what are your worst distractions during practice?

[crazy for ivan moravec]

i hate it when people start coming in and out of my room to get something. if i lock the door, they would knock! sheeesh. i need to put a big sign on the door everytime so that they wouldn't bother me. but when the sign has been there for days already, they start to think it isn't functional anymore but a sign that i just forgot to take off the other day!!!

eventually i would have to talk to them. (they're my siblings.  )

any distractions? maybe ur imagination? daydreaming that stops u from practice. that's also another distraction for me.hehe

[steve jones]

My god, dont get me started on distractions!

I was trying to learn a passage the other day, and it was taking most of my concerntration just to decipher the rhythm - then my sister starts trotting around our kitchen (next door) with these flip flop shoes on. Suffice to say it sounded someone clicking their fingers arhythmicly in my ear.

I almost popped, it was so frustrating. But whats worse is that no one in my family seems to understand. My mother cant concentrate properly on the TV with other people talking in the room... yet she fails to see why I need some quiet while practicing!!!

Man, I have so many more its untrue. I had my Dad the other day beating pork chops with a rolling pin, my brother typing on his PC keyboard (yes, his PC is in my studio for reasons best know to him), my sister playing speed garage in her room, my neighbour playing that tennis game where the ball spins around a poll etc.

And it all drives me around the twist!!!

But I'll tell you whats worse, MUCH worse. I also produce soundware (audio samples), and sometimes I have to make loop points so that a multisample can loop properly. This isnt that hard, but you have to listen very closely on headphone for the tiniest digital click or pop at the loop point. Just for that slip second you have to listen as closely as your consiousness will allow...

Ofcourse, it helps when your entire family arent watching Hollyoaks in the room next door!

Ok, rant over  (but seriously, you dont know what you've started here  )

[thalbergmad]

I could list distractions, but i would be here all day.

I feel sorry for Steve Jones. I would murder anyone walking around with flip flops.

[phil13]

Okay, there are so many that it's not even funny, and then there are even more, so many that it loops around and actually IS funny. Ha ha.

But the WORST one (and my biggest annoyance, BTW) is when my siblings come over to me and ask me to stop playing in the middle of a piece, so that I can do something insignificant that really could have waited the whole three *** minutes so that I could finish. THAT DRIVES ME CRAZY!

Two runners-up:

- People randomly pressing the top 2-3 keys while I'm playing in the lower register. Why the *** do people do that?

-My siblings turning the TV up when I ask them to go watch TV elsewhere (let me explain this one. EVERYONE in my family has a TV in their room. We also have an extra one in the living room, where the piano is. Yet, for reasons unexplained, my sister loves to watch TV in the living room. Now, my mom, who is the only person who completely understands and respects my need to play, has told my brother and sister that it's a rule that I have priority in the living room almost all the time. Yet, when I ask them politely to leave, they start bitching and moaning about, "I NEVER get to watch what I want to!" Hello?! You have a TV IN YOUR ROOM. I DON'T HAVE A REAL PIANO IN MINE!)

Phil

[jhon]

I am quite lucky that my 5-6 hours of practice a day is not anymore an issue at our home.  Yes, they can watch TV but it is just common sense that they will lower the volume when I'm practicing.

Since my piano is in teh living room, I kinda get used in all distractions.  I just talk straight in conversation while playing...

[noelle]

I can usually deal with noise my family is making, but I farrr prefer to practice when I'm the only one home.
When I'm practicing cello in my room sometimes, someone will suddenly come in and I'll jump like a foot in the air, startled.
The piano's in the living room, so they can't be so subtle.

BUT

the worst thing is
grrr
when I'm practicing, and then my mother's like, "I have to make a phone call, so stop playing for 5 minutes."  And then she talks to someone unimportant for half an hour, and if I try to play ever so quietly, I get yelled at.  Of course, she can't go upstairs unless she leaves the kettle on to whistle where she can't hear it.

