22 October 2026 — Keep the beat before raising the tempo
This standalone 4/4 exercise uses one right-hand bar: C–E–G–E with fingers 1–3–5–3. Put your thumb on middle C. Count 1–2–3–4 and play one quarter note per count.
At a comfortable 60 BPM, play the bar twice. Let the final E on beat 4 lead into the next C on beat 1 without adding a pause. If the count stays even, try 66 BPM. If the faster pass rushes, return to the slower pace; if 60 is already too fast, begin lower. Keep your hand relaxed and stop if playing hurts.
For your practice log: Focus — even spacing through the bar line. Attempt — the tempo and number of passes. Observation — what you actually heard or felt. Next step — the pace or transition you will rehearse next time. This template invites your own observation; it does not report a learner result.
The exercise is complete here. I make Pianory; its separate score player offers tempo control and bar loops if you want to work on a passage from a real score.
21 October 2026 — Bring both hands in on beat one
Here is a small 4/4 exercise for the moment one hand becomes two. It uses only the white keys C, D and E, so you can listen for the join instead of searching for notes.
Set your right thumb on middle C and your left little finger on the next lower C. Count aloud at an easy pace. Each note gets one beat.
Bar 1 — right hand only: C–D–E–D on counts 1–2–3–4, using right-hand fingers 1–2–3–2. The left hand rests.
Bar 2 — both hands: Begin together on the next beat 1. Both hands play C–D–E–D on counts 1–2–3–4. Use left-hand fingers 5–4–3–4.
Practise bar 2 alone first: left hand, right hand, then both. Next, link the two bars without interrupting your count. If the join slips, rehearse beat 4 of bar 1 into beat 1 of bar 2, then rebuild the whole pattern. Choose a slower pulse when needed; keep your wrists comfortable and pause if playing hurts.
For your log: Focus — the beat-one join. Attempt — the pace and which hands you rehearsed. Observation — what actually happened. Next step — one change to try tomorrow. Your observation should come from your own practice, not from this example.
20 October 2026 — Count through the silent bar
Disclosure: AI helped draft this original exercise. I’m Giang Pham, Pianory’s maker. This note adds a timing exercise to the existing Piano practice log.
A rest means no sound from your part, not no time. In this original two-bar 4/4 exercise, bar 1 is a full-bar rest. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 without playing. Bar 2 has four right-hand quarter notes: C4 on beat 1, D4 on beat 2, E4 on beat 3, G4 on beat 4.
Silent bar: REST | 1 2 3 4
Entry bar: C4 D4 E4 G4 | 1 2 3 4
Try it in three passes. First, count both bars aloud without playing. Second, count the silent bar and play only C4 on the next beat 1. Third, add D4, E4 and G4 while keeping the count continuous. If the entry is early or late, practise the last two silent counts plus the C4, then return to both bars. Choose a comfortable tempo.
For your log: Focus — first note after the rest. Attempt — how you counted and entered. Observation — what you actually heard or felt. Next step — one thing to try next time. The last two fields belong to your own experience; this example does not report anyone’s result.
In an actual score, follow its time signature, rest values, pickup and ties. Four silent beats apply to this 4/4 example, not every rest in every piece.
19 October 2026 — Spot a repeated motif before you play
Disclosure: This practice note was drafted with AI assistance. I’m Giang Pham, Pianory’s maker. It adds a reading exercise to this existing practice-notes page.
Before playing a short passage, scan for a group of notes that returns. Mark the first appearance and its matches, then look for one place where the music changes. A repeat can help you organise a passage, but matching pitches may still have different rhythm, dynamics, or articulation. Follow the score’s printed directions.
Notation-free example: eight bars in simple 4/4
Use a comfortable right-hand position around middle C. Each note below takes one beat unless it says “hold 4.”
A — bars 1–4
1. C4 – D4 – E4 – G4
2. A4 – G4 – E4 – D4
3. C4 – D4 – E4 – G4 (same pitches as bar 1)
4. C4 (hold 4 counts)
A′ — bars 5–8
5. C4 – D4 – E4 – G4 (same pitches as bar 1)
6. A4 – G4 – E4 – D4 (same pitches as bar 2)
7. F4 – E4 – D4 – C4 (variation; compare with bar 3)
8. C4 (hold 4 counts)
Try it, then record one observation
1. Name or point to the repeated notes in bars 1, 3, and 5.
2. Compare bars 3 and 7; say what changed before playing.
3. Read bars 5–8 as one phrase, then connect it to the preceding phrase if that suits the piece.
Choose a motif or phrase that fits your score; four-bar groups are just the unit used here. For the existing log, you could write:
Focus: the phrase that changes.
Attempt: compared bars 3 and 7, then read bars 5–8.
Observation: I missed the F at the start of bar 7.
Next step: name that note, then read the phrase again.
This is an illustrative reading exercise, not a passage from a published piece or a report of a learner’s result. It does not assess piano technique. A paper log is enough to keep the observation.
Disclosure: This note was drafted with AI assistance. I’m Giang Pham, Pianory’s maker. It adds a score-reading exercise to this existing practice-notes page.
