Practicing as a Jazz Pianist: An Interview with Steven Paszkowski

As promised, Liberty Park Music is committed to presenting the best guides for practice from industry experts all around the world. For the pilot episode, we had a rare opportunity to interview Dr Minjung Seo, a collaborative pianist, who revealed some of her most treasured tips when it comes to practicing. Continuing on, we unveiled yet another amazing and talented individual, Steven Paszkowski: a multifaceted musician.

In this new episode, we stepped in the shoes of Paszkowski and soaked in his knowledge as a performer, composer, and educator. Not forgetting how practice is imperative to all musicians, he shared how planning out his schedule needs to accommodate at least 3 hours worth of practice: 5 hours if he wants to sleep well at night. His day-to-day is thus arranged around a set of tasks which he follows through religiously on a weekly basis.

Our experienced educator likewise divulged how taking breaks in-between practices maximizes efficiency, the practicality of warm-ups, and what qualifies as good practice. Interestingly, he listed perspiring as a sign of good practice. After all, playing the piano is technically an exercise, and a shirt drenched in perspiration indicates that an individual is extremely focused and driven while playing. The first interview segment ended with methods for quality practices.

Following that, Paszkowski brought insights to the jazz scene and how the ability to identify chords are immensely important in jazz music. Don’t miss out on this valuable wealth of information and watch the video!