Attempting pieces beyond one's current level.

[indespair]

Is it wise for a person to attempt a piece way beyond his or her current level of playing, although if it seems possible after a huge amount of slowed down practice?

[megadodd]

The problems that will occour is mainly:
When you get more skilled/better at playing your instrument, you will still play the piece badly because you didn't have the technique when learning it. The faults will stick.
So you will probably regret learning the piece because you will have "ruined" it for a future life.

You can damage hands and, or arms.
This happened to a friend of mine, now she cannot play piano for more than 2 hours a day without feeling pain and are unable to relax.

Also, you WILL develop faster by learning 5-10 pieces you can actually play rather than learning the opus 111 Beethoven sonata the first year of playing piano (just an example).

[j_menz]

When you get more skilled/better at playing your instrument, you will still play the piece badly because you didn't have the technique when learning it. The faults will stick.
So you will probably regret learning the piece because you will have "ruined" it for a future life.

I did that with Beethoven's Pathetique. Took me years to fix the faults (and they still come back if I don't play it for a while).

[m1469]

As a teacher myself, I find there are very few students who I would recommend doing that with in general.  Part of the reasoning is that there will most likely be some bad habits formed, yes, but right on the heels of that is the fact that an individual must have the personal makeup to be willing to then put in the effort to actually fix those habits as they become a more skilled pianist over time.  In most cases it seems that a person may be willing to blast through a piece, developing it to whatever degree is readily accessible to them (emphasis on readily), but putting serious time and effort beyond that to make it something seriously worth listening to is a completely other story.  Those people would benefit most, in my opinion, by having pieces that gradually challenge their personal pianism and characteristics (like patience and diligence), and which they can generally get a good handle on within whatever their attention span allows (with a gentle stretch and that differing with each student).  

A general "formula" that I keep in mind for most and almost all students is a small variety of pieces, 2-4 depending on the student (but ideally at least 3), where one is readily accessible to them on all levels (personally, pianistically, musically) and can be learned very quickly and traded out easily with another such piece, one that pushes their patience ever so slightly, and then one that pushes their patience (and mine) even more (that's the "project" piece) and is one where I'll push until I can't push anymore, and it either gets accomplished and they are satisfied, or we put it down because I can see we aren't going to achieve anything of greater value with it.  

There are exceptions but generally I myself haven't felt that I am running into those individuals.

[ahinton]

I think that much would have to depend on precisely what might be meant by "attempting" in this particular context; reading through such pieces can usually only be a good thing (as long as it doesn't invite a sense of discouragment!) to the extent that the experience could offer the player some idea of certain goals to be aimed for and the kinds of work that might need to be undertaken towards their achievement, as distinct from actually trying to prepare performances of them from the ground up.

Best,

Alistair

[starstruck5]

Well I tried learning the Appassionata when I definitely wasn't ready -this has caused some problems for me now -but not insurmountable ones.  If anything my virgin attempt had a positive outcome, despite the fact I failed miserably in the end. It made me realise my limitations and pointed out areas technically that I needed to improve. 

I would never discourage anyone who wanted to learn a work they were passionate about. There is a song isn't there -'Ready or not, here I come!' I don't agree that it will spoil any future attempt. I suppose there may be pieces which could actually hurt someone who was not ready -but those are extreme cases.

[indespair]

What do you fine gentlemen say about someone attempting Bartok's Allegro Barbaro in their second year when they have only learned to play fur elise, entertainer and a few other pieces and so on? Besides, how can you tell when you are developing bad habits and aren't there ways to actually overcome bad habits by careful contemplation even while you are attempting such a piece?

P.S.: I don't know much about playing technique, but i really think i will be able to overcome the problems as i am already through with the first 3 pages with minor problems. However, i desperately need some guidance. Any suggestions(hell, even strict orders) are welcome.

[danhuyle]

What you're ultimately risking is the time when you're practicing something beyond your current level. You'd slowly learn a few passages in a piece beyond your level while practicing other pieces AT your level to develop certain skills.

The problems that will occour is mainly:
When you get more skilled/better at playing your instrument, you will still play the piece badly because you didn't have the technique when learning it. The faults will stick.

Also, you WILL develop faster by learning 5-10 pieces you can actually play rather than learning the opus 111 Beethoven sonata the first year of playing piano (just an example).

The reason why the faults stick is the unwillingness to get out of the habit you developed when you learned the piece in the first place.

To learn a virtuoso piece like Beethoven Sonata Op111 or any other virtuoso piece, you must have note reading proficiency and some basic knowledge of music theory.

I was never taught how to play fast the right way. Like how to play fast to the point where I can keep up with the Jones meaning that I'm not 1-2 minutes slower than them. The only thing I'm told by a teacher is practice slow to fast.

What about fast pieces? If you can't keep up with the time the top pianists get it in, you're in trouble. Is that right?