Starting Again after a looong break

[lily299]

Hiya, just stumbled upon this board, my first post!

I used to play the piano regularly when i was young (i was at a Jacques-Dalcroze Institute for music) for about 8-9 years, did the exams and regular recitals, "had a lot of promise" etc. Then, when i went off to university, i got lazy, the practice rooms were on the other side of town, i didn't bother with regular lessons, saying that I'd "keep up my piano playing by myself"... Needless to say, I didn't... and now, after a break of about 5 years, I've finally moved into a house with a piano, I realise just how much I've missed playing and really want to start again properly, with lessons etc (need the discipline and the repertoire-knowledge of a professional). The trouble is, that I'm having real difficulties playing at any kind of good standard, even relatively easy pieces. So, my question(s) is/are:
1. Do you think it's better to get a teacher ASAP, even though he/she might think I am a beginner rather than just really rusty? I mean, the way I am playing now, they wouldn't even believe that 5 years ago I was able to play some of the stuff I played at all...
2. Or is it better to (really this time!!) practice on my own to get back closer to my previous standard and THEN approach a teacher after a month or so's rigorous practice?

Basically, I have no idea how a first lesson with a new teacher goes (i had the same teacher for the 8 years when i was young).. Will they just sit me down and say "play something" and  base their lessons on how i did there? Or what?

Sorry for the vast ramblage... just really want to get back into it and dont really know how!

[teresa_b]

Hi lily,

I did something similar, resuming piano after a long break.   I don't know what a new teacher will want at the first lesson, but I would hazard a guess--They will ask you to play something! 

What I did was, I did NOT try to work on the most difficult stuff in my previous repertoire, but I looked over a lot of things and picked a couple of shorter works to start.   You might choose a piece of medium difficulty that you knew before, and re-work on it for the teacher.  It won't be as frustrating as something entirely new because you'll learn it faster. 

I think I chose one Brahms intermezzo, and probably something by Mozart--I love Mozart, as it's not terribly hard to get the notes even if you're a bit rusty.  But it's a huge challenge to get it right musically--and you haven't ever lost that ability!

Maybe pick a piece or two to start and work on them a few weeks , then have a lesson with the teacher. 

Good luck, and have fun!
Teresa

[bearzinthehood]

I used to play the piano regularly when i was young (i was at a Jacques-Dalcroze Institute for music) for about 8-9 years, did the exams and regular recitals, "had a lot of promise" etc. Then, when i went off to university, i got lazy, the practice rooms were on the other side of town, i didn't bother with regular lessons, saying that I'd "keep up my piano playing by myself"... Needless to say, I didn't... and now, after a break of about 5 years, I've finally moved into a house with a piano, I realise just how much I've missed playing and really want to start again properly, with lessons etc (need the discipline and the repertoire-knowledge of a professional). The trouble is, that I'm having real difficulties playing at any kind of good standard, even relatively easy pieces. So, my question(s) is/are:
1. Do you think it's better to get a teacher ASAP, even though he/she might think I am a beginner rather than just really rusty? I mean, the way I am playing now, they wouldn't even believe that 5 years ago I was able to play some of the stuff I played at all...
2. Or is it better to (really this time!!) practice on my own to get back closer to my previous standard and THEN approach a teacher after a month or so's rigorous practice?

Basically, I have no idea how a first lesson with a new teacher goes (i had the same teacher for the 8 years when i was young).. Will they just sit me down and say "play something" and  base their lessons on how i did there? Or what?

Get a good teacher ASAP.  Having been in your exact situation, I think it is critical.  What does it matter if the teacher doesn't believe you used to be good?  Here is the stage where pride will do nothing but slow you down.

At your first lesson, your teacher will most likely ask you to play something.  It's fine if you can only play an easy piece.  It's so much better to be able to play two notes immaculately than to play a difficult piece poorly!

Remember, you're not trying to hide anything from your teacher.  It would be like trying to hide a tumor from your doctor!  Your teacher is there to help you, find a knowledgeable one that you can get along with, swallow your pride, and assume a beginner's mentality.  I wish I did this sooner instead of practicing on my own for what pretty much turned out to be several wasted months.

[Floristan]

Lily,

I came back to playing after a 12-year gap.  I dreaded auditioning for a teacher.  I contacted one teacher who concertizes quite a bit locally.  I told her I was way below her level and maybe she could just give me the names of one of her pupils.  She said she'd be happy to, but she insisted on hearing me play.  She said she couldn't determine anything without hearing me.  I was terrified.  She also asked me to make a list of every piece I'd ever worked on and every piece I had ever played through, no matter how poorly.  She wanted to get an idea of my familiarity with the literature, she said.