[Tash]

only 2 things really annoy me- 1) when my dad decides to start vacuuming the house just after i've started so i can barely ear myself- where is the logic in doing such a thing??
2) my mum comes home and my parents start talking loudly.
i can pretty much handle everything else, i'm lucky and my parents are smart enough to talk on the phone in closed rooms and not watch tv during the day

[jason2711]

because of the extensive building work going on, my parrot was moved to the same room as where i practise.  I now have a permanent companion who screeches, whistles, rattles his cage, imitates the phone, the oven and smoke alarm, talks and swears incessantly while i practise.

Aside from that, my parents seem to want to use the room with the piano for watching tv at nights, even though they spent thousands getting a new room which is now complete upstairs!!

Ah well, it'll all be sorted tomorrow when my baby grand is getting moved to a new room 

though my parents will probably start using that room  then

practising is best when you're on your own in the house!

[quantum]

My mom has a good appreciation for my practice time, and usully refrains from making excess noise.  My dad had a habit of pacing with noisy slippers while I practiced.  It got so annoying, so I made a game: he was actually listening to me play so, when he paced, I stop right in the middle of a piece, he soon realised he was the only one making noise in the room so he stopped walking.  I started to play again when he stoped pacing, then he starded to pace and listen as I played, but the moment he began I immediatly stoped.  On and on with this circle, it wasn't long before he "got it".

Genneral rule I have at my house: if you make noise while I practice - fine.  I practice when you need to sleep.  End of discussion. 

[pizno]

My parrot screeches too!  And tries, badly, to keep time to the metronome. 

Also, my 17 year old daughter has to ask me questions about something next week, when I'm right in the middle of a passage.

But the worst is my email screeching for me to come check it!  It's a total addiction!

[cfortunato]

Cats who try to play along.

[musicsdarkangel]

my distraction is this beautiful girl, and amazing violinist, who comes and takes cigarette breaks with me every hour.


Her name is Vera......  what a beautiful name as well.


*sigh*

[rockitman31]

Dammed dog humping my leg while I'm playing.   

I wouldn't mind so much if the horny bastard would at least keep in time with the tempo of the piece I'm playing. 

[rc]

- People randomly pressing the top 2-3 keys while I'm playing in the lower register. Why the *** do people do that?

hah, I have a little cousin who likes to do this too. I mentioned it to my teacher today and he gave a great solution: tell them which notes they're allowed to press... The 5th of whatever key you're playing in will generally be the safest bet, won't be too discordant most of the time. The piece doesn't have to be wrecked, kid can play along, learn the name of the note, learn to play in time, play with dynamics... It could be very educational.

I sometimes like playing a game when someone's pacing around, play single notes in time with their steps. They don't always catch on, but when they do it's hilarious . I used to do this on an acoustic guitar when some friends would be juggling a soccer ball, each foot would get a different tone whenever they hit the ball. It would screw them up so bad

The absolute worst is when the meathead roomate and half a dozen of his meathead buddies are playing billiards and being jackasses in the next room. It's impossible to do anything with that kind of racket, that's when it's time to go for a walk. Actually, humping dog would be the worst.

...Nowadays, I live alone in a basement suite. Very little distractions Just the neighbours occassionally revving their crotch-rockets. Nobody even seems to know I live here.

[Jacey1973]

Phil and Steve Jones i sooo sympathise!! I have exactly the same problem with family members.

My mum calls me every 5 mins (we're having a bedroom decorated upstairs at the moment) "come up here a minute!" I rush upstairs in case it's urgent (i am just a page away from finishing a piece usually!) only to find my mum wants my opinion on her new curtains..........that SO annoys me - she can ask me any other time of the day, but no it has to be during practise.

My brother and sister moan like hell if they can't watch tv in the living room (where my piano is) and normally storm out (they are both teenagers unfortunately).

