Practicing Pet Peeves

[chopininov]

What are the things that annoy you the most while practicing?--whether it be your family, friends, habits, surroundings, background noise, etc.
While practicing earlier today, I noticed that there are many things that drive me crazy while practicing. Some of them are:
-when my parents turn up the tv volume to block out the sound of the piano
-when somebody tells me to stop playing because they are on the phone
-when people come up to me and ask "oh, do you know that one song? you know, the one that goes da da dum dum?"
-I can't stand playing with natural light; only artificial for me.
-when people act like I'm giving a performance and clap after a passage i've played 5 times, asking "That was a nice song. What's it called?"
-when people start playing another instrument in the same room I'm in, acting as if there are no other rooms to play in

[dan101]

Some of what you say is most certainly valid, although I am somewhat confused by some of your content. You don't like natural lighting?? At any rate, I would take a lighter approach and be less angry. It's next to impossible to control the behaviour of others around you.

It also sounds like you'll have to do a little adjusting yourself, with respect to your practice habits. For example, perhaps you should play a bit quieter when an important phone call is incoming. Good luck.

[pianochick93]

-When there is only one piano left to practice on, because the pianos in the other rooms aren't bveing used, but are occupied by instrumental teachers.

-When that one piano is taken up by another pianist for the entire lesson, they don't even think half-half.

-When the sister devils turn up the volume on the TV so that I can't hear the piano, and then yell at me for playing too loud.

-When my friends sit and complain that I am playing too repetitively. Especially in Raindrop prelude, when all they hear is the continous G#/Ab throughout the piece (that isn't my fault for not bringing out the melody), and then they find another piano and hit it over and over again.

-When I am playing and someone sits down at another piano near me and starts playing Moonlight Sonata 1st Mvt. or Fur Elise incredibly fast and devoid of all emotion.

-When I am playing a piece that I have difficulties with, and my friends sit down on either side of me and press random notes, or play with the pedals. The worst thing is that one of them is a pianist of the same level as me, and doesn't even stop to think how annoyed he gets if people do that to him!

Grrr...

[quantum]

When I am warming up somewhere just before a performance, trying to gather my thoughts.  Then some person comes up to me and starts yacking away, asking if I can play this or that, do I teach violin or didgeridoo since I obviously play the piano shaped object, can I tune pianos, how do I memorize all that stuff, etc.

[wintervind]

 -sneaking up behind and practically breathing down my neck
- Having to actually tell someone to leave the room because they keep complimenting me on the difficult passage that i keep flubbing. "o that sounds great! you are really good!" " Can you play any (insert any annoying band or genre you can think of here)

All in all, people are pretty respectful as a whole

[lazlo]

-instrumentalists taking up the practice rooms with the best pianos.
-pianos that are out of tune
-pianos where certain keys don't work
-people who sit really high on the piano bench (i sit low and have to lower it all the way)
-Non-natural light. kills brain cells. especially flourescents. I'll even prefer to practice in near dark to turning on a flourescent bulb.
-pianos with extremely heavy action
-Pianos with sticky keys...

most of this in reference to the practice rooms...

[james howard]

If you are in control of your own environment, such as your home, then commit the ultimate sacrilege, get yourself a good digital piano and a set of headphones!!  If you are "peeved" when practising then you must be wasting a lot of time and emotion simply on being peeved which can't be very constructive.  At least with my solution you can withdraw into your own world and concentrate. 

[lazlo]

Unless you aren't in control of your own environment...

[quantum]

The new building in the Uni I used to attend now has automatic light switches that turn on lights when there is movement in the room.  What is annoying is that you can't turn the lights off!!  I love practicing in the dark.

[rc]

Unless you aren't in control of your own environment...

How would that be?

In the last two places I've lived I've been able to fit my digital piano into my bedroom - close door, good pair of headphones on, everybody knows not to bug me - voila!  perfect practice conditions.

My biggest peeve is when my job takes up too much time and leaves me too tired to put in decent practice.  I can control it most of the time, but once in a while work takes over my life for a few days.  I have to balance like a tightrope walker.