I played Chopin's "raindrop" prelude for her -- had learned it when I was 16, and I was at least able to bring it back to some semblance of life.  I played terribly.  Then she reviewed my list of pieces, which was very long because I've read through tons of piano music.  Then she asked me a lot of questions about music, my former teachers, my other experiences (choir, etc.), favorite performers and why, favorite composers and why, my goals with the piano, pieces I've always wanted to learn, etc.  It was an extensive interview...went on for 45 minutes.

Finally she says, "Well, I can't really give you to one of my students because you are musically too sophisticated for them, but let me call my former teacher and see if he has time."  He did.  I auditioned for him, and he took me on.  All the while I'm thinking, like that Dana Carvey character on Saturday Night Live, "I am not worthy, I am not worthy!"

I'm sure it varies from teacher to teacher, but the point of all this is that a lot of teachers will do more than just listen to you play and do a thumbs up or thumbs down.  They'll talk to you.  They'll find out what your experiences are.  They'll take everything into account.  They really are there to help, and the more they know about you, the more they can help.

I'm so glad I didn't chicken out.  I'm so glad I have a teacher.  I knew my technique was in the crapper, but it turns out I didn't even really understand what technique is, let alone have one!  My teacher is very supportive.  I have learned so much in the past year.  Mind you, not so much repertoire (though I've added a few pieces), but real technique...learning to relax at the keyboard and play with my entire arm.  Learning to SLOW DOWN and figure out the best movement to achieve each note, each passage, and giving the body/brain time to learn the movement.  Learning the many different ways of getting the body/brain to learn movement.  Amazing.  I'm playing Rachmaninoff's Op. 32, No. 12, and I never dreamed I'd be going there when I started taking lessons a year ago.

Give yourself a break.  Get a teacher.  You'll be glad you did! 

[kamike]

I find myself in about the same situation - returning to the piano seriously after years.  I have kept myself involved, to a very limited extent, with accompaniment roles but had dropped lessons and performing.  My goals, now, are to simply enjoy the music and experience.

Anyway, great advice, to get a teacher...  but for me the bigger question is - how do you find a good teacher?  I am relatively new to my local community.  What would you advise?

[bearzinthehood]

I find myself in about the same situation - returning to the piano seriously after years.  I have kept myself involved, to a very limited extent, with accompaniment roles but had dropped lessons and performing.  My goals, now, are to simply enjoy the music and experience.

Anyway, great advice, to get a teacher...  but for me the bigger question is - how do you find a good teacher?  I am relatively new to my local community.  What would you advise?

Check your local university, they probably have a referral list at the music department.  Should be a good place to start.

[kamike]

Thanks for the idea.  We have a university here in town, and I'll give them a call.  Any thoughts about what to ask and what criteria to look for when interviewing teachers?

[cfortunato]

I did the same thing you did.  I found it better to not take lessons right away.  I went and relearned the stuff I used to know best.   It was actually rather encouraging, since -  while I sounded terrible when I started - it wasn't long AT ALL before I was playing them like I used to.  It's must faster than learning them from scratch, if a bit frustrating at first.  And then I fairly quickly was able to play stuff I had once found "a bit too hard."  Perhaps because I actually started practicing harder than I ever had (age and maturity and all that).

My current repertoire is considerably larger than it was when I was young and "showed a lot of promise." 

[sharon_f]

I went through the same thing. I started back playing about a year and a half ago after a 35 year break.

I knew I wanted to take lessons again, so I contacted a very well-respectged teacher at a local university by e-mail. I included a little bit of information about myself: how long I had taken lessons, what I played, how long I had been without a lesson. I was basically asking her for recommendations for a teacher.

She immediately returned my e-mail and asked me to giver her a call. We had a very nice phone conversationsand she asked me if I was interested in studying with her. We scheduled a "lesson" a couple weeks later, so I had a little time to work up a movement from a Bach French Suite and a Scarlatti sonata. 

That first "lesson" (more of an audition, I think)  was very interesting. We first talked a little about where I had studied, with whom, why I stopped, why I wanted to start again. Then she asked me to play the Bach. Then we worked on it together. The same with the Scarlatti. It was very much like working with my teacher years ago. We talked about articulation, she asked me to try playing something with a different movement, we worked on some fingering, voicing, etc. The hour lesson flew by. We talked a little about my goals, what my practice schedule would be like, etc. Then, the next thing I knew, we were setting up a date for my next lesson. She was assigning me scales, added the next dance from the Bach, added a Chopin waltz and a Tcherpnin Bagatelle.

It has been a wonderful year and a half and I have grown enormously. Now comes the next (very scary) step. This last lesson she talked to me about performing in a concert this coming spring.

Good luck. I hope you find a wonderful teacher.

[lily299]

Thank you all SO much for your help! Sorry it has taken me so long to reply; was away travelling then moving house.. so you can probably guess i haven't gotten much piano stuff done! Will let you all know how i get on in my music, and hopefully before long i'ill have some useful things to share on the board!