Feeling isolated by piano playing

[dana_minmin]

I'm a self-taught pianist and I practice for 4 hours (minimum) on weekends. I live in a small apartment so everytime I play, my family complained that I played too forte... and they said they can't stand it and I "force" them to leave the apartment. I don't always play loud throughout the piece but I play expressively [eg. Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on theme of Paganini] Very often I feel isolated and thinking my playing isn't THAT bad to make them escape from home. It's kind of discouraging. Is it really my problem or it's just my family have low thresholds?

[shingo]

I wouldn't say it is 100% down to either party to be honest. 4 hours minium is a lot to put up with if you are not into piano or do not have the experience and knowldge of piano parctice to find it interesting and thus more tolerable.
     However on the other hand I am sure they could be more supportive as it is evident piano is a large part of your life. The only suggestion I can make is that you invest in an electric keyboard/piano which would allow you to practice as much as you want with headphones and then play your acoustic for a smaller amount of time and when things are coming together or require the authentic fell of an acoustic. A sort of compromise.

[bench warmer]

As I said previously to someone w/same problem, rent a set of Drums. Tell your family you have found your life's calling and Practice those babies for a few hours each day. They'll beg you to go back to the piano.

I agree with what Shingo posted for advice also. Good analysis & good solution.

Good Luck with the Drums.

[dana_minmin]

Well, my home is really very small, or I should say it's a flat. I live in Hong Kong. My living room isn't big enough to accommodate an acoustic AND an electronic piano. Once I thought to replace it with an electronic one, but I doubt if it really feels the same. I think electronic piano feels a bit fluffy even I have never played with one. And it's their attitude makes me sad. They act in that way and I feel they're not respecting me.

Normally I go back home only on weekends. If I rent a set of drums, I'm afraid that they change the locks on weekdays. 

[dana_minmin]

P.S. I find playing piano is very interesting and I love that, so I can play for hours . I've played piano for 16 years.

[zheer]

   It's a life sentance.

[amelialw]

that's the reason why we as pianists need to have friends like ourselves... to understand and talk to us

I have 1 friend who is like me and it really is nice to have someone like that

[dana_minmin]

I have a few friends who play the piano too, but sometimes that're just too exam-orientated, they play mostly (99.9%) the exam pieces. I choose and play pieces I like, no exams. and it's rewarding once you've mastered a piece you like.

[bluepuri]

I agree with you about the electric piano. They won't really respond to what you want them to be. And... drum set is rather expensive, right?

I bet you're not playing too loud. It's just perhaps your flat is small and the idea of practicing (which almost always include repeating again and again) annoys your relatives. So it's not that your playing is bad. But really, even though I'm a pianist as well, sometimes I still can't stand listening to other pianist practice.

Well, if you only practice on weekends, you can try to ignore whatever your family say or do to you. If possible, try renting piano at piano school or anywhere to give your family a chance to "breathe." But if it's kinda waste of money... you just need to be not affected of whatever your family do and just continue your practice

[mr music]

I agree with Shingo. I live in a unit and use an electric piano with headphones. Rachmaninoff used to call them a 'mechanical toy'. The touch is a bit fluffy but at least you can play at any hour of the day.

[forestdove]

Keep going with your dream! Being and/or feeling "isolated" is just a part of the process. As far as your family leaving while you find the extension of yourself in your playing, consider it a blessing. As far as their complaining about how forte you play...forget about it...You have to connect and tone is everything...The only way for you to sing through the piano is to play down through the keys, of course not discounting the presence of gravity, keeping your forearms relaxed and as a rule, sit just a little lower than you think you should. Buy an artist bench as soon as you can....But always play from your heart. The larger your heart...the larger your tone...Cheers!

[gyzzzmo]

Ditch your accoustic piano and get yourself a yamaha clavinova (digital piano). You cant expect everybody to have the same love for pianoplaying as you have. You dont like it either if your roommate turns on his stereo for 4 hours a day, putting on Techno music on volume 10.

And the differences between digital piano's and uprights arent THAT big anymore, and maybe there's a local cafe with a piano where they would love hear you playing piano once a week, so you keep the 'touch'

[db05]

Ditch your accoustic piano and get yourself a yamaha clavinova (digital piano).

Which clavinova? The newer ones maybe? I wonder how they compare to the other Yamaha digitals. Since you seem to be particularly fond of them, may I ask why?

And the differences between digital piano's and uprights arent THAT big anymore, and maybe there's a local cafe with a piano where they would love hear you playing piano once a week, so you keep the 'touch'

True. I have to add, if you're really thick, try playing at music stores. Sometimes I would practice at a nearby music store/ studio when there are no students.

[gyzzzmo]

Which clavinova? The newer ones maybe? I wonder how they compare to the other Yamaha digitals. Since you seem to be particularly fond of them, may I ask why?

True. I have to add, if you're really thick, try playing at music stores. Sometimes I would practice at a nearby music store/ studio when there are no students.

A couple of years ago i bought myself one too, i went to a couple of big piano dealers with a load of digitals wich i all tried (both with and without headphone). And to my opinion the yamaha clavinova series had in general a far higher quality than the other brands.

Wich one you pick is of personal taste, but higher prices definitely doesnt mean better, it usually only means that there are more gadgets on that thing, and i'm only interested in touche, pedalling and piano sound. I eventually picked the yamaha clavinova CLP-950, wich had (to my opinion) a very good sound compared to the others, and was even on discount because it was a slightly older model (!)

So just go to a big dealer and try them out. What you expect from a piano is of personal taste, so i can only tell you wich one i preferred.

gyzzzmo

[db05]

Wich one you pick is of personal taste, but higher prices definitely doesnt mean better, it usually only means that there are more gadgets on that thing, and i'm only interested in touche, pedalling and piano sound. I eventually picked the yamaha clavinova CLP-950, wich had (to my opinion) a very good sound compared to the others, and was even on discount because it was a slightly older model (!)

So just go to a big dealer and try them out. What you expect from a piano is of personal taste, so i can only tell you wich one i preferred.

gyzzzmo

I study at Yamaha school, so it's just a matter of dropping by the store downstairs.   

[dana_minmin]

I played on 2 different yamaha clavinova at my university. I don't know what series are they, but one is ok and the other is a disaster (I mean the touch). The bad one feels like as if there're pouches underneath the keys when you play, and I play with funny "pop" sound.

[mad_max2024]

I am quite happy with my silent system.
I much prefer it to an electronic keyboard.

This ways I keep the touch of the piano and I can play with headphones and even output to the computer. Basically you can play in your own piano without bothering anyone (unless they are bothered by the noise of the piano mechanism itself, just thought of that one...)
Not sure about the price range they are in though, could be a bit expensive I guess.

Still, it is another option you may want to consider.


Above all, don't be discouraged. 4hours of piano a day is a lot for non musical people.
And since I bet most of those hours will be incessant hammering tedious practice drills it's not unusual to find other people complaining.
It has nothing to do with the way you play, they would go nuts even if you play like Horowitz.
Believe in yourself.