Help!! I'm really really scared!!

[pianorenny111]

Sorry for this topic, but it's hard for me to admit to myself. I have a horrible horrible procrastina habit. I have around 40 days to learn
1. Chopin nocturne op1
2. Beethoven sonata f major
3. Copland sentimental melody
4. Bach invention 1

I finished the Bach, half the Copland, and the first page of each the Beethoven and the chopin!
But I keep trying and trying to learn the nocturne and I keep getting stuck!!! I'm in deep deep trouble of I don't pass my CM test my mom won't pay for piano lessons of I don't pass! how many hours will it take a slow/average learner to learn these pieces! please help! I love piano. But I just don't know what's happened to me...

[faulty_damper]

I'm sorry that you're in the position you're in.  It can be very difficult and stressful to have so much pressure to do well and having your mother punish you before you even had the chance doesn't help at all.

I studied procrastination and can tell you that the reason why you have such a horrible procrastination habit is because you don't know how to do what you need to do.  You need to learn to play these pieces but you simply don't know how to learn them.  How can you do something if you don't know how to do it?  You're not alone.  Procrastination isn't something that is choosen to do on purpose.

Here's a simple plan I'll suggest that will help you reorganize your focus.
I'll list them by number for ease of reference:

1. Take 10-15 minutes on 4 measures of music that isn't easy for you to learn.  Only 4 measures.  Place a clock in front of you.  Note the time and start the beginning of the measure and slowly work your way through to the last of the 4 measures.

2. Take a break every 30 minutes after you have accomplished 8 or 12 measures.

3. Focus only on the music in front of you.  The days that you have can be forgotten and the words your mother has spoken can be lost as well.

4. Lastly, Enjoy yourself!

You really do have all the time in the world even if there seems like constraints to many things at present.

[cmg]

Excellent advice from faulty_damper and I'd follow it to the letter, if I were you.  Procrastination, in my study of it, is about fear -- fear of failure for starters and a million other fears later.  You must do as faulty says:  break the job down into manageable bites, stay focused on the "micro-project" at hand and inch your way along.  It's what mountaineers do.  And they get to summits as often as not.  Good luck and go deaf to your mother's words.  She's that voice we struggle with all our lives.  You know that voice in our heads that is self-critical??? 

[teosoleil]

Order your pieces from most hardest to easiest. Then, begin learning the hardest pieces first and focus on NOTES. I had to learn a Schumann concerto in under a month and focusing on the hardest parts first shaved off a lot of time. So, begin learning the hard stuff then the easy stuff in practice sessions. I'd recommend an hour of practicing each piece each day. You can't skip out on practicing when there's a deadline close. Of course, instead of just saying "what will I do?!" the best thing is to get down and practice immediately instead of "seeking advice" when the answer is in front of you. I wish you luck and I promise, if you push yourself to learn all the notes and practice each piece each day, focusing on learning and working on the tough sections, everything will come much easier than just normal learning but at a faster pace.

[indianajo]

I never learned all that fast, so I'm not a pro, but I could learn 8 pieces a year when I was a teenager. 
One way to get the pressure off and focus, is earning the money to pay for your own lessons.  My Mother taught me how to clean gutters at 8, my father taught me how to mow lawns and rake leaves at 11, and I was allowed to use the family mower to support my hobbies.  Raking leaves, shoveling snow, painting, are all tedious jobs that teenagers can do that adults hate.  I paid for all my wind instrument lessons and supplies myself, ending up in the All-State band at 17.  I had a bicycle and was expected to move myself around, walking on streets where the bicycle wasn't safe.  This "Mom's taxi" stuff strikes me as weird. Houston, TX wasn't exactly "Smallville" either.   Of course, being a bit ugly and male made being out alone a pretty safe idea. 
When you pay for them yourself, you find you need a lesson when you are ready, not just because the day of the week happened.  You get to judge your progress, and how to balance your time.
Oh, BTW, I maintained almost perfect grades while I was doing the piano and band, but dropped the piano at 16 to concentrate on the band.  Time management is a great thing for a teenager to learn.  Have fun, glad you like your piano skills enough to want to keep it up.