questions

[butterfly79]

Hi All,

I am an adult student and I have been playing since Jan 2010 and I am just about to start gr 2 royal conservatory. I am really enjoying playing but I notice a few issues. One I am tense when I play, 2 I am having to practice pieces for weeks before getting them right, and I notice with finger changing/hand movement I am slow. I definitely have issues with speed.

Is there any suggestions on how to improve these issues? I want to try more advanced pieces but I get discouraged because of my slowness and smoothness.

[bleicher]

Hello,

Welcome to the world of being a pianist!

Of the things you mention, sorting out the tension is a priority. I can recommend Alexander Technique lessons for tension: many musicians do this and in some conservatoires it's compulsory. Other ways of beating tension are yoga and pilates. Don't practise for too long at once; get up and walk around and do some stretches as soon as you start to feel tense. Ask someone to look at you sitting at the piano and say whether your posture looks tense. Avoid unnecessary movements, for example raising the shoulder, and avoid tightening the arm or wrist.

Having to practise pieces for weeks to learn them is just the nature of playing the piano I think. The only solution is to make sure you do some practice every day, even if it's just a little every day it's much better than skipping days. I do think that it takes longer to learn pieces on the piano than other instruments. Regarding speed issues, sort out the tension issues first; that's the most important thing.

Good luck!

[db05]

Wow I'm curious how the rest would reply since this is much like my case. I studied piano for 2 years since I was 18 but got stuck at around grade 3 (?), then I quit in frustration.

This sounds really odd, but I find it almost impossible to sight read anything beyond beginner level. I got around the problem by practicing hands seperate, it's a bit time-consuming (it still took weeks to play a whole piece), but my playing was more relaxed and it showed in the music. I was slow and these were easy stuff, but my classmates usually commended my expression.

Also, it is good that you know you are tense because most of the time people don't notice it and they end up getting used to an uncomfortable position or feeling. So you have awareness, which is an important thing. Stretching before practicing helps, and for the more long term general guidelines: eat healthily, exercise and sleep regularly. If you're stressed throughout the day, it affects practicing and playing, so all of these things matter.

Tension affects speed, so if you can just get more relaxed you should be able to play better. A lot of piano teachers drill technical exercises for speed (some with metronome), but I found it a painful experience, physically and mentally draining. Some teachers don't like teaching technique in isolation, but I haven't actually met someone like this. My guitar teacher's approach was a bit of a compromise; he would not push for speed, but accuracy, clarity and getting the feel of the instrument. When you're relaxed enough, your breathing should be regular and you can speed up, slow down and make rhythmic or dynamic variations easily. Again, this is more time-consuming than the conventional way of doing things.

I wouldn't recommend trying more advanced pieces if the less advanced ones are still giving you trouble. On the other hand, a new piece, not necessarily tougher, might be the ticket to learning relaxation. Because with the old pieces, you may have to unlearn some bad habits.

An additional note. I know being an adult beginner is tough because it would seem that you're not progressing as rapidly as you should. Plus easy pieces get boring and embarrassing after a while, right? Well don't let that stop you. Takes a little more digging, but you can find some very nice sounding pieces that are easy too. I think there is a thread for that here.

For more detailed advice on practicing, try searching the posts of "bernhard" in this forum, and there is also a book called Fundamentals of Piano Practice that's free on the web.

[jimbo320]

To help with speed I always, and I know this may sound simple, play the beginning riff to 'Tubular Bells'. Playing as fast as I can because it requires use of all fingers loosens me up. Try it!....