Sudden technique problem.... normal?

[keasbey]

ive been playing for a year or so now,  and I have made some very nice progress.  Up until this week I was able to play runs very evenly,  but one day i wake up and i can't play evenly anymore!  this has been ongoing for 4 days now and its very frustrating.  has this happened to anyone else?

[Appenato]

yeah, it happens. i've found for me that things like this come and go. i say don't worry too much about it. often times the more you worry about it the more likely it is to worsen because you anticipate the uneveness and it comes out uneven. kind of like anticipating that one spot in a piece that always gives you trouble - if you approach it as "oh no, here it comes! i'm going to blow it!" you end up fumbling over the keys. but if your mind is laid back when approaching it, you find you got through the passage with no trouble.

meh... my mere 2 cents worth...

[ryan2189]

This isn't regarding runs, but I had trouble playing this one bar in bach's first two part invention that i was able to play perfectly the day before. To solve this I had just played that section slowly and correctly and didn't go back for maybe three days. When I went back and played it again it had returned to normal. Just a suggestion for you problem wth runs.

[jeremyjchilds]

Sometimes a lot of problems can be solved by not touching the piano for three days..

THat is of course assuming that you are practicing a lot right now...

[Bouter Boogie]

ive been playing for a year or so now,  and I have made some very nice progress.  Up until this week I was able to play runs very evenly,  but one day i wake up and i can't play evenly anymore!  this has been ongoing for 4 days now and its very frustrating.  has this happened to anyone else?

It sounds a bit familiar to me.. It's very frustrating, though..

[pita bread]

Slow down, take a metrenome out, play hands separately until everything is even, play hands together evenly, move metrenome up a notch, repeat.

[keasbey]

thanks for the replies guys,

the problem seems to be going away slowly but surely.

[Siberian Husky]

you know..i get this with my mozart sometimes..

and the way i see it..it doesnt really just go for runs..or technique..sometimes its even expression or musicality

i believe its all in the mood im in..i'll awaken one day..attempt to play some mozart..or perhaps some bach..and it just wont work out for me..this isnt a problem of not knowing the piece because i even have recordings of myself executing the runs on the k545 (for example) just fine..clean like i want them...but this particular day i might not be "feeling" it...

this also goes for when i play chopin sometimes..i dont feel like sappy colour-rich sounds at times, my pedaling might be sloppy, and i'll preffer more tightly woven music like mozart and bach....

of course you cant just accept the fact that playing piano is a gamble or up to your mood..this isnt the point im tryna get across..what im sayin is..it happens..we are imperfect humans and screws fall out everyday in this imperfect place...also..if you'v been at a certain technique and arent getting it..take it slower..and if EVEN then you feel some uncomfort..just put it away for an hour..or a day..or a few days..dont stress off it...actually when i had really bad tendinitis..i was off for about 4-5 days..i was afraid my technique would have been sooo rusty after all that time off..but actually...i played cleaner and smoother than i even did....the majority of technique comes from muscle memory..but the rest is just psychological..maybe this is a sign tellin you to ease up a bit..take a break..go out n have some fun n unwind..the piano wont go anywhere and you wont fall prey to atrophy or deterioration of skill in just a short amount of time lol....hope this gave you some peace of mind

[rubix]

I sometimes get this kind of problem when I've almost polished a piece (its up to speed, and I'm working on tweaking the little quirks). I get a few bars where I had the notes down pat, and suddenly I can't play it properly anymore. Like most people have said, I just try it slowly, and then I speed it up gradually with a metronome. If that doesn't work, I don't worry about it for a couple days, and it usually manages to fix itself.

[maryruth]

Oh yeah, completely normal....It usually means you've overplayed it too much at speed--you've been playing it and not practicing...Take everyone's advice--don't play it for a couple days.  Do some slow detail work.  Play it with different rhythms and articulations.  It should go back into place nicely.  Sometimes the fingers get lazy and crazy just when you think you've got it down.