Help! Had lessons for 10 years and now I'm stuck

[themockingbird]

OK, I'm not sure where to start with this so it'll probably be long.

I started messing around on my mum's little electronic keyboard when I was little, and then when I was 8 I started having proper lessons, which I had up until the age of 18 where I just scraped my grade 8 and then went off to university (about the scrape - in my defence I was also taking grade 8 clarinet in the same week, I was in the middle of my A levels to get into uni, I was learning to drive and getting pretty close to my test and I also had a Saturday job ). I hardly played piano at all when I was at uni apart from just bashing my way through a few pieces during the holidays, so obviously when I graduated a few weeks ago I was more than a bit out of practice.

Anyway, since I graduated my enthusiasm for playing has skyrocketed again, and I'm having so much fun playing, but I'm also having a few problems which are getting me down a bit. I start a 9-5 job in less than 2 weeks, which is going to severely cut down on available practising time, not to mention that I'm still living with my parents while I save up to go travelling (another thing that will stop me from being able to play), which means that until I get my own place I'm very conscious of the fact that I can't really play for long periods of time without driving everyone in the house mad I also can't afford lessons any more, so I was just hoping for some practising tips so that I can try and squeeze as much valuable stuff into as short a space of time as possible. It would also be helpful if anyone could point me towards some listening/reading material that I can use when I can't practise, beyond just telling me to listen to music all the time! My knowledge of music theory and piano music is absolutely shocking considering the amount of time I have been playing, because I have always just learned to play and not really worried too much about all the extras that come with it.

Also, the piece I am working on at the moment is Chopin's Ballade no. 1, which I absolutely adore, but I know I'm punching way above my weight in terms of skill level because to be honest, I'm nowhere near as good as I should be considering how long I've been playing for. Teachers and so on have often said I'm 'talented' but I don't think I am really (I can hardly play by ear at all), and I should be better than I am. Should I continue to practise something I may not be able to play properly for a long time yet or should I give up for now and try and master some easier stuff first?

I don't think I'll ever be fantastic at piano just because I think I lack a lot of vital skills, but I really want to improve as much as I can, in terms of technical playing, playing by ear, knowledge of theory and pianists and well, pretty much everything really, so any advice at all would be appreciated. Sorry, that's such a broad thing to ask and this is a very long post but this is the first place I've found that looks like it could be really useful.

Thanks to anyone who got this far!

Oh I should probably also add that my piano can only stand so much: there are some notes that if I play them repeatedly, they stop sounding, which is something that is going to need to be fixed by paying a lot of money by the sounds of things, so I can't see it happening any time soon. It's pretty frustrating that I sometimes feel like I'm being limited by my own piano

ANOTHER edit! (sorry - you know it's true what they say that the more you know, the less you think you know) I've got into a bad habit of playing quite stiffly/tensely with my fingers and wrists and I'm worried about the effects of this, both physically and in terms of playing. Are there any good exercises which focus specifically on keeping good control of muscles and so on? Again, sorry for all the questions! I'm browsing the boards and seeing some answers but each thread reminds me of something else I want to ask as well...

[amelialw]

perhaps you should master some pieces that are about grade 8 abrsm-dip abrsm level 1st, wait you mean grade 8 abrsm right?or grade 8 rcm?

[rimv2]

OK, I'm not sure where to start with this so it'll probably be long.

I started messing around on my mum's little electronic keyboard when I was little, and then when I was 8 I started having proper lessons, which I had up until the age of 18 where I just scraped my grade 8 and then went off to university (about the scrape - in my defence I was also taking grade 8 clarinet in the same week, I was in the middle of my A levels to get into uni, I was learning to drive and getting pretty close to my test and I also had a Saturday job ). I hardly played piano at all when I was at uni apart from just bashing my way through a few pieces during the holidays, so obviously when I graduated a few weeks ago I was more than a bit out of practice.