My grandad the other day randomly decided to take the light fitting apart, covering the whole room including my piano and music with thick dust. Then after he'd finished (after about 2 hours) my granny and mum spent aaages looking at the new light fitting asking me a million times "do you think it's nice? Are you sure it's not crooked??" All i wanted to do was to get on with my practise considering i'd lost 2 hours already. Other times my grandad will be upstairs hammering nails, drilling walls etc - basically making noise, or he interrupts me every 5 mins saying "that's nice who composed that?" (i like the fact he takes an interest but i have to tell him at least 5 times who the composer is again) or worse still he points at any random note (except C) and says "is that middle C?" (he took piano lessons about 70 years ago!!) Awwww I love him really!

The family member who annoys me most is my dad. Despite the fact i have 3 music college auditions coming up in the next 2 months which will determine my future he doesn't seem to realise that my piano practise has anything to do with it. He constantly interrupts my practise - usually right in the middle of something important to say "oh can you cook dinner tonight?" or "can you clear up the kitchen?" in a tone of voice which suggests i don't do anything ever - when i'm spend alot of my time clearing up after him!!

The worst crime yet was the other day when i didn't cook dinner because i had alot of practise to get through that day (i'd done about 5 hours that day) and i had choir practise in the evening - and my dad says "well you could have cooked dinner, it's not as if you do anything all day!!!!" I was so PISSED OFF i couldn't even look at him!!

Just because music is irrelevant to his life he thinks it's not worth anything to me - it's my career for God's sake!!! I actually felt so down after he said that (the fact that i can't get him to understand the importance of my practise - and that 5 hours of practise in a day is really hard work) that i cried for about an hour after that out of frustration (in the comfort of my bedroom - i would hate him to know he actually got to me!!)

I'm so glad i'm not the only person who gets stressed out about interruptions!....Oh and i CAN'T WAIT to move out, i would gladly live on my own if i could afford to.....mmm all that peace and quiet!

[steve jones]

Jenni,

Trust me it gets no better when its your own place. When I was at university, my room mate was constantly playing these daft internet war games - all I could hear was German Nazi screams and explosions!

Iv decided that when Im rich I will buy a retreat in the mountains somewhere, MILES away from any distractions. So when ever modern lifes gets to much, I can visit the mountain lodge and have a nice long studio session. Oh, and did I mention there'd be hot tubs too? 

[alzado]

I go along with Cfortunato.

Sometimes when I am playing, my black cat hops up on the piano bench on my right.  He sits there quietly for a minute or two, then he tries to nip my right hand every time I reach up above C5 or so.

At first, I just pull my hand away or brush him back.  I try to go on.  But if I don't heed him he will actually bite hard enough to draw blood.  The back of my hand and my upper wrist sometimes have healing cuts on them.

Usually I can't go on, and I have to stop. Then he rubs his muzzle down into the keys with a sideways twist and makes a kind of "clang" sound.  This may mean that he needs or wants something, like dinner.

Usually if I feed him, give him a little treat, or brush him, he will stop.  Otherwise I have to take him and lock him out on the porch "for the duration."

People may ask, "why do you put up with it?  Why don't you slap him?"

Answer is, he is VERY old.  About 15 or 16 at this point.  I feel sorry for him.  I am not sure he really "has it together" very well anymore.

[danyal]

At school: the squeaking pedals; the notes that refuse to work; the bell telling me I have to go to some useless class; the people who randomly open the door to see if there's someone inside (regardless of whether they heard sounds from the outside or not); teachers deciding they're far too lazy to walk 2 meters themselves  and make me stop practising to run their stupid errands; people inviting themselves in to listen and chat.

At home: the phone and doorbell (but i've learned to completely ignore these now, the people on the other end can wait); my out of tune piano; my stepsister that spends half the week at my house who likes sleeping early, so I have to stop early when she's here. The rest of my family sleeps through my playing but she's in the very next room and throws a fit rather easily... ; my dog who finds some sort of pleasure in barking at the wall for hours just outside my window

[Jacey1973]

Jenni,

Trust me it gets no better when its your own place. When I was at university, my room mate was constantly playing these daft internet war games - all I could hear was German Nazi screams and explosions!

