Best use of practice time?

[drumstix]

I'm sure this topic has been brought up countless times, but I have a few questions related to my specific situation, so I hope you'll bear with me...
I'm a senior in high school, taking 3 AP classes, participating in marching band (practices 3 days a week + games) and several other music programs, attending several weekly church activities, and working 20+ hours a week at a work.  It is not uncommon for me to be away from home from 7:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night.  Since my family goes to bed relatively early, and I normally practice on a (rather loud) baby grand piano, I am very rarely able to fit any practice time in during the week. 

I have, however, begun to practice at school, squeezing in ~30 minutes a day (monday - friday) during my lunch period, as well as an occassional 45 minutes during study hall.  Unfortunately, 30 minutes is barely enough to play through 3 pieces, let alone focus on any single piece very much at all.  Also, I am somewhat self-conscious about my practicing--I don't like trying to play through a piece that I am not at all familiar with if it can be heard throughout the music hall and into the main hall. 

My question to you is, what is the best way to spend that 30 minutes?  Should I limit myself to maintaining what I already know?  Try to start new pieces?  Sight-read easier pieces?  Work solely on scales and other exercises?  Two and a half hours a week is not nearly as much time as I would like to have (I would prefer two and a half hours a day!), and I would love to work out some sort of schedule as soon as I can, so as not to fall too far behind!

Suggestions? 
Kerry

[stringoverstrung]

Believe it or not, the first thing you should do is to squeeze 15  min from your 2 1/2 hrs a week for ....

Planning!
The less time you have the more valuable planning (= efficient use of time, the scarcest resource) is.

- Write your planning down every weekend. Follow the plan. use Bernhard's system (100 pieces in 5 years).  (use the search function on this forum)
- use 7/20 principle
- Absolutely forget about what others can hear from you. You have no time to waste bothering about that.  It is a fact of life that true practice is not always beautiful (not because you don't play musically but because you repeat it a lot)!
- whatever little you do, do it well. Don't make the mistake to play too many pieces but only superficially.
- revaluate your planning every 2 weeks. Clumsy planning is not uncommon. Not sticking to the plan just proves that you are a normal human being. 

Good luck!

[drumstix]

Thanks for the advice!  I looked up Bernhard's '100 pieces in 5 years'; as always, it sounds like a very practical and beneficial approach.  I do have one question about it:  when he says 'learn 10 grade one pieces...' etc., is he literally referring to grade one?  Or does he mean that we're supposed to divide our list into 8/9 'grades' and proceed from there?  If the former is the case, then how much would a moderately advanced pianist gain from learning a painfully easy piece?  I realize that the thread in which he referred to this method was geared towards adult beginners, but is it also applicable to other levels of playing as well?

Also, another-only somewhat related-question:  (am I getting annoying yet?)
The baby grand on which I normally practice has an excessively heavy touch--so heavy that on the best of days I cannot practice for more than an hour at a time on it without taking a break.  I have had it for exactly one year now; for my first twelve years of playing, I practiced solely on a digital piano.  Quite a difference!  It took me several months of intense practice and finger-strengthening exercises to become accustomed to this new piano, and now that I am not able to play it as much, I find that I am not always able to make it through some of my pieces without wearing my hands out  (Chopin's Polonaise in Ab is particularly difficult).  How does one develop the ability to switch regularly between the weight of several different pianos?  I would be very disappointed if I lost the ability (strength) to play on my own piano!

[stringoverstrung]

Thanks for the advice!  I looked up Bernhard's '100 pieces in 5 years'; as always, it sounds like a very practical and beneficial approach.  I do have one question about it:  when he says 'learn 10 grade one pieces...' etc., is he literally referring to grade one?  Or does he mean that we're supposed to divide our list into 8/9 'grades' and proceed from there?  If the former is the case, then how much would a moderately advanced pianist gain from learning a painfully easy piece?  I realize that the thread in which he referred to this method was geared towards adult beginners, but is it also applicable to other levels of playing as well?

Of course i'm not Bernhard so i cannot speak in his place but i think he literally means grade 1.  It IS applicable to other levels of playing. Remember that the original question was how can i build a fairly large repertoire in a short amount of time. Of course you can only do that if not every piece is at the top of your abilities. Of course you mustn't pin yourself down to grade 1. It just means pieces that are easy for you.

What does it bring? It brings you
- repertoire
- the opportunity to mentally learn the piece completely away from the piano (interesting for you: you can learn it in your mind while in class once you know it by heart! Remember that you must do a lot of work before playing a single note at the piano.)
- an opportunity to perfect your planning because you can make a good estimate while you really "understand" every technical aspect of it
- it brings you your own method of how to tackle things
- you can focus on the music/interpretation
- it brings you patience and love for music
- it gives you the opportunity to explore many pieces and styles and thus know much more about piano repertoire.

I think that in your case (you already play for a while) it is very good to begin thinking about your repertoire! Also think about this one: the ultimate goal of studying piano is to make everything easy for you!  Better get used to it!

