what is your worst piano habit?....(usually those you dont know about)

[sportsmonster]

there is much stuff you have to watch out for.

my typically habit was to play the same song over and over and not start with a new song.
i actually forgot to move on and got stuck for a long time.

one another is to get to the next piece without finishing the other one.
and in the end you cant play any whole pianopieces.

my friend could perform lot of things....but all of them unfinished...bah!...sad

it is also easy to ignore fingering and small mistakes that you make in the piano piece that wil become bigger in the future. (changing fingering often in the same piece also creates problems). dont be supprised, but lot of people have bad habits they dont think over. me to actually


 

[zheer]

Somethings you mentioned are good habits like learning 40 songs badly, because these songs will remain in you subconcious and will gradually improve, its better than working really hard on only one song.

[sportsmonster]

Somethings you mentioned are good habits like learning 40 songs badly, because these songs will remain in you subconcious and will gradually improve, its better than working really hard on only one song.

ops....your right.......its erazed. gone forever.

(did i write that? )

yes i just found out about one of my bad habits again
thankyou cheer

[sportsmonster]

The worst possible practice to get involved in is what I call the "MOTION TO THE OCEAN" practice, that is where you depend on the speed, the momentum of the particular technical spot, or the entire piece to get you through. This type of practice usually involves lots of over-fast practice, and nothing else, depending on the muscles to remember the notes, rather than your brain cells to remember the patterns and musical ideas. The lessons learned in this type of practice will easily fall apart in a stress situation. Small variables such as the differences in key surface texture, different light reflections on the keys, and audience noise will cause the "Motion to the Ocean" learning to disintegrate.

(this comment is partly quoted from a pianoperformence tips page)

[chopiabin]

Apparently no one has any bad habits. I know for damn sure I don't. What da problem is?

[frombachtobarber]

Hmm....not articulating my fingers enough? I'm quite lazy. 

[randmc]

What do you mean by 'those you don't know about'? If you don't know about them, then how can you post them?

[gorbee natcase]

Eating sweets during practice and getting the keys sticky (that is a real bad habit of mine that and smoking while practicing

[tompilk]

The worst possible practice to get involved in is what I call the "MOTION TO THE OCEAN" practice, that is where you depend on the speed, the momentum of the particular technical spot, or the entire piece to get you through. This type of practice usually involves lots of over-fast practice, and nothing else, depending on the muscles to remember the notes, rather than your brain cells to remember the patterns and musical ideas. The lessons learned in this type of practice will easily fall apart in a stress situation. Small variables such as the differences in key surface texture, different light reflections on the keys, and audience noise will cause the "Motion to the Ocean" learning to disintegrate.

(this comment is partly quoted from a pianoperformence tips page)

I got into this from playting a Scarlatti Sonata too fast - my exam's in a month for Grade 8 ABRSM. Any hints? I rely on speed or I can't play it correctly... terrible practise...

[librisgeek]

I have this thing... actually I probably should have posted about it before...
When i play something fast with my 3rd and 4th fingers, and sometimes even my 2nd and 3rd (though i mostly have that under control now), my pinky does this horrendous thing:  it just sticks out!!!! I believe this slows down whatever it is I am playing, or at least limits the speed that I can play it at.  I've tried to just relax my whole hand.   I've tried to curve all my fingers more.  Both these things helped a little, but sometimes it still happens.  I don't know if this is a habit so much as it really just happens. 

[crazy for ivan moravec]

smoking during practice is my worst habit!

my piano has 2 ashtrays, one on the left side of the keyboard and another on the right side, so that when i want to work on my left hand alone, i can smoke with my right hand, and vice-versa.

[lostinidlewonder]

My worst piano habit is going into second hand bookshops or charity stores (which I am always rummaging through) and buying all of their old sheet music. Then I'll go home and waste hours playing music, look at my pile of work that needs to be done, shrug shoulders and continue being distratcted. Also I'll get distracted if I hear someone play a piece really brilliantly, it often inspires me to take out that piece and waste some time with it.

My second worst habit is when I cannot make a particular section of a piece automatic I'll end up bashing the keyboard in frustration  I have a really short temper when it comes to teaching myself for some reason but total patience with my own students! But when I'm trying to learn I hate it when I waste my time and fail. I guess its good to keep the pressure on yourself though. But it shouldn't get physical lol. I have broken a few pianos because of this bad attitiude!

