Playing music with artistic expression is so much more than figuring out the notes and rhythm.  Play I Spy with each song to find all the other important symbols. Use these marks to fully develop artistry in your practice sessions.

Time signature - helps you count the beats

Key signature - which letters are changed?

Dynamics - press firmly or press gently to create louder or softer passages

Pedal marks - do your feet need to help?

8va marks - are you playing in the correct part of the keyboard?

Should you repeat :|| or D.C. al Fine or jump to a CODA?

Are there Accent marks >>>>  ?

When should you play smooth legato with slurs or crispy and short with Staccato dots ?

Check the tempo marks:  Is your song fast or slow ? Are there ritardando marks?

Don’t forget your written homework assignments too.  Keep a pencil near your piano.  Read the instructions fully.  Instructions are tools and resources that help you succeed the first time!

     Evidence of Thoughtful Practice Strategies

Playing hands-together with articulations and dynamics was early in practice    

Practice was thoughtful as evidenced by silent pauses while looking at the music, singing/humming, making notes on the page, or expressing verbal "ah-ha"s and "eureka" moments    

Errors were preempted by stopping in anticipation of mistakes and addressed immediately: the precise location and source of each error was identified accurately, rehearsed, and corrected    

The tempo of individual performance trials was varied systematically; logically understandable changes in tempo occurred between trials (e.g. slowing things down to get tricky sections correct). The target passages were repeated until the error was corrected and the passage was stabilized as evidenced by the error's absence in subsequent trials