Anyway, since I graduated my enthusiasm for playing has skyrocketed again, and I'm having so much fun playing, but I'm also having a few problems which are getting me down a bit. I start a 9-5 job in less than 2 weeks, which is going to severely cut down on available practising time, not to mention that I'm still living with my parents while I save up to go travelling (another thing that will stop me from being able to play), which means that until I get my own place I'm very conscious of the fact that I can't really play for long periods of time without driving everyone in the house mad I also can't afford lessons any more, so I was just hoping for some practising tips so that I can try and squeeze as much valuable stuff into as short a space of time as possible. It would also be helpful if anyone could point me towards some listening/reading material that I can use when I can't practise, beyond just telling me to listen to music all the time! My knowledge of music theory and piano music is absolutely shocking considering the amount of time I have been playing, because I have always just learned to play and not really worried too much about all the extras that come with it.

Also, the piece I am working on at the moment is Chopin's Ballade no. 1, which I absolutely adore, but I know I'm punching way above my weight in terms of skill level because to be honest, I'm nowhere near as good as I should be considering how long I've been playing for. Teachers and so on have often said I'm 'talented' but I don't think I am really (I can hardly play by ear at all), and I should be better than I am. Should I continue to practise something I may not be able to play properly for a long time yet or should I give up for now and try and master some easier stuff first?

I don't think I'll ever be fantastic at piano just because I think I lack a lot of vital skills, but I really want to improve as much as I can, in terms of technical playing, playing by ear, knowledge of theory and pianists and well, pretty much everything really, so any advice at all would be appreciated. Sorry, that's such a broad thing to ask and this is a very long post but this is the first place I've found that looks like it could be really useful.

Thanks to anyone who got this far!

Oh I should probably also add that my piano can only stand so much: there are some notes that if I play them repeatedly, they stop sounding, which is something that is going to need to be fixed by paying a lot of money by the sounds of things, so I can't see it happening any time soon. It's pretty frustrating that I sometimes feel like I'm being limited by my own piano

ANOTHER edit! (sorry - you know it's true what they say that the more you know, the less you think you know) I've got into a bad habit of playing quite stiffly/tensely with my fingers and wrists and I'm worried about the effects of this, both physically and in terms of playing. Are there any good exercises which focus specifically on keeping good control of muscles and so on? Again, sorry for all the questions! I'm browsing the boards and seeing some answers but each thread reminds me of something else I want to ask as well...

LONG POST

Now that's outta the way.

Your belief about your skill at the piano is probably just a cry for reassurance. You need to be told you are good other wise you wont feel so. Your teacher, who says you are talented, is not lying. We have a habit of taking for granted things we are given; even devaluing them. So, I suspect that your problem is more of improper expectations.

There is the unusual belief that if one does not perform like, say, Kissin at half his age, then something is off or wrong. Considering your schedule and all the events in your life, you are right where you're supposed to be.

Do yourself a favor and get a digital piano, or fix the one you have at the moment.

Here's a link that leads to more links about links about organising practice schedules.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,8163.0.html

As for the part about stiffness, only live, one on one, assistance will help get rid of it. Get a good teacher

[themockingbird]

Haha yeah I know it was, sorry.

Thanks for replying though, I had a feeling that I'd be told I'd have to start spending money at some point! I've been thinking about getting a digital piano for a while but I wasn't sure if it would be the best choice, and what's more there is a bit of a bittersweet story behind the one I have at the moment so I'd feel a bit hesitant about suggesting getting a new one for whatever reason. I really can't afford lessons at the moment but as soon as I can, whenever that may be, I will look into getting them! Thanks for the link too, but the link in that thread doesn't seem to be working any more.

And yes, I meant grade 8 ABRSM I realised I hadn't specified just as I was switching my computer off, woops!

I really do want to stick with the Chopin for now, or at least until I feel I can't get any further with it, because I feel like I'm learning a lot from it in terms of performance and so on. But yeah I might ease off on it a bit and try something slightly less challenging as well.