Getting back into piano again

[oldmanemu]

I moved out of home but only after 6 months did I get my piano moved to where I live. So basically I'm 6 months out of practice, and for me thats a long time considering I don't remember music stuff too well. I've started relearning stuff I knew before and most of the music I can barely remember and my technique is awful. Should I start getting piano lessons again to help me get back into it the right way or should I just teach everything myself and hope for the best?

I'm currently relearning Beethovens moonlight sonata 3rd movement and Rachmaninov's prelude in b minor op.32 no.10 with not too much difficulty, but I believe I am playing both pieces not too well as from what I have heard, they are difficult pieces of music. Am I way over my head with all this? Am I jumping the gun a little? Any suggestions?

[slow_concert_pianist]

You are crying out for a teacher as it sounds as though you have the determination with no direction. Beethovens moonlight 3rd movement requires absolute discipline and is extemely easy to smudge and fudge. It should be played without sustaining pedal until fully rehearsed and then pedal can be added sparingly.

[samasap]

Hi,
Yes I agree with the above post, I think you need to get  yourself a teacher and have some guidance.

But I think maybe you should go back to basics with an easier piece, maybe a song you are familiar with. This always helps, if you know the song!
If you practice daily for 30 mins to an hour you should soon be back into it.

[bass_clef]

I was in a similar position a year ago (although a bit more extreme). I played the piano when I was younger, and tried to start playing the pieces I knew back then again a few years later (not just 6 months). I though I was doing pretty well, but decided to try out lessons again.

The teacher was apuled at my technique! THe look on her face was priceless. I had gotten very lax. Then again, thats just me. I really do need a teacher to keep me in check.

I would definatly recommend getting a teacher

Bass

[pianoladywong]

It is always a good idea to start taking lessons and have a piano teacher guide you. This is important especially when you have stopped for 6 months. The last thing you want to do is to develop some bad habits or wrong techniques that may hurt you physically. Meanwhile, you should consider getting your practicing routine back.

Here are some tips on practicing.
1. Only practice a portion at a time. Have you heard of the saying : "How do you eat an elephant?" - a bite at a time. This is true in any given task. Do not practice the whole piece in one day. Breakdown the piano piece you are going to learn in many portions. You will need time to digest any given measurements. The fingers need to familiar with the location and touch of the notes.

2. Analyze the piece - You may analyze the piece by observing any repeating segments. Very often a music piece has repeating segments. Sometimes the repeating segments might varies slightly. By doing this, you achieve the goal of practice a small segment but covering the repeating portions that appears later on in the same piece. Also analyze the forms of the piece. A common music form is ABA , AABA, AABB, ABCA etc.

3. Chord/Cadence analysis - The same chord may appears for a few measures. This is true in any musical period (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, etc).  If you notice a same chord is repeating for many measures, then the notes within those measures belongs to the same chord and scale. This also helps your sight reading abilities. You get to predict the chord and notes ahead of time.

4. Warm up the fingers by playing the key of the piece - If the music piece is in the key of A major, you may want to warm up your A major scale by playing them numerous time to have a feel of A major's tone and fingering.

5. Write down the three most important chords of the key - If the piece is in the key of A major, you may write down the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chord respectively. They are A chord, D chord, and E chord. You will soon discover the left hand part of the music comprised mostly of these three chords. This is true in any given music. These three chords are mostly used and harmonized.

6. Practice each hand separately first - This method is most useful if you are playing pieces from the Baroque period. Music composed by Bach have many themes. Very often each hands is playing a different subject. Practice slowly in the beginning, speed up once you have a good understanding of the piece. This is important when you have a music piece that varies in rhythm (going from quarter note to half note, dotted quarter note, etc).

7. Do not lose your sanity -  Some music can be frustrating to learn. Keep a positive attitude. Though you are practicing a small portion at a time, you are still making progress. Some advanced repertoire may take 4-6 months or even longer time.

[brogers70]

I move every few years and have had the same frustrations coming back to the piano after a couple of months. I found that working hard on pieces that had degraded during the months without a piano did not lead to any faster recovery than just playing them once or twice every few days and working on learning other new pieces in between. The old pieces I had known before recovered, seemingly on their own, without all the stress that comes from being mad at yourself that you can't play them as well as before. If you are learning something new you won't be beating yourself up that you cannot play it well, because you do not expect to be able to play it well yet anyway.

Good luck.