Listen to the whole piece first
Listen once without trying to play along. Notice returning melodies, contrasting sections and the ending. Knowing the shape by ear makes it easier to find your place when you begin practising.
Understand what MIDI contains
MIDI is not the audio recording itself. It stores events such as pitch, onset, duration and velocity, which a player turns into sound and movement. Fingering and musical phrasing are not present in every MIDI file; note colours alone do not provide them.
Choose a tempo with thinking time
Start slowly enough to prepare each next movement. You might try 60 percent of the original speed, but that number is not a rule. After several steady attempts, increase the speed a little. Keep listening for even timing as the tempo changes.
Separate the jobs of the hands
Listen to the melody and accompaniment separately. Notice where the left-hand bass changes and where the right-hand phrase ends. A simplified MIDI exercise can make one movement clearer before you bring it back into the full version.
Learn your way around the keyboard
The white key immediately left of a group of two black keys is C. The next white keys are D, E, F, G, A and B, followed by C again. Names help you find the same patterns in other registers instead of memorising a screen colour.
Move from watching to hearing
Once a phrase is familiar, try looking at the screen less. Imagine the next sound before playing it. Listen to the recording again and compare the rhythm and note lengths. The goal includes musical continuity, not just pressing the correct keys.