Iv decided that when Im rich I will buy a retreat in the mountains somewhere, MILES away from any distractions. So when ever modern lifes gets to much, I can visit the mountain lodge and have a nice long studio session. Oh, and did I mention there'd be hot tubs too? 

Hehe, say no more - i'm there!

[violinist]

My biggest distraction is my pager.  I work as a doc.  The damn thing never seems to stop when I want to practice piano.  Cell phones I can ignore because people can leave a message.

I wish I could practice more than an hour a day.  I'm jealous of those like Jenni that can practice 5 hours a day.  I used to practice a lot more (on violin) when I went to college - there were practice rooms to go to and shut out the world - at the time I didn't have a pager.

Now I practice violin about 3-5 minutes a day and piano about 1 hour a day except for days I work overnight (call nights).  I want to improve very very badly.

[Jacey1973]

My biggest distraction is my pager.  I work as a doc.  The *** thing never seems to stop when I want to practice piano.  Cell phones I can ignore because people can leave a message.

I wish I could practice more than an hour a day.  I'm jealous of those like Jenni that can practice 5 hours a day.  I used to practice a lot more (on violin) when I went to college - there were practice rooms to go to and shut out the world - at the time I didn't have a pager.

Now I practice violin about 3-5 minutes a day and piano about 1 hour a day except for days I work overnight (call nights).  I want to improve very very badly.

Aww and I'm jealous of people who have a job or are in full time education! I can't wait to find a proper job....

[BoliverAllmon]

I am my own worst enemy. It doesn't bother me if people come in and out while I am practicing or making tons of noise. In fact, I like to play with lots of distractions around me. It forces me to concentrate harder. I tend to get distracted by wondering about other things. This forum is one of them.

boliver

[paris]

i'm not very distracted by people coming in and out, but generally i like practising in my own peace in my own room where nobody comes in, no phone, tv, food or internet. 
in fact-tv is only thing i really hate and since my piano is in living room i often get into quarrel with my dad who likes to watching tv in the evening.
and what distracts me the most is when room is too warm and when there isn't enough fresh air. or when is a nice summer day and everyone's on the beach...hmm every summer i promise to myself to practise everyday at least few hours but this summer (as every summer before) i didn't keep my promise. and now i'm really regretting that cos i could have done so much stuffs and i didn't 

[gorbee natcase]

Everyone listed here I would proberbly find irritating

[Mozartian]

oh boy
one of my biggest problems is something randomly popping into my head that's absolutely hysterical, and then bursting out laughing. boy is that ever good.
the key in the lower register that sticks...
the complete out of tune-ness of my piano....
my younger brothers shouting STOP BANGING whenever I play a FF passage...
them turning up the TV whenever I practice...
them coming in and saying "hands up, you're under arrest for disturbing the peace"....
them crawling under the piano and pressing the pedals...
them PLAYING THE HARMONICA while I'm praxing...
them pressing keys in the upper or lower register while I'm praxing...
youngest brother saying WHEN ARE YOU GONNA GIVE ME MY PIANO LESSONS, I have a lot of energy right now will you give me them nooowwwww? during any complicated passage, that's what attracts him I think lol...
need I continue?

But it's not so bad, really.

[etudes]

them coming in and saying "hands up, you're under arrest for disturbing the peace"....

[Jacey1973]

oh boy
one of my biggest problems is something randomly popping into my head that's absolutely hysterical, and then bursting out laughing. boy is that ever good.
the key in the lower register that sticks...
the complete out of tune-ness of my piano....
my younger brothers shouting STOP BANGING whenever I play a FF passage...
them turning up the TV whenever I practice...
them coming in and saying "hands up, you're under arrest for disturbing the peace"....
them crawling under the piano and pressing the pedals...
them PLAYING THE HARMONICA while I'm praxing...
them pressing keys in the upper or lower register while I'm praxing...
youngest brother saying WHEN ARE YOU GONNA GIVE ME MY PIANO LESSONS, I have a lot of energy right now will you give me them nooowwwww? during any complicated passage, that's what attracts him I think lol...
need I continue?