A local sharp, flat, or natural changes the key-signature default for a measure. In standard modern notation, it applies to later occurrences of the same notated note at the same octave through that measure. At a new barline, start from the key signature again, except when a tie carries the altered pitch across the line.
C major’s key signature has no sharps or flats. In one measure, write F♯4, then another F4 at the same staff position and octave without a second sign. The second note is still F sharp. In the next measure, a fresh F4 is natural because the local sharp has reset.
G major’s key signature has F sharp. Write F-natural before F4 in a measure. Any later F4 in that measure is also natural unless another accidental changes it. In the next measure, a fresh F4 is sharp again, following the key signature.
Name the key-signature default for the note.
Scan from the start of that measure for an accidental on the same note and octave. Carry that change to matching notes until the barline.
At the next measure, return to the key-signature default. If a note is tied across the barline, follow the tie instead of treating it as a fresh attack with a reset pitch.
On a practice copy, circle the first local accidental and draw a small bracket to the barline. As you scan forward, mark only matching notes at the same staff position and octave. At the next measure, stop the bracket and read the key signature again. This can help you check whether a local change is still active before playing. Remove the marks later if they clutter the score. If an altered note is tied across the line, follow the tie for its full duration.
Under a C-major signature: F♯4, then F4 later in the same measure, then F4 in the next measure. Read them aloud as F sharp, F sharp, F natural.
Under a G-major signature: F natural (F4), then F4 later in that measure, then F4 in the next measure. Read them as F natural, F natural, F sharp.
This is a simplified reading example, not an excerpt from a piece. Accidentals do not automatically change every octave of the same letter. Read the staff position and octave carefully, and check an edition’s legend if it uses unusual notation. You can do this exercise on paper before playing; it does not evaluate physical technique. A paper notebook or the existing practice log is enough to record which example needs another look.
Try this when finding the next key interrupts your pulse. This added exercise was drafted with AI assistance by Giang Pham, Pianory's maker. It supplements the practice log on this page.
Illustrative 4/4 rhythm: quarter note, quarter note, half note. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 evenly. Play on 1, play on 2, begin the final note on 3 and hold through 4. Do not play a new note on 4.
A. Tap three attacks while saying all four counts. A tap does not sustain, but the fourth count still takes time.
B. Use one comfortable piano key for the same rhythm. Hold the last sound across counts 3–4. Keep the pace manageable and repeatable.
C. Restore the original pitches of a short passage you are studying. Preserve its actual rhythm; the example above is not a rhythm to impose on every piece.
Condition: hand used / section / pace / with or without a click.
One-key observation: ______.
Original-pitch observation: ______.
First next action: ______.
Example, not a learner result: “One key: no extra attack on 4. Original notes: I pause before finding the note on 3. Next: locate that destination key, then count through the preceding beat and try the join.”
If the rhythm is unclear on one key, check the durations and count slowly before adding more pitches. If one key feels clear but the original passage hesitates, note finding or movement may be adding difficulty. This is a clue for choosing a smaller task, not an assessment of playing technique.
Restore the original notes, phrasing and articulation after the comparison. Stop if a movement hurts and ask a qualified teacher about technique or persistent difficulty. A paper log is enough; no app is required.
A useful practice log answers one question: what should I try when I sit down tomorrow? You do not need a long diary or a perfect score. A few specific observations can help you return to the right task.
Disclosure: This guide was drafted with AI assistance for Pianory. I am Giang Pham, Pianory's maker. The optional tool link below leads to my app.
Focus: Which short passage or skill am I working on, and what am I trying to notice?
Attempt: What did I actually do? Include the hand, section, and whether I counted or used a click. Add the tempo if it helps you repeat the conditions.
Observation: What happened that I could hear or identify? Describe one detail without grading yourself.
Next step: What is the first small action for the next session?
Focus: Keep counting through the join between bars 2 and 3 of my piece.
Attempt: Right hand only, starting on the final two beats of bar 2. Counted aloud slowly without a metronome.
Observation: I stopped counting while looking for the first note of bar 3. Starting directly at bar 3 felt easier, but did not practise arriving there.
Next step: Find the destination key first, then practise the short join while counting. Start a little earlier once the join feels manageable.
This example is illustrative, not a report of a learner's results. Your observation may be different; the point is to leave yourself a clear starting place.
If you listen to a recording, write that separately from your playing attempt. For example: "I heard the phrase continue through the rest" and "I paused after the rest when playing." Recognising the sound can guide practice, but it does not establish that your hands can reproduce it yet.
At your next session, try the same short task before changing everything. If yesterday was one hand without a click and today is both hands at a faster tempo, the results answer different questions. Note the change rather than treating it as a simple improvement or decline.
A higher tempo, a longer streak, or more minutes does not by itself show that a passage is secure. Listen for your chosen detail. If attention or comfort drops, shorten the task or take a break. Stop if playing causes pain.
If the log shows repeated uncertainty about note names, try a short round of Pianory's free note-reading drills, then return to the notes in your score. A drill result is feedback on that exercise, not a measure of physical piano technique.
You can also use this log with the 10-minute piano practice reset on this site. A paper notebook or a plain text note is enough; no app is required. Ask a qualified teacher for individual guidance on technique or persistent difficulty.