Keeping up old pieces

[pet]

How many of you can still play old pieces up to performance level?  If so, how do you keep it up?

I have a bad habit of forgetting old pieces once I have learned and perform them.  Then when someone asks me to play something, I really don't have anything to play because the old pieces sound like crap, and my new pieces are half done.  I would like to change this, but it is so hard because if I do play an old piece, I will make mistakes, and then I have to stop and fix them, not leaving enough time to practice my current pieces.

The pieces that I am trying to keep up are:

Prelude and Fugue No. 6 Book II
Mozart Sonata K. 310
Ravel Sonatine
Scherzo in Bb minor - Chopin

What I have been doing lately is dedicated 45 minutes for scales and 'part' of one of these pieces each day.  For example, just playing the first movement of Mozart one day, playing the exposition of the scherzo the next day, and so on.  This way I will still be reviewing my old pieces but not spending so much time that it gets in the way of me learning new pieces.

Anyone have any ideas?  I don't want to "re-learn" pieces way in the future.  You know how we sometimes get..."I remember playing this!  Let me try to play it again"...and it really sounds awful.  Besides, I really believe that once you forget a piece, you can never learn it as well as you did the first time...and probably will not be able to play it as well as the first time either...unless the piece is WAY below your level.

Thank is advance!

[bella musica]

I'm keeping up the B minor scherzo right now, pretty much all you have to do is play it slow with a metronome and the music maybe once a day, assuming you have already learned it well.  This helps your brain to remember it as well as your hands, and you don't have to spend hours and hours of time that you could using to learn new rep.

[ramseytheii]

I'm keeping up the B minor scherzo right now, pretty much all you have to do is play it slow with a metronome and the music maybe once a day, assuming you have already learned it well.  This helps your brain to remember it as well as your hands, and you don't have to spend hours and hours of time that you could using to learn new rep.

But you have to be able also to perform the piece, which would never involve a metronome (hopefully!) or score (well sometimes!)  So you have to practice playing it all the way through at concert tempo too.

My suggestion is to devise concert programs, many different ones, of different lengths.  For each piece you learn, assign it a function in the program.  For instance, the b minor scherzo could be a good closing piece.  Also it is a Romantic "piece" rather than a sonata or suite.  Then, when you design your programs, mix the pieces up.  Never repeat a program all the way exactly in design, but have different pieces that fill the same functions.  Find differnet groups of people for whom you can play, and try out the different programs, thereby practicing lots of different pieces in your repertoire and keeping them there.

Programs can be as short as 15 minutes, as long as 90 or so.

The pieces can fill all sorts of different functions, like historical (an example of order would be Baroque, Classical, Modern, Romantic), narrative (Fast and major, Slow and minor, Fast and minor, Fast and major), structural (two sonatas, then groups of short pieces), et cetera.  Look at other pianist's programs and see if there is any rational behind their choicse, then develop your own style!

I love making programs.

Walter Ramsey

[phil13]

I try at least once a week to go through my basic repertoire. Other pieces I play as shor breaks in between practicing what I'm learning now.

Phil

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Repeating pieces slow and not fast all the time should keep them.

[bench warmer]

What I have been doing lately is dedicated 45 minutes for scales and 'part' of one of these pieces each day.  For example, just playing the first movement of Mozart one day, playing the exposition of the scherzo the next day, and so on.  This way I will still be reviewing

I would reverse the 45-min. regimen. Spend the bulk of the time on reviewing your pieces. At your level playing, your technique would seem developed to a point where the Scales may be superfluous (pauses while he puts on his flame-retardant suit )....... If you have some time left run thru a couple of Scales, otherwise let those be "sacrificed" for the "greater good" 

[loops]

I keep up quite a few pieces, mainly because my sight reading continues to be rubbish, but also because it's fun to hear them mature and relax into ever better "flow" and "flavour". The trick is to play them slowly: if I rush through them, they get muddled.  And then my ear for them goes off. Occasionally I look at the score. Details can get hazy over time......

Here is a great quote, "you never really know something until you have forgotten it three times".
When you relearn something, you bring everything new you learned in the meantime to bear
on it. That is also a fun experience.

[rafant]

Hi, I suggest you review the following posts about how to keep your pieces and about the advantages of forgetting and relearning them:

"Keeping them polished":
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,4168.0.html

"Changes in method within the past year":
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,5453.0.html

I used to think as you, but these posts changed my mind.

[pianochild]

I think that the easiest way to "keep" pieces, is just to play them for leisure now and again. I memorize basically everything i do in piano, and i can even still play the pieces i did for grade 1 and 2, and now im 7/8. If you have memorized them and you play your favourite pieces for leisure (not practising) you should remember them. i can remember everything i ever played.