Skill deterioration during longer periods without practising

[yuc4h]

Hey,

I just wanted to ask you guys if anyone have had similiar stuff going on and how it affected your playing skills.

 I'm a grade 6-7 pianist and in Finland, all men have to go to the army. The options are: six months, and 12 months. The 12 months meaning way higher military rank that may really have a positive impact to my further employment (studying at local University of Technology atm)

The question is: How much should I expect my playing skill to deteriorate during a six month period with almost no practise and how long will it take to relearn the lost technique? Also, how much worse will the technique loss be, if I choose the 12 month alternative?

Thank you.

[faulty_damper]

It depends on what type of technique you currently have.  If you have a technique that requires you to constantly practice to maintain it (mostly the use of fingers), then your abilty to play will be significantly affected after only a couple of weeks.

If you have a technique that employs your entire body to play, then it will not suffer significantly.

[musik_man]

I've never gone as long as 6 months without practicing; however, when I've had 2-3 month periods of rarely playing I've been able to catch up in a few days.  The only big loss was memorized repertoire.

[henrah]

I came back from a weekend in Belgium and my Raindrop Prelude was horrid! It was wonderful before I went though...

I think I only lost the interpretation and musicality, not technique or memorisation.
Henrah