Practice Rooms

[shingo]

Hi,

     I just wanted to ask people on here about practice rooms of this nature as I am finding it quite hard to adapt at the moment.

It is a college facility and has a handful of 'ok' practice rooms available, yet I very rarely ever hear anyone practicing a piece only playing through lots of repertoire (like handfulls of 'completed' Chopin etudes and other demanding pieces). This makes me feel self-conscious when practicing as they are not completely sound proof and at times a can clearly hear the person next door to me. I know I shouldn't be comparing my self to others and that they weren’t always the level they are now but it still makes me feel uncomfortable.

For instance today I was practicing and the person next to me was playing incredible Hungarian Rhapsodies barely making any mistakes. I am not a beginner nor am I ‘advanced’ but I felt so inferior in comparison.  It's nice in a way getting to hear all of this music played but this often leads to me feeling I have to play through stuff I know as well in order to kind of show I am not just taking up valuable room when others may be waiting. I suppose it also feels like I am always playing for an audience, practicing when everyone can hear, which I don’t like very much.

Anyway I just wanted to see if anyone had any tips for when they practice in situations like this; it just kind of left me feeling de-spirited. I hope to feel better tomorrow when I go.

[dana_minmin]

I use the practise rooms a lot in these recent years and yeah they're not sound-proof at all. I had similar experience as yours: when I was learning Liszt Liebestraum 3 and Chopin Revolutionary, the guy next door play the very same piece right away. Oh, it's not even a piece, it's only the most recognizing fragments/cadenza. He played those parts well, but parts anyway, and I find this annoying.

He's not the only one who do this annoying thing. I played the bumblebee, then I could hear a variation on this piece immediately.

However when I hear someone playing Chopin 9/2 next door, I had the implusive to play it too. I didn't play because I knew that's annoying to the person next door. After the "identity switching", I keep on practising on whatever piece I'm practising. and  I practise as if there're audience (not sure if this eases my stage fear)

Everyone has his own path on learning piano, so there isn't any constructive comparason between you and your next door.

[m19834]

Practice rooms are crazy places  .

*Feels some nostalgia*

At first I was extremely shy to actually practice in the practice room precisely because I felt like anybody in the world could hear me.  Finally I decided that, fine, go ahead and hear me.  You will hear me improve over these years, okay ?!  I did decide to put up a jacket over the little window so I felt like I had some privacy.  I kind of made a home in one specific practice room and had fantasies of there being a cot for me to sleep there overnight (I loved being in there and could've been happy never leaving) ... hee hee.

Hearing other people practicing was a bit much, too, especially if they were right next door.  Eventually though, I grew to love the sound of so much music all around me and losing that was one of the most difficult things about practicing at home again after I graduated.

I will say though that even though I liked to think that I had good practice habits in school, I don't think I actually did.  There is definitely a temptation to try to just play through stuff that actually needs real work.  Don't adapt yourself out of putting in some true work just because of self-consciousness.  You will end up doing nothing but wasting your time and eventually you won't be in the practice rooms anymore and then what ?  Use your time wisely no matter what.  That's what the rooms are there for. 

[dana_minmin]

Last night I practised on a grand (luckily) by which I had to face the door. That's a big glass door sitting next to a big glass window. I realized there's a young girl, dressed in white, stood right outside the room looking at me. Imagine it's night time and it's dim outside and you see a girl in white . I stratled a bit, but soon I think to myself "hey you've got an audience". This may help practising performing.

This is a performance art afterall.

*Feels some nostalgia*

I miss my piano at home.

[tompilk]

this is exactly what i'm experiencing at the moment. I'm practising rach 23-5 and as I was walking to my room (they have misted-windows, which is really good for privacy) I heard someone else practising the same piece much worse that I play it (I think!). I felt really guilty for practising it where s/he could hear me. And it's not a piece to play "quietly".
The other thing is that there is a really great jazz pianist. And I'm just jealous. I hate jazz, but still have to respect the skill. It's embarrassing that I play the same thing over and over when I practise, but when he practises he plays something different every time...