[rc]

The new building in the Uni I used to attend now has automatic light switches that turn on lights when there is movement in the room.  What is annoying is that you can't turn the lights off!!  I love practicing in the dark.

Could you put something in front of the motion sensor?  A piece of cardboard or masking tape?

[lazlo]

Well, you aren't in control of your environment really at a conservatory. Where, you never know what piano, on what floor you'll be playing, or how many other people will be around you, or the condition of the piano you're playing.

[alzado]

I have a cat that hops up on the piano bench, puts his paws on my knee, and tries to bite my right hand as I play.  He just sort of nips at me, does not draw blood.

Sometimes if I stop, he "clangs" some notes with his chin. 

Usually he wants a small bowl of half-and-half (his treat) and sometimes he wants to be brushed.  He sheds a lot, so frequent brushings are a good idea.

But the timing is awful.  It invariably interrupts my practice for five minutes or more.  It is impossible and painful to try to continue playing while being bitten.

Don't suggest rough treatment, as we don't slap or otherwise get rough with the cats.

Cats are cats.  They are weird.  He may not even know he is doing anything wrong.

[franzliszt2]

When I am practicing something and the person next door start playing what I am playing

When people book the room I am practicing in, and I have to leave

When I break a string on my piano at home

When I get up at 6 o clock, travel to practice, and get stuck on a bad piano

[pianorin]

-when i was practising my sisters and brothers on the tv and slowly increased the volume!! and they asked me to stop playing the piano for their movies' sake!!!
-practising, my mum approached me, telling me to eat this and that.

those made me want to tear my hairs off.. 

[quantum]

Could you put something in front of the motion sensor?  A piece of cardboard or masking tape?

Good idea.    If I can reach it, I believe they are on the ceiling which is something like 10 ft high.

[rc]

Yeesh, 10 ft is beyond what standing on a chair can reach

Another idea: blindfold yourself.  Not quite the same as a dark room though, there's just something about being in that atmosphere.  Even better is being a dark room with streetlight or moonlight pouring through a window.  Something about it just fires up the imagination.

[pita bread]

I actually hate hearing other people practice. I'm also very self conscious while practicing so I don't like people around while I practice.

[teresa_b]

This is my pet peeve:  I am clearly in the middle of a practice session, playing something that is nearly ready for performance, and someone interrupts me.  Not to be pretentious, but you all know how much concentration it takes to play a piece accurately and with your emotions in it.  It's like being suddenly yanked out of a meditation session.

Non-musicians don't seem to have a clue as to why we hate this sort of interruption.

Teresa

[rc]

Non-musicians don't seem to have a clue as to why we hate this sort of interruption.

Teresa

Agreed.  Certain family members, no matter how many times I explain that I don't want to be interrupted, don't seem to get it.  It's like they think I'm just kidding.

[Bob]

Constant interruptions, esp if it's the same person.

Keys that don't work quite right or having some oddity to the piano, like a squeaky pedal.


The phone, yes.  I hate when people ask you to stop because of the phone, esp when they could take the call in another room.


Not quite a peeve, but a definite de-motivator.  When you get a practice room right next to someone who is playing through their concerto.  Dazzling playing, and then you get to sit their and

plunk out something you're just starting.

I hate it when people come up and talk to you while you're playing and expect an answer.  Esp annoying was a boss who stopped me while playing to tell me what a good job I was doing.  I think that was beyond a "peeve" then.

Out-of-tune pianos.  Having the one extremely out-of-tune note be the tonic of the key your in.

Knowing when you're playing a piece that you could do better if the piano was better.


Students who walk by and plink the top or bottom keys on the piano.  That annoys the heck of me, esp after I ask them not to.

Having someone standing behind you and not knowing exactly what's going on back there.

Having someone tell you it's good enough the way it is and you don't really have to practice it

anymore.  The playing level may be the same, but there's a difference between playing comfortably and playing stressed.

How about having a practice room right next to the professor's office?  I loved that one.  No pressure there, and I think some of practicing should be experimentation.

Yes, not having energy to practice.  Or not having recovered from the previous session.  Attempting to practicing but having the play apparatus change so you can't do what you planned to do.


