How can i practice all these things?

[kghayesh]

I am so confused these days. I have to practice so many things and in the meanwhile i cannot sit 24 hrs on the piano. I can spare about 3 hrs a day average.

Examples of the many things i need to practice
- Scales
- 3 new pieces for grade 8 ABRSM exam
- new pieces for my next recital
- Sight reading
- Polishing the memorised pieces for next recital
- Playing the old repertoire pieces so that i won't forget them
- Ear training, sight singing
- Playing some rock with my friends' band coz we r going on a concert soon( that takes a lot of time in fact )

I can't plan my time. I just sit at the piano and do whatever comes up to my mind. Usually i end up neglecting so many things and feel so much loaded with all these things.

What do you advice me for a proper practice schedule or what do you think ?

[rc]

Prioritize.

You can get everything done over enough time, but there are time limits for certain things. The band and recital have deadlines, I would put them first. Everything else will wait as long as you choose.

Better to put some things off than to stress over the impossible. Decide on what's important and don't think about the rest.

[Ruro]

I had this problem myself when I had a teacher, and my list was smaller then yours!
Some of us want to learn only the fundamentals if you like, rather then trying to excel in everything at once!

When I get around to joining the Piano Teaching place at my secondary school's theatre, I plan to lay out the fact: "This is a hobby I want to improve in for personal enjoyment, I don't want to be crammed with the skills to be a Professional!" .... or something similar!

I don't know what you are trying to gain from Piano lessons, but if it's a hobby, point out you CAN relax, because it doesn't matter when you become brilliant enough for concert performances. If it is a professional goal, then I would guess arranging reasonable and non-stressful schedules for fitting this stuff in!

Some people can remain on the go alot of the time, but I personally cannot keep going at things all the time, whether I love them or not, I need to take breaks.

This is advice from someone quite inexperienced for this question, really a teacher should be answering it or something, but I really don't see any other options.

Teacher chooses what you need to practise and learn: Fine, but when and how fast is ridiculous!

[donjuan]

I can't plan my time. I just sit at the piano and do whatever comes up to my mind. Usually i end up neglecting so many things and feel so much loaded with all these things.

What do you advice me for a proper practice schedule or what do you think ?

Well, you have enough organization skills to make that cute list, so hey I bet you could pull it together..

[rimv2]

I am so confused these days. I have to practice so many things and in the meanwhile i cannot sit 24 hrs on the piano. I can spare about 3 hrs a day average.

Examples of the many things i need to practice
- Scales
- 3 new pieces for grade 8 ABRSM exam
- new pieces for my next recital
- Sight reading
- Polishing the memorised pieces for next recital
- Playing the old repertoire pieces so that i won't forget them
- Ear training, sight singing
- Playing some rock with my friends' band coz we r going on a concert soon( that takes a lot of time in fact )

I can't plan my time. I just sit at the piano and do whatever comes up to my mind. Usually i end up neglecting so many things and feel so much loaded with all these things.

What do you advice me for a proper practice schedule or what do you think ?

Forget the grade 8 exam. You're probably at grade 8 level anyway.

If you do slow scales as a warm up, you will have all the scale practice you will ever need.

Sightreading and sight singing require 15 mins each max.

You dont really need to remember your old pieces.

Pretty much everyone has more than three hours to spare, unless they work go to school and play.

So just take out a note book and schedulize.

You have more time than you think

[jamie_liszt]

I also have the problem with just doing whatever and feel like I never accomplish ANYTHING at the piano that whole day.


This is SOME of the stuff that comes to mind that i need to learn, some forschool, some for eisteddfods, some for performance and recitals.

-Learn Beethovens Pathetique Sonata (all movements)
-Learn Nobuo Uematsu Melodies of life
-Learn some Bach Prelude and fugues, possibly 2.
-Relearn schumanns traumerei
-Relearn Mozarts Alla turca (was thinking volodos but ill just relearn the original)
-Learn Maple Leaf Rage for Jazz Thing and something for school
-Learn some parts of la campanella and polish some other parts
-Polish up heroic polonaise
-Learn 6 Pieces for my next AMEB grade.(havnt started)
-Scales, Sightreading, Memorise stuff, Sight singing, Clapping beats, Ear trainging like relative and perfect pitch stuff. Intervals etc.
-Alot of theory homework concerning intervals, Scales, Key signatures, Modulations, And more to come.
-I have a concert for the elderly coming up in about 2 or 3 months, need to organize about 1 hours worth of pieces for elderly
-Get practice time in with a singer, ill be accompanying her on piano. for a recital in 2 months time.
-Also for music distance ed. Stuff (theory and performance)
-More stuff (im in my senior year at school and there are alot of homework, assignments, tests, exams, studying) and to do good in school and complete all this piano stuff will be tough,,.,

[kghayesh]

You dont really need to remember your old pieces.

How on earth should i not remeber my old pieces ?? That way i'll just end up re-learning them, which is pretty dumb.

[Ruro]

How on earth should i not remeber my old pieces ?? That way i'll just end up re-learning them, which is pretty dumb.

