the root of all techinical problems

[etcetra]

it seems like all technical problem/limitation stems from bad practice habits or some fundamental misunderstanding about how to play the instrument..

I see a lot of students, including myself, who has 'learned' the pieces, even performed it, but always felt insecure about whehter i can play it right the next time.  I remember how a difficult piece always felt 'difficult' no matter how much i practiced and i never felt like i had ownership over what i played..

when i ride a bike i don't have to think about riding a bike, it's ingrained in my memory to the point where i can do it without thinking about it... and i am starting to think that that's one should learn..it may take a while to learn a piece at first, but once you get used to practicing that way it well become more of a norm.

I said this elsewhere but when i talked to people who are very talented, it seems like the biggest difference in what they do was not so much their raw natural ability, but they practiced with much higher degree of intellegence, discipline, concentration and patience.

I know i am still a student so i may not be qualified to talk about technical problems.. but in my experience changing my practice habits and raising the bar as to what it means to learn has change my playing completely.. i used to think i was just not 'talented' but right now i've seen the kind of progress i never thought was possible before.  In some ways piano playing became a lot easier.. it was matter of realizing  how much work it takes to really learn something. 

this is just something i realized lately, but what do you guys think? i know a lot of people come here asking for technical help.. and i was wondering.. maybe "walls" people are facing are result of some misunderstanding about learning?

[db05]

What's with you lately? Posting a lot; are you bored or something?
I think it's when you either stop thinking or stop breathing. It's a struggle to breathe normally while practicing. Long term, I think it's bad posture/ bench or not having a real piano to practice on. Well not anyone can buy a decent piano + bench... I have a good bench but not a good piano.

On learning, well that has little to do with technique and more about psychology. We all think and learn differently and it's hard to find teachers/ systems that would cater for every possibility. I think the greatest teachers are the ones who were most compatible with their students. A terror teacher or a very detached one wouldn't help much though he may be technically brilliant and intelligent.

[etcetra]

db05,

I guess i am bored, i couldnt practice for the last couple of days for logistical reasons.. i didn't realize how boring my life is when i don't practice

[faulty_damper]

Etcetra is right about the causes of many problems faced by students of all levels.  I would include that once something is learned, it will never require any more practicing.  Like the bike example, once you learn how to ride one you will always be able to ride one even if you haven't done so in years.

If you find yourself continually practicing a piece you've "learned" then you haven't actually learned how to play it.  If you find yourself having to "practice up" a piece, then you haven't actually learned how to play it.

[etcetra]

if i am riding a bike for the first time in many years, it may take a little bit of time to get my feeling back on the bike.. if you are doing some difficult tricks.. it might take a little bit more time... but whatever that learning time is, it should be very short. 

I remember having to re-learn alot of things i used to play, it became obvious to me that i didn't learn them quite right the first time.  I think there is a huge difference between being able to play the same passage right 5 times in a row and your body just knowing where to go.  it seems like sometimes the need to play things right can obscure the fact that you are not sure whether you actually learned it right or not.

[loonbohol]

THe root of al technical problems is absent mindedness

THat is my answer

[aslanov]

Etcetra is right about the causes of many problems faced by students of all levels.  I would include that once something is learned, it will never require any more practicing.  Like the bike example, once you learn how to ride one you will always be able to ride one even if you haven't done so in years.

If you find yourself continually practicing a piece you've "learned" then you haven't actually learned how to play it.  If you find yourself having to "practice up" a piece, then you haven't actually learned how to play it.

i wonder if that last paragraph of yours also refers to rachmaninov pieces. my teacher told me she performed 2 of his concerto's and many of his solo pieces, but since she played them in YEARS she'd have to practice up. and i realized she was rite, the prelude i performed about a week ago, i still know all the notes and can still play at pace but i feel like im putting more effort into it than i was before.
my teacher said that most of rachmaninovs works require your hands, not your memory or mind, but ur hands to be used to the piece or you'll have to practice it again, thats not to say ull have to re-learn, but play it through a couple of times.