[m19834]

Well, the other cool thing about practice rooms, as far as I was concerned, is that it was absolutely the first time in my life when I could really dedicate time to practicing that wasn't dependent on the the TV being in the same room and what the rest of the family was doing in the house.  Just practice, gosh darn it !  That is what they are there for !  It's an entire building, an entire room, dedicated to practicing music !!   

[Bob]

Last night I practised on a grand (luckily) by which I had to face the door. That's a big glass door sitting next to a big glass window. I realized there's a young girl, dressed in white, stood right outside the room looking at me. Imagine it's night time and it's dim outside and you see a girl in white . I stratled a bit, but soon I think to myself "hey you've got an audience". This may help practising performing.

This is a performance art afterall.




I miss my piano at home.

Maybe it was a ghost.

I would just ignore everyone else.  Start playing, concentrate.  You might not be able to hear anyone else then.  And so what if anyone else hears you?  They don't know what you're working on.  I've heard some strange vocal singing practice techniques, but that's what they do.  And it really doesn't matter so much how you sound -- It's practice.  For all anyone else knows, you're experimenting with things.

Or another way of looking at it -- If the other people are in the practice rooms just performing to impress others, that's kind of making them lose out.  Instead of practicing and improving, they're just showing off, trying to impress others. 

Just put something over the windows and don't worry about it.  Chances are, very few people will notice.

[bjenkins24]

I think it takes time to get used to.  When I started school, and didn't know anyone I was always worried about really practicing because I didn't want people to think I wasn't any good.  Once you get used to the school, and the people, you realize the people who just play through the same pieces at speed over and over usually only spend an hour or so in the practice room and don't really ever improve. 

It took me some time to get used to, but I started to feel more comfortable in the practice room than anywhere else.  I actually left for a couple years and recently returned to practicing in the practice rooms again, and it seems I have to start all over in the "getting used to it" stage. 

The most important thing is just to ignore that person in the room next to you playing your piece better than you, ignore the person next door who can't play Bach's 1st invention at 1/10th of the speed to save his life, and most of all ignore the scary white ghost right outside the door and just practice!   

[ramseytheii]

I think people who are playing these pieces all the way through, are hardly listening to other people practice!

Walter Ramsey

[shingo]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I am gald I am not the only one who has experienced this. I will go tomorrow and hopefully with your advice in mind I should be able to get on with practicing a lot easier.

[Bob]

Or... Is it really going to change anyone's opinion of you?  If they know you and hear you perform, they probably won't be surprised by what you sound like practicing.

I do remember everyone talking about how great someone sounded.  The guy was practicing for his doctorale recital or something, getting ready to tour around.  He left the window open and probably didn't care.  So yes, people do hear, they do look in, and they do talk about your sound.

I also overheard someone critizing my own practicing.  But I was experimenting with things so I wasn't too concerned.  It did sound like garbage, but the sound wasn't the focus.

Another strategy would be to do the crude practicing on a keyboard or piano at home and then use the practice rooms for when you sound better.

I have wondered about that too.  Why is it that everyone seems to just be playign through pieces?  They can all sight-read and are working are much higher things?  Are they just drilling in the piece as a whole?  Or somehow they're fixing things by playing sections.  Maybe.  I would stopping and fixing or repeating a phrase a few times... or overemphasizing things would be good for practicing.  Changing up articulations.  Things like that.  Which might not sound so great in the practice room, but would pay off for the performance.

[tompilk]

another reason why they might just play straight through - I've just started uni and I find I only have very limited amount of free time, so recently I've been spending more time on "performing" the pieces I already know for my own enjoyment. It's more relaxing than trying to practise when you only have 20mins...

[franzliszt2]

I have just got used to the whole environment of working in practice rooms where everyone can hear. I really don't care what people think about my practicing, and if they want to sit and blast through things.

I find that a lot of people practice bits of things that they can play, and avoid the bits they can't. The truth comes out when they have to perform the piece! I always practice the bits I can't play....so I probably sound awful to a lot of people who listen to my practice, but I always make sure I can play them in the concert or whatever.