[tompilk]

when I cannot make a particular section of a piece automatic I'll end up bash the keyboard in frustration  Embarrassed I have a really short temper when it comes to teaching myself for some reason but total patience with my own students! But when I'm trying to learn I hate it when I waste my time and fail. I guess its good to keep the pressure on yourself though. But it shouldn't get physical lol.

Same here... 

[nicolaievich]

A really bad I have is the habit of marking the tempo with my right  foot. Sometimes I propose not to do that, but as soon as I concentrate a little on playing my foot starts to bother  It's pretty useful indeed 

[kelly_kelly]

Well, I have many bad habits.

1. Practicing too fast/ not practicing slow even when my teacher tells me to
2. Learning too many pieces at once
3. Being unable to keep pieces at performance level unless the need is dire (like if I have a recital coming up)
4. Sporadical practicing (I'll practice for hours one day and not at all the next)
5.Only being able to play pieces on my own piano
6. Relying on muscle memory

I could probably find more but I think I've lowered my self esteem enough 

[tompilk]

1. Practicing too fast/ not practicing slow even when my teacher tells me to
2. Learning too many pieces at once
5.Only being able to play pieces on my own piano

These are the same as me!!! Lol...

[g_s_223]

Depending on the sustaining pedal for legato is all-too-easy...

[Kassaa]

Too much to post .

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Attempting to learn everything by sightreading it first (and I do mean everything!), then discovering months later that the passagework is subtly different from what I thought it was..

[deja vu]

Yes, I have a few actually.

1) When I get to a certain point in a piece with has, say, 6 sharps in (ahem, *ravel-sonatine*)... I am so afraid of reading it that I just don't bother, and I do it by ear instead. I don't think I can read music, thinking about it. At least, not very well.

2) I bang my piano lid shut when I get in a temper. Even worse, I deliberately shut it on my fingers, and then I can't remove them. So I stand there with my fingers trapped for however long it takes for someone to take pity on me and pull them out. Or I raise the lid with my forehead. This is more arduous though. It requires effort.

3) I used to cease to breathe whilst playing the piano. Now I do deep-breathing.

4) I chat with my mother whilst playing the piano. It doesn't get my full attention.

5) My big poster of Chopin distracts me. I find myself playing Chopin far too much. They are RATIONING me.

6) And so I scream a lot.

7) Whilst playing.

Mozart, not Chopin.... And Ravel

9) And I drink whilst playing. I accidentally spilled some in the strings once.

p.s. I also learn everything by sight-reading. That statement may appear to contradict no.1, but it doesn't actually.

[icd]

1) whenever i sight-read a piece, i always use loads of pedalling
2) i never listen to how my teacher asks me to practise. i practise a piece like when i am sight-reading.. AND also practising too fast +_+
3) whenever i start practising a piece at a fast speed, i could never play it slowly ever again as i just mudle up the notes and stuff, which is extremely annoying
4) count complicated rhythms properly (i know i am rubbish.)
5) when i play a piece, I always play different parts at different speeds, with bits that I am most familiar with at a really high speed and bits that I am least familiar with at an incredibly slow speed

omg -_- i am just not a good pianist afterall..

[jas]

I've got a really bad habit of hitting a note/chord over and over again if there's something about it I don't feel comfortable with. I do it when I'm sight-reading, score-reading. I can't seem to stop doing it! I didn't even realise I did it until one of my uni tutors pointed it out to me.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

i hate my usual long ceremonies before starting piano practice! but i can't help them. 

and long breaks in between, too. hehehe

learning (not just reading) and working on technique of 1st pages of other music (like bach-busoni chaccone) which i really don't have time for at that moment .

[da jake]

1. Practicing too fast (which can't really even be considered legitimate practicing)
2. Figuring out, or sometimes even improvising, partially forgotten passages instead of taking a look at the sheet music. '

[ramseytheii]

I don't have any bad habits.