Hand memory always saved me from learning pieces all over again, thought all pianists might benefit from this so-called "Unreliable Memory Recollection" technique

I admit it's not perfect, but it sure speeds up relearning things atleast Five fold, and still getting things right (by also comparing to the score to ensure your hands aren't misguiding you anywhere).

Although, I further admit you don't remember every chord and note; play slowly... well, then your gutted! (Under the assumption it's a fast piece). But still darn useful I think, means you can focus at times on better things like musicality rather then the right notes (when you will naturally get them right).

[donjuan]

Hand memory always saved me from learning pieces all over again, thought all pianists might benefit from this so-called "Unreliable Memory Recollection" technique

I admit it's not perfect, but it sure speeds up relearning things atleast Five fold, and still getting things right (by also comparing to the score to ensure your hands aren't misguiding you anywhere).

Although, I further admit you don't remember every chord and note; play slowly... well, then your gutted! (Under the assumption it's a fast piece). But still darn useful I think, means you can focus at times on better things like musicality rather then the right notes (when you will naturally get them right).

Hand memory has screwed me over during performances so many times.  When I get nervous, like during a performance, The hand memory sometimes has moments of amnesia and makes me do quirky things I will think about later and say "why the *** did I do that??".  If you are going to memorize something, memorize harmony.  Just what I think, anyway...

[tibi]

i just wonder, how those kind of people can spend about more than 3 hours on piano and still say " How can i practice all these things?"

- Scales---->>>> it's needed for grade 8 ABRSM to practice all key included major,minor, appergios, etc everyday??? i don't think so

- 3 new pieces for grade 8 ABRSM exam---->>>> new pieces = sight reading
- new pieces for my next recital
- Sight reading

- Polishing the memorised pieces for next recital---->>>> how many songs do you play ---->>>for you recital? 4 songs to 7 songs?
---->>>how long it takes for each songs? 5 minutes ( 5 x 7= 35 minutes )
---->>>it is needed to play the complete pieces everday? why don't you stress on some part that sound not good only, and after that you can assemble all parts after it can be played nicely part by part.

- Playing the old repertoire pieces so that i won't forget them
---->>>never put the old repertoire as a weight for you, if you can say it "old repertoire pieces" that's mean you can play it nicely and you can enjoy to play them.

- Ear training--->>> you play = you hear... more play = more hear... more variations of playing pieces will automatically improve your ear...

-sight singing--->>> sorry, no comment for two words, i have no pictures about "sight singing", anyone can explain it for me?

you must define your goal... to be a pianist = more time to put your hand on tuts

Hand memory has screwed me over during performances so many times.  When I get nervous, like during a performance, The hand memory sometimes has moments of amnesia and makes me do quirky things I will think about later and say "why the *** did I do that??".  If you are going to memorize something, memorize harmony.  Just what I think, anyway...

this argue are right,your finger doesn't have it's own memory, don't rely you song on it. you should sing the pieces is you heart, in your brain than you will never get lost when perform it. when you sing the pieces, your nervous will gone by the flow of the melody. i've try this many time.

i've an experience in nov 2004, i've a concert  for my music school. at that time i played Flight of The Bumble Bee. i prepared it carefully, i play this song about 2 hours a day using metronome. that's mean more than fifty times or repetation, even i can't play it with eye closed. and first day of concert, i played 7 pieces, all by memory and FOTBB is my last pieces, jobs welll done. the next day, i was asked to play just one song, and i choose FOTBB, you know, my finger get that "amnesia" and than i must quickly sing the song to bring me back to the pieces.. that was very horrible.

[bernhard]

I am so confused these days. I have to practice so many things and in the meanwhile i cannot sit 24 hrs on the piano. I can spare about 3 hrs a day average.

Examples of the many things i need to practice
- Scales
- 3 new pieces for grade 8 ABRSM exam
- new pieces for my next recital
- Sight reading
- Polishing the memorised pieces for next recital
- Playing the old repertoire pieces so that i won't forget them
- Ear training, sight singing
- Playing some rock with my friends' band coz we r going on a concert soon( that takes a lot of time in fact )

I can't plan my time. I just sit at the piano and do whatever comes up to my mind. Usually i end up neglecting so many things and feel so much loaded with all these things.

What do you advice me for a proper practice schedule or what do you think ?

You need to get organized. Plan your work, and then work your plan. Have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4718.msg45266.html#msg45266
(Time management for someone who wants to learn the flute)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2526.msg21829.html#msg21829
(how to organise piano practise in short/medium/long term – Principle of memory retention – Principle of 15 minute sessions – stopping when you achieve your goals. Teachers should teach how to learn)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7872.msg79188.html#msg79188
(How to plan your work for the next five years)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4244.msg39203.html#msg39203
(How long to practice – having an aim, achieving it and moving on – How to define aim)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7810.msg80415.html#msg80415
(How to organise the breaking down of a piece over several days. Examples: CPE Bach Fantasia, Blow Sarabande, Chopin Cantabile; Chopin Scherzo no. 2)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2485.msg21499.html#msg21499
(How to keep a piece in the repertory – learn/forget/relearn)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.