piano practice 'detox'

[Tash]

i want to somehow start afresh, like ditch all my current pieces and just start again, and do a big focus on improving my technique and overall playing- i feel like it needs revolutionising before i start my BMusEd next year. so how do i do it- like does anyone have any recommendation of how i could go about this? like tell me to go and learn all of chopin's etudes and that'll do you good, or something like that. but maybe not all of chopin's etudes cos i think i need something slightly easier so i don't drive myself insane. how do you start again? i need to totally reprogram my attitude to practice as well, learn to make it even more efficient, but i've got that somewhat organised.
comments?

[pianonut]

i like your thread!  have been feeling the same way lately.  i went to the bookstore to find a novel, and came home with the chopin preludes.  for some strange reason, i just want to play some easy stuff and 'detox' as you put it.  i never really tried the preludes and just went for the etudes.

another idea is to go to the library and xerox a bunch of music and see what you are inclined towards before you buy it.  i did this with faure's 13th nocturne.  am i glad i never bought it.  after a read through it was too out there and didn't like it.

[happyface94]

I admire your courage. I've been in the same phase in just about any aspect of my life and have never completly went through with it.

[jazzyprof]

You can always go back to Bach...the Two and Three Part Inventions, the French Suites.  I think they've done wonders for my technique.   
"It seems almost foolish to repeat what has been said so many times about the wonderful old cantor of Leipsic, Johann Sebastian Bach.  However, there may still be some who have not yet become acquainted with the indisputable fact that the practice of Bach is the shortest, quickest road to technical finish."...Wilhelm Bachaus in Great Pianists on Piano Playing by James Francis Cooke.

[whynot]

I love the title of this thread!!   Are there specific things in your playing that you want to address, or do you just need a little fire to get going again?

I've been feeling for some time like everything has gotten a little stale, and I haven't practiced respectably for ages.  I finally ditched my entire upcoming recital program (the date wasn't set, so I was free to do this) and took up a dream piece.  I was saving it for my forties (getting close), because it calls for more maturity than I probably have, but I suddenly realized that this is the only music I care about AT ALL right now.  So I'm playing it.  It's replete with technical difficulties, so I expect it'll teach me to play better, but that's not why I chose it.  I just think it's more special than anything else.  I probably won't perform it until I'm a little older, but this is how I am spending my life right now, and it feels very rich, indeed.  I wonder if there's a piece that makes you feel this way?  You should play whatever that is.  You can use anything to improve, and it doesn't have to be like taking big vitamins that choke you.   The more you care about a piece, the more it will teach you about how to play better.  Plus you're helping to keep a piece alive in the world with your playing and your love.

I know what you mean about efficient practice, and I believe it's good, maybe crucial, for us to know how to really get it done when necessary.  But I don't believe that it is always necessary.   Perhaps not even desirable, at times.   What if you took a new piece you LOVE over the summer and just lingered over it the whole vacation?  Just pored over your favorite parts, figured out what's special about it, what's hard about it, learned how to play the difficult parts with real physical ease?  All in a relaxed time frame; no exams, no recital, just you and the music.  What would that be like? 

Jazzyprof, I love the Bach plug.  He wrote my dream piece.

   

[Tash]

I must say, I’m also one of those people who every year before starting school/uni/etc is like right I’m going to start afresh and make a really big effort this year. The conversation with my mind: ‘right this year’s going to be different, we’re going to make an effort this year and make everything perfect’
‘that’s what you said last year’
‘but this time it’s different, I’m actually going to do it!’
‘that’s what you said last year’
‘shutup!’
so this is probably the same, but this time it’s really important and I want to get better. I was thinking, about how you think you absolutely love music, or anything for that matter, and it’s your obsession etc etc. but then think of those people who are really at the top- their love must be on such a completely different level that you can’t even comprehend how much they love it, that would make them put a freakishly huge amount of effort into their love. But I believe with the right attitude and inspiration you can get yourself to a higher level than you’re at. So that’s what I want to do, I just have to work out how to get there. So I thought starting fresh would be a good start. just getting rid of all those bad habits and really working on my technique and level of musicality. People comment on my musicality, but I’m sure I can really get a hell of a lot more into the piece. i’m liking the idea of a bach fest- I think I’ll do that. Also pianonut what you said about borrowing music from the library- for some reason I’ve never thought to do that, but that’s a really good idea, be good for my sightreading skills. I’ve got a lot of time to prepare for it- it’s probably not a good idea to ditch my pieces yet since I have to play them in like 2 months for my exam. But from October to the end of the year it’s going to be revolutionising time. I think getting a new teacher will be a good step to stepping up a mental level. Provided they’re not some narky old man/woman. I’ve been with my current teacher for almost 6 years and I think I’ve learnt all I can from her- I remember the first thing she said to me in my first lesson after playing some piece (I was 14)- that I was like a wild horse and needed to be tamed! So I think she’s tamed me quite a bit, but she’s not taking me to the next level.
I’m just sorting out some thoughts… You don’t need to have read all that.

[ted]

What about improvisation, Tash ? Flag away struggling with pieces for a few weeks and just play for yourself, let your own ideas come out, without worrying about "goals" or "achieving". Your physical technique won't deteriorate; in fact it may improve because nothing will "matter" and you will relax more.

I know I am inclined to advocate improvisation as a musical cure-all for everything from pox to piles (so to speak) but I feel sure that if more "serious" pianists would do it they would be less up-tight and frustrated.

[steinwayguy]

You can always go back to Bach...the Two and Three Part Inventions, the French Suites.  I think they've done wonders for my technique.   
"It seems almost foolish to repeat what has been said so many times about the wonderful old cantor of Leipsic, Johann Sebastian Bach.  However, there may still be some who have not yet become acquainted with the indisputable fact that the practice of Bach is the shortest, quickest road to technical finish."...Wilhelm Bachaus in Great Pianists on Piano Playing by James Francis Cooke.

Yes, I believe it is imperative you start anew by playing the 15 Two-part Inventions and several pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier. The 15 Inventions shouldn't be too hard if you have a lot of experience already, and they will do wonders for your brain and "technique".

[Bob]

Maybe focus more on technique?  Something small, something you can do every single day...   It's a doable goal that way that you CAN change this semester.  Consistency of the daily work will give you a consisent "machine" (your fingers, wrist, arms, etc.) to use. 

But it's not actually music...

Maybe brushing up on theory a little, or ear training, so you think and hear the music a more more precisely?

I find it's harder to push the edge.  Once you push it, it takes more work to just get to it again and then to push it back more. 

Find some new goal or challenge that is fresh, or take the same old goals and tighten up the deadlines so it's a bit more challenging.

Some thoughts anyway.

[Tash]

i think i'm going to go have a fest with the bach inventions, i'm liking that thought quite a lot.
improvisation- i hate improvisation!! it'd probably be good for me to try- liek we do improvising an accompaniment and figured basses and stuff in keyboard class, and my theory and aural is doing well. it'll be good to get back to uni next week wooo
but i think i'll give all that a try too- won't hurt me in anyway i don't think! thanks heaps all of you, you've made some excellent suggestions!!

[jazzyprof]

Tash, it would be good to listen to a few different recordings of the Inventions (e.g. Glenn Gould's) as you prepare to play them.  Here are links to some free downloads:
https://www.classicalarchives.com/
https://www.sankey.ws/harpsichord.html
I'm sure there are many more...and of course, there's always iTunes for a few dollars.