Geor-...
Walter Ramsey

[MattL]

dropping my wrists, slows down performance

[infectedmushroom]

1: I'm very concentrated on all the notes/chrods etc. when I just start learning a new piece. But when I know what I have to play and I play the same piece a lot, I'm starting to rely on muscle memory. I really hate it, I can screw up a piece so easilly cause of that. With relying on muscle memory I'm not totally concentraded on the piece, so I make a stupid mistake or something, really annoying. Another bad thing about relying on muscle memory: I can't play some passages slowly, from a piece. I can play them when I play it on normal speed, but when I have to play it slowly, I just don't know wich note I have to hit really.

Some good things about muscle memory in my opinion:
- Easy playing: if everything goes fine, I'm relaxed and I play a piece like it's nothing
- Enjoying the music: when I'm not concentrated at the piece that much, I can really enjoy the piece, wich is nice.


Still, muscle memory is a very frustrating habit!



2: I drink too much alcohol on a day, wich screws up practising the piano completely sometimes.

3: Lack of concentration sometimes. Of course this has something to do with the muscle memory a bit and when I begin learning a new piece, I can be concentrated, but at some days, I just have no concentration. Everything I do goes wrong and I think about all kinda other things, get distracted etc. 

[leahcim]

(that is a real bad habit of mine that and smoking while practicing

You can play that fast?

[arensky]

smoking during practice is my worst habit!

my piano has 2 ashtrays, one on the left side of the keyboard and another on the right side, so that when i want to work on my left hand alone, i can smoke with my right hand, and vice-versa.

Ah, those were the days...  

NOW I'M HEALTHY DAMNIT!!!   

[arensky]

Sometimes I drool...  

If I don't drool I have to swallow and my adam's apple juts out and people think that's weird.

What's worse, weird throat movements or drooling 

Mah inquring mind wants to know what you think...

[lisztisforkids]

Sometimes I drool...

If I don't drool I have to swallow and my adam's apple juts out and people think that's weird.

What's worse, weird throat movements or drooling

Mah inquring mind wants to know what you think...

Mah inquiring mind says that drooling is gross, but throat movements our ok. If you drool that will look mighty wierd on the stage. Hello? Anylights on in theire?

[meli]

1. Practicing too fast
2. Not breathing properly - even holding my breath with difficult passages.
3. Spending too long learning pieces that are too difficult.
4. Being too hard on myself when making mistakes, and tell myself ' I give up, I am the worst pianist ever! sob ' when I can't conquer a simple passage.

[anschlag]

My piano teacher berates me from time to time about coming down too heavily on the ends of phrases.

[rc]

After frustrating myself on technical patterns (scales/chords/arpeggios) this past week, I was reminded of the bad habit of trying to rush myself.

Wanting to learn something so fast that I get lazy and skip steps, not taking my time to be thorough in practice... Then getting pissed off when it doesn't come out right

...probably the same thing as the folks who say "practicing too fast".


Drooling's pretty strange, must really be in the zone. Try one of those baby bibs that has a little scoop at the bottom, to catch it. When I played guitar, I would get into the zone and start turning in counter-clockwise circles, like a dog slowly chasing it's tail. When I snapped out, the cord would be coiled around my feet.

[arensky]

After frustrating myself on technical patterns (scales/chords/arpeggios) this past week, I was reminded of the bad habit of trying to rush myself.

Wanting to learn something so fast that I get lazy and skip steps, not taking my time to be thorough in practice... Then getting pissed off when it doesn't come out right

...probably the same thing as the folks who say "practicing too fast".


Drooling's pretty strange, must really be in the zone. Try one of those baby bibs that has a little scoop at the bottom, to catch it. When I played guitar, I would get into the zone and start turning in counter-clockwise circles, like a dog slowly chasing it's tail. When I snapped out, the cord would be coiled around my feet.

I drooled the other night at my hotel gig, I was playing Charlie Parker tunes REALLY fast. Fortunately no one saw, and as you say I was "really in the zone". Same with your "whirling dervish" trance...

[panic]

My bad habits are the oldest in the book...not practicing enough and practicing too fast when I do. And also how I spend less time learning Chopin etudes that I'm supposed to be doing and more time trying Alkan etudes out of curiosity that are way too hard for me and that I shouldn't waste my time on. Op. 35 no. 7 anyone?

And in response to meli's 3rd bad habit...I spent 9th through 11th grades learning Chopin's Ballade No. 1. WHAT NOW.