Having the building locked at college when it's supposed to be open.  Having the little campus security people tell you there's a sports event going on so they can send anyone over to open the door that's supposed to be open.  Having that happen on the day of a performance and having your music locked up inside in the building.


Having someone sing the next note when you're working out a piece.  Of course you know the sound of the next pitch, but reading if off the paper while letting your brain think of the right fingering is different.  They think they're helping.


Having people poke their face in front of the practice room door, just enough so you lose concentration but then they're gone.

Not having anything to cover up the window with.

Having someone fart or leave a BO smell in the practice room just before you.  You walk in and discover the room is unusually warm... and then it also stinks.  Ick.  Then you can decide to stay in Mr. Stinky's room with the good piano, or you can go into a room with a crappy piano.  Hmm..... 

(Hint:  You can use chapstick on your upper lip area to numb your nose to the smells.)


Practicing a piece so it's really down well and then discovering the performance isn't that great and you might have squeaked by with less work.

Having someone cancel a performance after you've worked on the accompaniment.  I hate that when they don't pay or don't think they should pay because they couldn't do the performance.  Grr....

[pianochick93]

In reply to your last one Bob, even worse when they ask you to accompany them 2 days or so before their performane. I like to work with the person and figure out what they want to do and actually learn the piece properly! Not scramle through it when it isn't fully learnt.

[csharp_minor]

Mine ones:

THE F*CK*NG ICE-CREAM VANS!!!! pulling right up to the house and playing nursery rhymes like Yankee Doodle or London Bridge.

My brother playing his computer games loud and I can hear the stupid shooting nosies or men going 'yah!' even with my ear phones in!  

A robin singing in the street in the tree ( kind of ) near my window. Especially at the start of spring when the birds are singing like mad, other then that its nice to hear them while you are playing.

The dog barking or playing with a squeaky toy.

The cat biting my foot then using the pedal as a pillow.

People whistling the piece you have just been praticing.

I'm sure I have a whole load more of annoyances to come the longer I have been playing and the better I get. Haven't had the 'Oh can you play me that song?' yet but my time will come, no doubt . 

[don largo]

Yamaha pianos which are in every school in Japan and on which you have to suck back from so as to avoid having them (the pianos) shout at you every time you touch a key.

[db05]

This happened to me recently. I was practicing for exams on a decent Yamaha upright and got my thing going that day, but when I went to the examiner's room for the exam, it was so weird and I couldn't control the dynamics. With the slightest touch I get mp or nothing, not the pp i wanted.

[legatto_queen]

My pet peeve, is (dont laugh) my cats, for some bizarre reason, they come and squeeze onto the piano stool and become very affectionate, which is very nice, not very helpful when one is in the middle of scales, broken chords and general practice, does anyone else have the same problem or am i the only one with a pet problem!

[go12_3]

My pet peeve, is (dont laugh) my cats, for some bizarre reason, they come and squeeze onto the piano stool and become very affectionate, which is very nice, not very helpful when one is in the middle of scales, broken chords and general practice, does anyone else have the same problem or am i the only one with a pet problem!

No I don't have a pet, but I find your experience with your cat funny!   

[dr. j]

I am an organist as well as a pianist and often have to practice in cold dark churches.  That in itself is annoying, but my pet peeve is trying to practice while the custodians are running the vacuum cleaner!  I guess they think it just adds to the "music" of the moment.

Dr. J

[ramseytheii]

I am an organist as well as a pianist and often have to practice in cold dark churches.  That in itself is annoying, but my pet peeve is trying to practice while the custodians are running the vacuum cleaner!  I guess they think it just adds to the "music" of the moment.

Dr. J

That reminds me of a story Glenn Gould used to tell about his breakthrough initiation into the world of counterpoint.  He apparently had an epiphany practicing one day, when his mother was running the vacuum cleaner; he couldn't hear the music and was just following the physical connection to the instrument, and that led him to realize the counterpoint in a new way.