One word of caution: only select simple pieces you REALLY love because otherwise you will loose interest soon. Also look for something less known.

if you want more "technique": if you haven't already done them learn all Chopin études OP 10 and OP25 preferably with Cortot's "édition de travail".  Don't forget to plan: now you can really test your planning skills!
 

[stringoverstrung]

(am I getting annoying yet?)

not even close 

Also, another-only somewhat related-question:  (am I getting annoying yet?)
The baby grand on which I normally practice has an excessively heavy touch--so heavy that on the best of days I cannot practice for more than an hour at a time on it without taking a break.  I have had it for exactly one year now; for my first twelve years of playing, I practiced solely on a digital piano.  Quite a difference!  It took me several months of intense practice and finger-strengthening exercises to become accustomed to this new piano, and now that I am not able to play it as much, I find that I am not always able to make it through some of my pieces without wearing my hands out  (Chopin's Polonaise in Ab is particularly difficult).  How does one develop the ability to switch regularly between the weight of several different pianos?  I would be very disappointed if I lost the ability (strength) to play on my own piano!

now here we have a complex but important problem: it is not normal that after 12 years of practice you can't play for more then one hour. Of course from a distance and without seeing you it is impossible to tell what the reason is. Playing 12 years solely on a digital is not a valid reason!
what can you do?
- Get a qualified technician in there to check if this baby grand is in good order.
- Play on a "normal" grand : play this Polonaise let's say 5 times. Do you feel anything (tension, fatigue?). If yes then there is something wrong with your "technique".
- if you're not sure that your technique is 100 % OK, then play before a good teacher once and ask him/her for advice. (Explain the problem)

How does one develop the ability to switch regularly between the weight of several different pianos?

by doing it a lot. Everyone needs time to adjust. Why do you think that eg Horowitz took his piano everywhere he went? Other virtuosos have such strict parameters for the technicians that the piano's they play (almost always from the same brand too) are very similar. It's because it's difficult to switch all the time!

Tip: don't try extra hard because you're playing on a heavy piano: prerequisite for good playing is that it has to come natural... If it's not working out watch your finger action because on a digital one tends to loose the correct finger action pretty fast. it gets sloppy: the tone comes easier so there's not so much need to make your fingers work.

PS: also search on finger strength on this forum and prepare to be amazed. 

[bernhard]

Thanks for the advice!  I looked up Bernhard's '100 pieces in 5 years'; as always, it sounds like a very practical and beneficial approach.  I do have one question about it:  when he says 'learn 10 grade one pieces...' etc., is he literally referring to grade one?  Or does he mean that we're supposed to divide our list into 8/9 'grades' and proceed from there?  If the former is the case, then how much would a moderately advanced pianist gain from learning a painfully easy piece?  I realize that the thread in which he referred to this method was geared towards adult beginners, but is it also applicable to other levels of playing as well?

Stringoverstrung is right.

Yes, I mean grade 1.

And why not?

 Repertory should be selected according to the beauty of the piece an how much you like it, not by difficulty. In fact some of the most beautiful pieces in the repertory are on grades 3 – 6 (There is a sound historical reason for that: publishing music in the 19th century was a considerable source of income for most of the famous pianist/composers. There was huge amateur market that was eager for music of great quality and modest difficulty, most of this repertory has been neglected – untold treasures await you!).

You ask:

how much would a moderately advanced pianist gain from learning a painfully easy piece?

What about the pleasure of playing a satisfying piece that you love? Or is that a quality only found in advanced pieces? Or to put it in a different way, what does a pianist gain from learning any piece? Surely the prime motivator is not how easy or difficult the piece happens to be.

Have a look at these threads for some superb repertory that is surprisingly easy – and more often than not sounds far more difficulty than it actually is:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2147.msg18098.html#msg18098
(Easiest piano piece ever written)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,1970.msg15762.html#msg15762
(easy sonatas)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2314.msg19869.html#msg19869
(Schumann’s Album for the young)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2398.msg20989.html#msg20989
(Serenade by Schubert - suggestions for Scarlatti sonatas and Prokofiev pieces of beginner/intermediate level).

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2562.msg22127.html#msg22127
(Suggestions for repertory for someone who has been playing for a year)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2851.msg24984.html#msg24984
(Introduction to romantic pieces – how technique is specific to pieces)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3721.msg33399.html#msg33399
(grade 4 – 6 repertory)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4140.msg38111.html#msg38111
(True repertory for total beginners)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4238.msg39061.html#msg39061
(easy show off pieces)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4371.msg40871.html#msg40871
(Mendelssohn favourites)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4416.msg41105.html#msg41105
(nice slow romantic piece for beginner)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4737.msg44794.html#msg44794
(Jacques Duphly)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5063.msg49589.html#msg49589
(Albums for the young)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2357.msg56150.html#msg56150
(Joe Hisaishi sheet music)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7008.msg80656.html#msg80656
(Beautiful music that is not hard to play)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8368.0.html
(Victor Carbajo)

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,12061.msg126976.html#msg126976
(Rachmaninoff easier pieces)

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,8225.msg113552.html#msg113552
(minimalist pieces – description of Einaudi pieces.)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2339.msg20064.html#msg20064
(Scarlatti favourite sonatas).