But it's not so bad, really.

LOL! Your brothers sound cute! (Not after more than 10 minutes of them though, i'm sure!) My nephew is the same, but i can't ever tell him to go away when i'm practising cos he's too cute and i want him to be interested in piano as i hope he will learn it in a couple of years.

He tends to think i'm playing a game and wants to sit on my lap and play piano too. Sometimes it's more fun to play "twinkle twinkle little star" and get him to sing along with it than play a difficult passage in say a Beethoevn sonata for the millionth time!

Once i did snap a little, told him to "go and find Granny!" and  locked myself in the piano room away from him, but he ended up sitting outside the door crying and calling "Jenni!!!!" which made me feel soo bad after hearing him cry for 2 minutes so i let him in again! Just love him too much.

I just know my piano playing days may well be over once i have kids of my own, i just can't imagine getting even 5 minutes of peace!

[spitz]

The only distraction I get is my family mainly my brothers my 21 year old brother yells no matter how queit I play "SHUT UP STOP PLAY THE ****ING PIANO" even if its a pp then my 18 year old brother jumping up a brawling my arm (it's always my right arm for some reason) my 7 year old sister coming up a pounding on the keys trying to keep up with the pace my parents seem to understand and don't bug me at all so other than my siblings I'm good

[steve jones]

I can see how that might be considered distracting 

[prodigy1220]

i can stay concentrated on a song while other people are taliking loud or making noise. i guess you have to just stay focused because, excuse me for any sign of ignorance or maybe what im about to say isn't the same, what about people who play the piano in ochestras and things like that where there is noise coming from all over the place and different kinds of sounds and tones

[pianolady4]

In student days I didn't own a piano, so practiced at the university when I could get a practice room or at the public city library (two piano rooms and you sign up ahead), or, for a while, at the Y when I first moved to town and lived there for six months. Also, at a church I attended sometimes, in fact they gave me a key. But it was cold in winter.  I had almost no distractions at any of those places, as the University frowned on interruptions so I mostly avoided them.  Wasn't distractedmuch those days.
As an adult with kids, my piano room also houses two of our four computers; piano was there first, and as teaching piano is my paid job, I can pull rank when I want.  Kids know that I may practice when they're on line. Daughter plays as much as I do.  If they happen to be home when I'm teaching, the room is off limits for all but me and my students, of course.  But schedules are such that I can practice some duirng the day, so no big conflict with family members.  Distractions rather are many other things to do in a day; needs of kids for help with homework, etc.

[pianistimo]

i can tune out distractions pretty well, but this thigh-high cast is killing me.  i don't know when i'll be pedalling again.  probably four months.  will i lose my pedalling technique?

[crazy for ivan moravec]

for a while maybe... because coordination requires some skill in too. but then it's still the ear that does the pedaling. when u hear it, the urgency to move that foot will do the job.

[sleepingcats]

I'm very lucky compared to many of you. My husband is very tolerant and rarely disturbs me. It's just the 2 of us, and our pets. I have step-kids but they don't live with us.

My main distractions are my cats......especially one that likes to wrestle with the others when they don't want to. They also want attention or food (usually food).

My brain distracts me a lot too .........when I don't focus and start remembering things I have to do, errands to run, food I have to buy, people to call, etc.  Then I have to write them down so I don't forget.