Walter Ramsey

[csharp_minor]

My pet peeve, is (dont laugh) my cats, for some bizarre reason, they come and squeeze onto the piano stool and become very affectionate, which is very nice, not very helpful when one is in the middle of scales, broken chords and general practice, does anyone else have the same problem or am i the only one with a pet problem!

It happens to me too. I think because my cat is jealous of me stroking the piano's keys and not him. He wants to get my attention an often pounces on my foot when I'm usig the pedals and then he uses them a pilows!  He once insisted on sitting on my lap when I practiced and was accidently hit by my arms.  


Another peeve of mine is my music stand on my Clavinova keeps collapsing; and as I am a messy person and have a lot of music books and sheets on it they go everywhere .  

[dr. j]

That reminds me of a story Glenn Gould used to tell about his breakthrough initiation into the world of counterpoint.  He apparently had an epiphany practicing one day, when his mother was running the vacuum cleaner; he couldn't hear the music and was just following the physical connection to the instrument, and that led him to realize the counterpoint in a new way.

Walter Ramsey

That is a great story about Glenn Gould.  I guess I have had plenty of opportunity for the physical connection to the instrument then.  We organists actually can have "silent practice," i.e. without any stops which does make one concentrate on the tactile sense of the piece, yet amazingly enhances the aural sense at the same time.

Dr. J

[ramseytheii]

That is a great story about Glenn Gould.  I guess I have had plenty of opportunity for the physical connection to the instrument then.  We organists actually can have "silent practice," i.e. without any stops which does make one concentrate on the tactile sense of the piece, yet amazingly enhances the aural sense at the same time.

Dr. J

That's interesting.  I always thought silent practice on organ would be so difficult; isn't releasing the key in organ playing, just as important as depressing it?  In piano of course, releasing the key is a much more casual affair.

Walter Ramsey

[dr. j]

Yes, the release of the key on a TRACKER organ is vitally important and can actually shape the tone.  However, on other pipe and digital organs the release is not an issue.  The "tactile" practice I was referring to in my last message was actually on a tracker organ - so again I was concentrating on the feel of the key. 

Dr. J

[ramseytheii]

Yes, the release of the key on a TRACKER organ is vitally important and can actually shape the tone.  However, on other pipe and digital organs the release is not an issue.  The "tactile" practice I was referring to in my last message was actually on a tracker organ - so again I was concentrating on the feel of the key. 

Dr. J
"The More You Play the Better Your Day"

Interesting!  I was just thinking, that silent practice must be made all the more difficult because you have to incorporate both the depression and the release into it, without being able to hear.

Can you tell us more information about how releasing the tone on a tracker affects the tone? 

Sometimes I have the feeling, listening, that a long held note, with activity around it, has the illusion of crescendo. 

Walter Ramsey

[weissenberg2]

When someone talks on a phone while I am practicing

when someone says "oh my gosh, I wana take an ax and break the piano

when someone walks in and mocks the piece I am practicing

when people it down to read the paper when I am practicing (that makes me feel obligated to stop)

[pianochick15]

When someone walks into the room and turns on a CD player or radio.

Playing in a roomful of wrestling, loud children. (I can't practice anywhere else!)

Practicing piano in front of others is a little bit unnerving. It kind of depends on what I'm practicing. Sometimes I feel bad that others have to hear me practice the same songs over and over again. 

I think, though, being able to overcome pet peeves and disturbances will make you a better pianist all the more. I usually try to keep that in mind when something happens that I can't control. Besides, things will happen in performances and elsewhere all the time, so its good to learn to overcome distractions. 

[go12_3]

 *Whenever the phone rings while I practice.....and I won't answer it though because I'm in the middle of a piece, 
*During the Summer when the windows are open, I hear the noises of the weed cutters and lawn mowers.
*When my hands and fingers get cold and I cannot play as quickly as I would like, especially my Hanon exercises!   
* When I have something else on my mind which affects my practicing.....can't focus as well on the music which is frustrating indeed.

best wishes,

go12_3

[db05]

When I can't seem to do anything right.

[giannalinda]

When my brother screams, the dog barks, the tvs on, the phone rings, etc etc etc....I hate it...I try to just focus on my piano playing, i even tried noise cancelling headphones, but i was still distracted....