If I really don't want people to hear me practicing something, I just practice hands seperatly at an incredibly slow tempo, and do every method I can possible imagine. This takes some time, but by the time I have totally mastered both hands seperatly, and applied all the methods, I can usually play the passage, and then people don't hear the work in the same way.

At the end of the day, I'd rather people thought I was bad in a practice room than have people think I was bad in a concert.

[Bob]

And there are just those people who can sight-read or are working on things higher than I can hear.  Then they appear to just play through when I might not understand what they're working on.


Another option might be to find a teaching room or a concert hall.  I didn't know right away but they do let people use those in some schools if no one else has plans for it.  A concert hall could be worse for prying ears, but a out-of-the-way classroom could be more private.  And bigger.  Less hurt on the ears that way.

[shingo]

Thanks for the replies.

I think I have foud another reason for why people seem to only be playing things through in the rooms. During the first week there was only 1 year group present making it reasonably easy to find a spare room to practice in. However since then they have been onstantly occupied at all times of the day. This has been incredibly frustrating.

It only clicked later when I saw some students moving in digital pianos/keyboards that most people are practicing pieces in their rooms and then plaing through them ocasionaly on a real piano when they get a chance.

[franzliszt2]

You could also just get up really early, and get a room when nobody else is awake, and practice then. Then nobody will hear you.

Or you could practice late at night, but if where you are is anywhere like my old student residence, you will be surrounded by Russians till at least 3-4am. You may find it hard to hear yourself amidst the Rachmaninoff and Scriabin that they practice all night, but they won't care what you practice.

[bonjing]

haha dont worry shingo, you're not alone. i know the feeling and i feel the same way too. But i'm actually getting used to playing when there are people in the hall ways. However, i'm a bit different though because if there are people outside, I only tend to practice scales, pieces that needs to be improved or just practicing the hard one's. I also don't want them to hear me playing the piece for my recital you know. hee but maybe practicing just a few measures. But during the night where there are no people around, i practice for Real! But hey shingo, people on the next door don't really care about your playing. They may hear your mistakes but of course that's the point why you're practicing. So just play it for yourself and not for others.

[landru]

Great topic. One time I was practicing/learning a Bach invention and the person in the room next door stops what they were doing in the middle and plays something from the Well Tempered Clavier. I'm thinking "Wow, you win the 'I'm Really Pathetic Award'" by showing off to somebody who is just starting out...But it didn't bother me, because if he was so intent on listening to me, then he got it worse than I did :-). If he is so good, then he could try concentrating on his own stuff.

I mean, do they just sit around and wait for somebody to start playing and then play something "better" to put that somebody in their place? As I said, pathetic.

[m19834]

Great topic. One time I was practicing/learning a Bach invention and the person in the room next door stops what they were doing in the middle and plays something from the Well Tempered Clavier. I'm thinking "Wow, you win the 'I'm Really Pathetic Award'" by showing off to somebody who is just starting out...But it didn't bother me, because if he was so intent on listening to me, then he got it worse than I did :-). If he is so good, then he could try concentrating on his own stuff.

I mean, do they just sit around and wait for somebody to start playing and then play something "better" to put that somebody in their place? As I said, pathetic.

Maybe you inspired him/her.

[Bob]

Maybe they're trying to communicate.  Happy to hear something they know, so they play back a bit of it.  Like dueling banjos.    If they do it again, maybe play the opening of the dueling banjos back at them.

[landru]

Maybe they're trying to communicate.  Happy to hear something they know, so they play back a bit of it.  Like dueling banjos.    If they do it again, maybe play the opening of the dueling banjos back at them.

That's funny, because I actually learned the beginning of Dueling Banjos on guitar way back in the day, and I could easily play it back on the piano! And in fact, it's main motif could be used as the basis for an invention ala Bach...

But, alas, I don't practice in practice rooms anymore...

[Bob]

If they don't respond to playing it in one line, try playing it in four octaves FFF.