Practicing Pet Peeves

[chopininov]

What are the things that annoy you the most while practicing?--whether it be your family, friends, habits, surroundings, background noise, etc.
While practicing earlier today, I noticed that there are many things that drive me crazy while practicing. Some of them are:
-when my parents turn up the tv volume to block out the sound of the piano
-when somebody tells me to stop playing because they are on the phone
-when people come up to me and ask "oh, do you know that one song? you know, the one that goes da da dum dum?"
-I can't stand playing with natural light; only artificial for me.
-when people act like I'm giving a performance and clap after a passage i've played 5 times, asking "That was a nice song. What's it called?"
-when people start playing another instrument in the same room I'm in, acting as if there are no other rooms to play in

[dan101]

Some of what you say is most certainly valid, although I am somewhat confused by some of your content. You don't like natural lighting?? At any rate, I would take a lighter approach and be less angry. It's next to impossible to control the behaviour of others around you.

It also sounds like you'll have to do a little adjusting yourself, with respect to your practice habits. For example, perhaps you should play a bit quieter when an important phone call is incoming. Good luck.

[pianochick93]

-When there is only one piano left to practice on, because the pianos in the other rooms aren't bveing used, but are occupied by instrumental teachers.

-When that one piano is taken up by another pianist for the entire lesson, they don't even think half-half.

-When the sister devils turn up the volume on the TV so that I can't hear the piano, and then yell at me for playing too loud.

-When my friends sit and complain that I am playing too repetitively. Especially in Raindrop prelude, when all they hear is the continous G#/Ab throughout the piece (that isn't my fault for not bringing out the melody), and then they find another piano and hit it over and over again.

-When I am playing and someone sits down at another piano near me and starts playing Moonlight Sonata 1st Mvt. or Fur Elise incredibly fast and devoid of all emotion.

-When I am playing a piece that I have difficulties with, and my friends sit down on either side of me and press random notes, or play with the pedals. The worst thing is that one of them is a pianist of the same level as me, and doesn't even stop to think how annoyed he gets if people do that to him!

Grrr...

[quantum]

When I am warming up somewhere just before a performance, trying to gather my thoughts.  Then some person comes up to me and starts yacking away, asking if I can play this or that, do I teach violin or didgeridoo since I obviously play the piano shaped object, can I tune pianos, how do I memorize all that stuff, etc.

[wintervind]

 -sneaking up behind and practically breathing down my neck
- Having to actually tell someone to leave the room because they keep complimenting me on the difficult passage that i keep flubbing. "o that sounds great! you are really good!" " Can you play any (insert any annoying band or genre you can think of here)

All in all, people are pretty respectful as a whole

[lazlo]

-instrumentalists taking up the practice rooms with the best pianos.
-pianos that are out of tune
-pianos where certain keys don't work
-people who sit really high on the piano bench (i sit low and have to lower it all the way)
-Non-natural light. kills brain cells. especially flourescents. I'll even prefer to practice in near dark to turning on a flourescent bulb.
-pianos with extremely heavy action
-Pianos with sticky keys...

most of this in reference to the practice rooms...

[james howard]

If you are in control of your own environment, such as your home, then commit the ultimate sacrilege, get yourself a good digital piano and a set of headphones!!  If you are "peeved" when practising then you must be wasting a lot of time and emotion simply on being peeved which can't be very constructive.  At least with my solution you can withdraw into your own world and concentrate. 

[lazlo]

Unless you aren't in control of your own environment...

[quantum]

The new building in the Uni I used to attend now has automatic light switches that turn on lights when there is movement in the room.  What is annoying is that you can't turn the lights off!!  I love practicing in the dark.

[rc]

Unless you aren't in control of your own environment...

How would that be?

In the last two places I've lived I've been able to fit my digital piano into my bedroom - close door, good pair of headphones on, everybody knows not to bug me - voila!  perfect practice conditions.

My biggest peeve is when my job takes up too much time and leaves me too tired to put in decent practice.  I can control it most of the time, but once in a while work takes over my life for a few days.  I have to balance like a tightrope walker.

[rc]

The new building in the Uni I used to attend now has automatic light switches that turn on lights when there is movement in the room.  What is annoying is that you can't turn the lights off!!  I love practicing in the dark.

Could you put something in front of the motion sensor?  A piece of cardboard or masking tape?

[lazlo]

Well, you aren't in control of your environment really at a conservatory. Where, you never know what piano, on what floor you'll be playing, or how many other people will be around you, or the condition of the piano you're playing.

[alzado]

I have a cat that hops up on the piano bench, puts his paws on my knee, and tries to bite my right hand as I play.  He just sort of nips at me, does not draw blood.

Sometimes if I stop, he "clangs" some notes with his chin. 

