Dear Friends,

Greetings from Minneapolis, where I’m attending the MTNA National Conference! If you’re here too, please hit reply - I’d love to meet up!

Also: two days ago, my YouTube channel ticked past the 25,000 subscriber benchmark. 🤯 In celebration of this milestone, I'm planning a Q&A video where I answer questions from my viewers. You can ask me a question by filling out this form here.

So anyway... this week I have been thinking about motivation. Recently, a student shared with me that she’s been struggling with low motivation and inconsistent practice. As we talked, it struck me that students might not realize their teachers (like me) face the exact same challenges. Motivation ebbs and flows for all of us; waiting for inspiration isn’t enough to sustain momentum.

In my teaching and own practicing, I have noticed that often low motivation can come from overwhelm: that feeling that we have a lot to learn or improve without knowing exactly how to approach it.

That's why it's essential to have a clear plan at the start of every practice session. If you do not already do this, making the decision that, starting today, you will not sit down to practice the piano without a plan, can have a huge impact on your practice.

A practice journal can help enormously with this. To keep a practice journal, just write down all the things you are working on, and then write down what you are planning to work on today and roughly how long you'll work on it. While you practice, write down what you did (e.g., “practiced bars 24-73 with the metronome at 80 bpm”). When you are finished practicing, write down the next thing you’ll do when you sit down to practice that piece. Easy-peasy! 😎

To maintain motivation, I’ve also found it helpful to balance pieces at different stages of readiness: mixing note-learning on new material with music that’s closer to being polished. This keeps practice both engaging and productive.

For example, this week I’ve been working on seven different movements. A sample hour of my practice might consist of 15 minutes of memory work on a certain section, followed by 25 minutes drilling the notes on a section of a new piece, followed by 20 minutes of metronome practice on a section of a yet another piece.

After I map out my plan for the day, I simply follow the day’s plan. As I work through each segment of my practice, I then take notes about what I accomplished and what I need to do the next time I practice that movement. If I over- or underestimated the time it would take to do something, I modify the plan as I go to reflect that.

Also, flexibility is key: if I don't feel like doing the next thing on my practice list, I skip ahead to something else on my list that I'd rather do and work on that instead, and come back to the other practice item later.

Everyone's practice plan will look different. Your practice plan doesn’t have to be as detailed as mine—just having a roadmap, even a loose one, makes a huge difference.

Try creating a clear practice plan for yourself this week. You just might find it makes motivation much easier to sustain!

👋 Have a great week! Happy practicing! 🎹

-Kate

PS For more about how to start a practice journal, check out this video I made a while ago where I go through the whole concept.

Practice TIP of the week:

This month’s practice theme is Rhythm & Timing.

In case you missed them, here are this month's practice tips so far:
🎵 March 2: Feeling the Pulse​
🎵 March 9: Syncing with the Metronome​

Today's Practice Tip: Subdividing the Beat

Several students have recently asked me about subdividing - how it works and how they can get better at it. This is such a good question! Everyone needs to subdivide! 😊

Think of the rhythm of your piece as existing on several levels. The surface level is the printed rhythm of your piece, consisting of the note values the composer wrote. The next level down is where the individual beats are (steady quarters if we are in a 4/4 time signature). One level below that is the pulse, consisting of all of the smaller subunits (or "subdivisions") of the beat.

If the beat is the heartbeat of the music, the "pulse" is the blood coursing through the veins of the music: the steady, constant rhythmic stream that stays consistent even as the note values above it change.

When you subdivide, you're feeling the smaller parts of the beat, which helps you keep your rhythm (the two levels above that) stable and steady.

If subdividing is new to you, here's a simple way to start:

• Set your metronome to 60 beats per minute.
• Clap along, feeling each click as a steady heartbeat.
• Now, try speaking out loud to divide each beat into smaller parts:
  • For eighth notes, say "1 and 2 and 3 and…"
  • For triplets, say "1-and-a, 2-and-a..." or "1-trip-let, 2-trip-let..."
  • For sixteenth notes, say "1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a..."
• Do this until it feels comfortable, and gradually increase the tempo on your metronome.

Sometimes students tell me they feel like subdividing is only for elementary players, and they think that they will someday "graduate" from having to subdivide. But that's not true: subdividing is a way of life! Once you learn to subdivide, keep going! 🥳

Over time, subdividing will become automatic but it will never go away, just like the blood keeps coursing through your veins as long as your heart keeps beating.

The goal is to internalize these subdivisions so that you feel them inside your body whenever you play. Try actively subdividing while you practice this week, and see if you notice a difference in your rhythm. You might be surprised how much more grounded and confident you feel!

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. Performance 🎶: Here at the MTNA Conference in Minneapolis, William Yang, winner of the 2025 National Chopin Competition, gave the opening recital last night. Here is his performance of Chopin's 4th Scherzo, Op. 54. I love how effortless he makes it seem!
2. Article 📰: I was really moved by this heartwarming story about "Pianos for People," a nonprofit helping donated pianos find loving homes. This organization pairs families who wouldn't normally have access to an instrument with pianos that are ready for a second life. It's a beautiful reminder of how a piano can change lives, one note at a time.
3. Book 📚: The Musician’s Way by Gerald Klickstein is a practical, insightful guide to mastering the art of practice, performance, and musician wellness. Covering everything from effective practice techniques to overcoming performance anxiety, this book is a must-read for musicians looking to build consistency, confidence, and resilience in their playing. Buy on Kindle or paperback. Check out my other book recommendations here!​

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 🎵Come to Butler University's Piano Camp, June 16-20 on Butler's campus in Indianapolis! Open to students ages 12-18 with at least one year of piano study. Learn more and register here!​
• 📆 Book a lesson or a coaching session with me. I have updated my available dates through the end of April!
• 🎓 Contact me to learn about applying to study with me at Butler University at the undergraduate or master's level. You can also see ​Butler University’s audition schedule​ if you are interested in studying with me in Indianapolis. Go Dawgs! 🐾
• 📚 Check out my resource pages, where I share my recommended books, technical exercises, gear and more!
• 🎥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
• 📱Follow me on Instagram!