why piano masters should also practice

[drazh]

hi there
why piano masters should also practice to play a difficult pieces?
I mean other artist such as a painter can draw every images he wants but a great pianist should practice sometimes for several years to do a good play?
may be piano teaching or learning methods are wrong?

[aslanov]

already your analogy is off.
your comparing painting something to playing a piece.
you should compare it to composing a piece. which probably takes just as long depending on the size of the piece (whether its a concerto or say..painting the ceiling of a building)
but to recreate something, which master pianists do, it takes a long time, probably as much time that is required by a painter to analyze a painting, the blend of colours, the type of brushes used, and all the different types of strokes used to repaint  piece.

[Bob]

The masters want to perfect their performance like anyone else.  They just work at a higher level.  If they don't practice, it won't be up to their standards.

[m]

... piano masters should also practice to play a difficult pieces...

This statement should be in reverse. The piano masters are "piano masters" BECAUSE they practice (difficult and other pieces, as well).

Best, M

[gerry]

Of course all performers must continue to "practice" just as any athlete needs to exercise, but that practice should take a different form than that which we associate with the aspiring student. It should involve not only technique but, more importantly, an introspective return to the pieces in their repertoire. I've experienced concerts where I felt that the performer, no matter how professional, could possibly have benefited from an occassional coach who might have caught instances where the "master" had succumbed to performance mannerisms at the expense of, for instance, more subtle phrasing. It's as if too much performance and favorable audience reaction can have a detrimental affect if one doesn't step back once in a while and revisit each piece in order to rediscover (and perhaps even discover) new meaning. As an avowed "amateur", I always feel a bit sad (tinged with a wee bit of jealosy) for the masterful performers able to toss off yet another chestnut while appearing to be thinking of somthing utterly banal like their shopping list.

[thierry13]

The simple answer is that piano playing is much more demanding than painting.

[scottmcc]

artists in all fields practice...actors spend hours rehearsing lines and doing "mirror time," painters do thousands of sketches that never make it into the gallery, musicians practice, athletes exercise, etc. 

the difference is in the method of practicing--clearly one must do different things to refine one's skill at painting than to improve at music.  but the masters all practice.  the real trick is being good enough at something to make it look easy.   

[drazh]

hi
how many of you may be with several years of practice can play  a music when you see music sheet for the first time?

[aslanov]

hi
how many of you may be with several years of practice can play  a music when you see music sheet for the first time?

see ur missing the point.
a master pianist can practice insanely, but you cant play ANY piece the first time u see it perfectly, there are nuances one must have in their playing.

JUST LIKE a PAINTER, no matter how long they've studied or painted for, cant look at the mona lisa for the first time ever and recreate it on the SPOT in every detail.

a painter can paint something original on the spot, SO CAN I, a painter can make something with meaning on the spot, and a composer (not master pianist) can write a piece on the spot too. but for ANOTHER "master" painter cant recreate that painting on the spot, just like a master pianist cant replay that piece on the spot, the piece needs to be studied.

[drazh]

hi
I think a painist is like a copier painter who should easily copy a great painting .but a composer is like to a painter who create original painting like monalisa.
I dont say why should a pianiost practice every day to improve his technic I mean whu he should practice a particular piece to do it properly

[aslanov]

well thats because of what goes into playing a grand piano for time on end.
no painter requires precision, speed, quality of touch in every finger. they jsut need to know how to stroke. and a painter doesnt paint infront of an audience and recreate a painting without mistakes, a pianist needs to. infact if you put a painter in the same spot as a concert pianist. lets say this situation

there's a painter, and easel, and w/e colours he needs, and the painter is to re-create the mona lisa as his performance, like a pianist might play a piano concerto.
he wouldnt be able to. he'd make mistakes. it would take him a very long time to get the strokes right, the colours mixed correctly, etc.
a pianist can recreate these pieces fairly flawlessly because he practices for it.

[richard black]

how many of you may be with several years of practice can play  a music when you see music sheet for the first time?

I can do that with most stuff. In fact I earn part of my living doing that, accompanying auditions (obviously with years of experience at it I know most of the repertoire but there's always something new to play).

But you're forgetting that music is real-time. Sight-reading, I can make a fair stab at getting the flow of the piece right but to give a polished performance that makes sense you have to know it inside out and that takes work, even if the notes themselves are trivially easy to play.

The analogy with painting is quite a good one in some ways. You make a copy of something visual with a camera, but a painting is highly skilled and it takes time for the artist to assimilate what (s)he is seeing and turn it into an image on canvas.

[drazh]

hi everybody
I think all of you are correct .but may be our learning process is not optimal.
suppose that parents send their kids to learn piano.they expect the  teacher to do his job as soon as possible.so the only quick way for the teacher is practicing simple pieces repeatedly to satisfy parents and students but this may  not be the best way .maybe they should practice more on sight reading not memorization.
I read in abook a great pianist said "may be I can do this piace after 5 years of practice" .
I think it is too long
what do you think ?