Usually he wants a small bowl of half-and-half (his treat) and sometimes he wants to be brushed.  He sheds a lot, so frequent brushings are a good idea.

But the timing is awful.  It invariably interrupts my practice for five minutes or more.  It is impossible and painful to try to continue playing while being bitten.

Don't suggest rough treatment, as we don't slap or otherwise get rough with the cats.

Cats are cats.  They are weird.  He may not even know he is doing anything wrong.

[franzliszt2]

When I am practicing something and the person next door start playing what I am playing

When people book the room I am practicing in, and I have to leave

When I break a string on my piano at home

When I get up at 6 o clock, travel to practice, and get stuck on a bad piano

[pianorin]

-when i was practising my sisters and brothers on the tv and slowly increased the volume!! and they asked me to stop playing the piano for their movies' sake!!!
-practising, my mum approached me, telling me to eat this and that.

those made me want to tear my hairs off.. 

[quantum]

Could you put something in front of the motion sensor?  A piece of cardboard or masking tape?

Good idea.    If I can reach it, I believe they are on the ceiling which is something like 10 ft high.

[rc]

Yeesh, 10 ft is beyond what standing on a chair can reach

Another idea: blindfold yourself.  Not quite the same as a dark room though, there's just something about being in that atmosphere.  Even better is being a dark room with streetlight or moonlight pouring through a window.  Something about it just fires up the imagination.

[pita bread]

I actually hate hearing other people practice. I'm also very self conscious while practicing so I don't like people around while I practice.

[teresa_b]

This is my pet peeve:  I am clearly in the middle of a practice session, playing something that is nearly ready for performance, and someone interrupts me.  Not to be pretentious, but you all know how much concentration it takes to play a piece accurately and with your emotions in it.  It's like being suddenly yanked out of a meditation session.

Non-musicians don't seem to have a clue as to why we hate this sort of interruption.

Teresa

[rc]

Non-musicians don't seem to have a clue as to why we hate this sort of interruption.

Teresa

Agreed.  Certain family members, no matter how many times I explain that I don't want to be interrupted, don't seem to get it.  It's like they think I'm just kidding.

[Bob]

Constant interruptions, esp if it's the same person.

Keys that don't work quite right or having some oddity to the piano, like a squeaky pedal.


The phone, yes.  I hate when people ask you to stop because of the phone, esp when they could take the call in another room.


Not quite a peeve, but a definite de-motivator.  When you get a practice room right next to someone who is playing through their concerto.  Dazzling playing, and then you get to sit their and

plunk out something you're just starting.

I hate it when people come up and talk to you while you're playing and expect an answer.  Esp annoying was a boss who stopped me while playing to tell me what a good job I was doing.  I think that was beyond a "peeve" then.

Out-of-tune pianos.  Having the one extremely out-of-tune note be the tonic of the key your in.

Knowing when you're playing a piece that you could do better if the piano was better.


Students who walk by and plink the top or bottom keys on the piano.  That annoys the heck of me, esp after I ask them not to.

Having someone standing behind you and not knowing exactly what's going on back there.

Having someone tell you it's good enough the way it is and you don't really have to practice it

anymore.  The playing level may be the same, but there's a difference between playing comfortably and playing stressed.

How about having a practice room right next to the professor's office?  I loved that one.  No pressure there, and I think some of practicing should be experimentation.

Yes, not having energy to practice.  Or not having recovered from the previous session.  Attempting to practicing but having the play apparatus change so you can't do what you planned to do.


Having the building locked at college when it's supposed to be open.  Having the little campus security people tell you there's a sports event going on so they can send anyone over to open the door that's supposed to be open.  Having that happen on the day of a performance and having your music locked up inside in the building.


Having someone sing the next note when you're working out a piece.  Of course you know the sound of the next pitch, but reading if off the paper while letting your brain think of the right fingering is different.  They think they're helping.


Having people poke their face in front of the practice room door, just enough so you lose concentration but then they're gone.

Not having anything to cover up the window with.

Having someone fart or leave a BO smell in the practice room just before you.  You walk in and discover the room is unusually warm... and then it also stinks.  Ick.  Then you can decide to stay in Mr. Stinky's room with the good piano, or you can go into a room with a crappy piano.  Hmm..... 

(Hint:  You can use chapstick on your upper lip area to numb your nose to the smells.)


Practicing a piece so it's really down well and then discovering the performance isn't that great and you might have squeaked by with less work.

Having someone cancel a performance after you've worked on the accompaniment.  I hate that when they don't pay or don't think they should pay because they couldn't do the performance.  Grr....

[pianochick93]

In reply to your last one Bob, even worse when they ask you to accompany them 2 days or so before their performane. I like to work with the person and figure out what they want to do and actually learn the piece properly! Not scramle through it when it isn't fully learnt.