkleeshares.com.

Learn each hand's part and each measure of the music. Start by reading the melody played with the right hand in the first measure of the piece. Practice thoroughly, then try playing the piece on the table once you're confident in your memory.

• If you need sheet music, a quick online search will provide websites and apps with thousands of song sheets. You can also buy printed or digital music books, either online or at a music store.

Play the right-hand melody of the measure. Once you've learned the right-hand part of the first measure, start playing that melody on the table as if gliding over piano keys. Try to play it 4 or 5 times without looking at the sheet music. While practicing, focus on vividly imagining the sound of the melody and the sensation of your fingers moving over the piano keys.

Practice the left-hand part in the measure. After mastering the right-hand melody in the first measure, move on to the left-hand chords or melody. Learn the sheet music carefully, then practice the left-hand part from memory.

Practice with both hands and gradually increase the number of measures. Once you're proficient with the left hand, start practicing both hands together. Repeat the steps from above to memorize the next measure, then continue to add more sections and measures until you've learned the entire piece.

Check the sheet music to ensure you're playing the correct notes. While playing, periodically glance at the sheet music to confirm you're playing the right melody. The last thing anyone wants is to suddenly worry about hitting the wrong notes.

Try using an app to learn basic piano skills. If you're just starting out, consider using a free app like JoyTunes Piano Maestro for beginners. This app offers a variety of exercises and interactive games, tracks your progress, and gives feedback based on your playing style.

Download a sight-reading app. Sight-reading—being able to read and play music at first glance—is a vital skill but one that's challenging to master. You can try apps like Read Ahead and SightRead4Piano to improve your sight-reading ability. Both apps offer free trials, though you'll need to pay to access more advanced levels.

Watch the virtual piano play each note. For unfamiliar or complex pieces, it can be incredibly helpful to watch an app display each key being pressed during complicated rhythms. The Plern Piano app allows users to upload music and show a visual representation of the keys being played as the music scrolls across the screen.

• Plern Piano also helps users compose and play music, even without any prior knowledge of music theory.