And to save you some searching on finger strength, have a look here:


https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4145.msg38568.html#msg38568
(beginner’s muscle development – anatomy of the hand forearm – true reasons for extremely slow practice)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2998.msg26268.html#msg26268
(Scales HT, why? – why and when to practise scales HS and HT – Pragmatical  x logical way of teaching – analogy with aikido – list of piano techniques – DVORAK – realistic x sports martial arts – technique and how to acquire it by solving technical problems – Hanon and why it should be avoided - Lemmings)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/board,4/topic,4880.3.html#msg46319
(discusses how to acquire technique and what technique actually is)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2033.msg16635.html#msg16635
(finger strength)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2502.msg21594.html#msg21594
(Independence of the 3rd and 4thfinger – it is impossible, one should work towards the illusion of independence: it is all arm work)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2507.msg21688.html#msg21688
(Round fingers – the role of fingers)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5034.msg47829.html#msg47829
(The finger strength controversy – some excellent posts by xvimbi)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7887.msg79326.html#msg79326
(why the lifting of the 4th finger is a non-problem)

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,7341.msg114168.html#msg114168
(repeated note-groups for difficult passages – correct technique is never uncomfortable – rotation as the solution to 5th finger weakness – criticism to misguided technical exercises – trusting the unconscious)

Just the tip of the iceberg.


Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[drumstix]

it is not normal that after 12 years of practice you can't play for more then one hour. Of course from a distance and without seeing you it is impossible to tell what the reason is. Playing 12 years solely on a digital is not a valid reason!

Perhaps I should clarify:  I can play for as long as I want on any other piano, but this is by far the heaviest action I have ever seen.  I got it because I play a lot of ragtime, and the heavy touch makes it very difficult to hit two notes at once.  For that purpose, it is excellent. 

For me (and everyone else, apparently), the worst (hardest/most tiring) part of the Polonaise is the middle section with the descending octaves in the LH--I can barely make it through the repeat on a normal piano; keeping it even somewhat clean on mine is out of the question...but I know I'm not doing that right

For the record, I had weekly piano lessons until the beginning of last school year.  Regretfully, I no longer have time for regular lessons, but I still see her occasionally-- primarily when I've reached a milestone in a new piece, and need some guidance.  She has never really said anything about my technique, so I've always figured it must be OK--she's nationally certified, very strict/demanding, and doesn't let anything slide in any other area.  I will, however, ask her if I'm doing anything wrong next time I go for a lesson.

[drumstix]

Stringoverstrung is right.

Yes, I mean grade 1.

And why not?

( ...
  ...
  ... )

Wow!  That's a lot of links!    Thanks--I'll read through as much as I can when I get home today--esp. the 'easy pieces' threads.  I have always approached the more difficult classical pieces because I enjoy the technical challenge, and because, oddly, I find it easier to let go and 'lose myself' in a very involved piece, rather than a minimal, easier one--you know, where your fingers are moving and part of your mind is interpreting and playing the music, but the rest of your mind is off in another world.  That, to me, is one of the most enjoyable and beneficial parts of piano playing; it's how I relax and unwind every day--I have yet to find a better way to take my mind off of whatever may be going on at the moment.     Wow...sorry, that got a bit off-topic.  I mentioned in the last post that I play a lot of ragtime, as well--I enjoy that not because of the technical complexity, but because it's easy and fun to play. 

Clearly, this is becoming a very broad topic very quickly--perhaps it should be split into a couple different threads?  (Heh, silly me, I'm sure it already has)  Sorry to ask so many different, open-ended questions!  It's getting hard to keep up with it all    I never expected so much useful information--it'll take at least a couple days just to sort it all out!  If there's anything else you think needs to be added, by all means, go ahead; otherwise, thanks so much for all your help!  I'm gonna go take a couple days to process all this and see what I can do.  --Kerry

[stringoverstrung]

Perhaps I should clarify:  I can play for as long as I want on any other piano, but this is by far the heaviest action I have ever seen.  I got it because I play a lot of ragtime, and the heavy touch makes it very difficult to hit two notes at once.  For that purpose, it is excellent. 

sorry about that. I could have known that your technique is OK!

btw not all ragtime is easy 

[stringoverstrung]

  Should I limit myself to maintaining what I already know?    Work solely on scales and other exercises? 

Certainly NOT!

[stringoverstrung]

For me (and everyone else, apparently), the worst (hardest/most tiring) part of the Polonaise is the middle section with the descending octaves in the LH--I can barely make it through the repeat on a normal piano; keeping it even somewhat clean on mine is out of the question...but I know I'm not doing that right

because i know you're short on time i did a search for you on octaves

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2230.0.html

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,7059.0.html

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,7276.0.html

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,195.0.html

and a B-link cracker  :
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,12295.msg132843.html#msg132843

and more importantly (although legato octaves):
Learn Chopin OP 25 nr 10 + exercises from cortot "éditions de travail" for nr 10