 

[pianistimo]

thanks for the encouragement, crazy for ivan moravic.  it's kind of hard to have patience, but i have no options right now.  i've thought about hobbing into the garage and getting the garden shears and cutting down my cast so i can at least sit closer to the keyboard.  it's hard when your leg has to be straight.  but someday soon my ear will force my leg and foot to move again.  hope that i won't have to move my leg to move my foot.  that might look a little strange.  maybe sort of like a jazz player that stomps time whilst pedalling.  or, maybe i'll learn to pedal with my left foot.  hmmm.  maybe i can do that now.  yes.  i'll just stick my right leg out to the side (gaining proximity to the keyboard) and learn to coordinate my left foot on the right pedal.   

[aya_heller]

My sister comes to talk to me and tells me to "Look!! Look!!" at something I really don't care about.  When I tell her I don't care and to go away she sounds and screams and runs out of the room. (She's 17 going on 3 I swear...)

My mom likes to tell me to get up and go do something while I'm in the middle of playing a piece.  I hate stopping in the middle, so I say "Hold on."  She waits about two more seconds and then goes crazy.

I used to practice in the living room on our baby grand.  The TV is in there, and every time I would play someone would be watching TV (the TV is ALWAYS on in my house.) and they would turn it WAAAY up and I would try to play quietly.  Many times this kept me from practicing, because my siblings would always moan and groan about my playing.  My sister says she hates the piano because we play it too much. >.>;;.  I finally got a keyboard for my room and I practice on that most of the time, I go upstairs to play occasionally.  Still people will come bursting into my room and start talking to me.  u.u

Sometimes when I'm practicing I accidently leave MSN or AIM or something on and people will talk to me.  I actually have to stop playing to go tell them to leave me alone.  I'm always too nice though, and it's hard to get rid of clingy people, or sometimes there is somebody online I have wanted to talk to for awhile.  Luckily I just have to rotate between my keyboard and my compuer.  In the end my keyboard ends up being the distraction and I ignore my friends. "Sorry, piano is distracting me again..."

[perfect_pitch]

Once during a final year Piano Lesson, reciting my pieces, I accidently left my phone on vibrate inside my Trouser Pocket...

That is THE worst distraction. Plus it doesn't feel comfortable when your halfway through a Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodie....   

[BoliverAllmon]

i can tune out distractions pretty well, but this thigh-high cast is killing me.  i don't know when i'll be pedalling again.  probably four months.  will i lose my pedalling technique?

how did you get the cast?

[nsvppp]

Our dog starts squeaking, rather soft but extremely high and he just continues doing so during my practice until I stop.
 

[danyal]

Just thought of another one... mainly cos its stopping me practise right now... MIGRAINES.

Its a sparadic prob i have. It used to happen a lot more but now its less often. Still a pain though cos its uncalled for, unwanted, and it kinda puts everything on hold. (AAAAAARGH *danyal grabs head and twists it into random shapes... probably out of some useless attempt to manually squeeze the bastard out*)

Maybe its too much practising. Cos my shoulders are very stiff. Rocklike. Any experience in this regard?

[indigotree]

Remember that our attention creates our reality.

[Etude]

My worst distraction:  other music.

[lau]

My distractions are playing other music on the piano. Yep msu!!!   

[steve jones]

i can stay concentrated on a song while other people are taliking loud or making noise. i guess you have to just stay focused because, excuse me for any sign of ignorance or maybe what im about to say isn't the same, what about people who play the piano in ochestras and things like that where there is noise coming from all over the place and different kinds of sounds and tones

Thats very true, yes. But Id wager no concert pianist would tolerate distractions during practice. You're right that distractions are an inevitable part of performance, but this is very different to practice. Imagine you are desperately trying to coordinate your hands in a rough contrapunctal piece, and the rhythmic side of it is consuming your entire concentration, AND you have some muppet distracting you in the most sould destroying way!

Id swear the other day I was about one brussel sprout away from turning into the Hulk 

Also consider that most people here are concert pianists 

[apion]

I look forward to the time when I can afford my own sound-proof, climate-controlled GAZEBO which will house my 9 foot Steinway and a mini-fridge!