Progress

[outin]

I just realized that I have been playing a little over a year now, and started with my teacher September last year. It is so hard to see any progress on a daily basis. But lately I have felt more secure that I have the basic technique figured out and can concentrate more on the music instead of my posture and hand position.

When I started my teacher assigned me really easy stuff and I struggled. I went back to them the other day and could sight read many of them on a decent level. So I must have progressed!

My greatest problem has been and still is focusing. Especially practicing easy sections or scales is really difficult. I can play up a scale and when coming down I have forgotten which scale I was playing…It’s terribly frustrating and when I get frustrated focusing becomes even harder. My brain needs some rewiring. I have always been more of a problem solver, after I have figured out how something is done, it’s really hard for me to learn to do it with consistency. It takes me ages to learn the notes of a piece securely, some day I can play it fine and the next day it seems completely unfamiliar.  I’m also a terrible perfectionist, one wrong note and the piece is ruined and it’s hard to even bother to continue playing… I know it’s ridiculous but it’s so rooted in my nature that it is difficult to overcome it.

In another thread someone mentioned not really having anything to play for an audience. It’s so true! Many of my friends know that I practice every day, usually at least an hour, often lot more. So they assume I must be able to play a lot of pieces after a year. The truth is I don’t. There’s always something new to learn and the old ones are forgotten and hardly even perfect in the first place. At the moment I have one piece that I am trying to learn properly because I really like it and I have already spent a lot of time with it. I’m finally at the point where I can think about interpretation, dynamics and touch instead of just trying to find my way across the keyboard fast enough. I started it in November, so it has taken me a really long time. Of course it is also the hardest piece I have worked on, grade 6 I think. Hopefully I will be able to make a decent recording of it soon…

I’m glad I found this forum, it has been a source of both intellectual and emotional support, so thanks everyone! My teacher is really good and a nice person, but she is a much younger than me and has of course been playing for all her life, so I don’t think she always understands my troubles and frustrations… Also there’s no point in wasting lesson time on anything else than learning to play. So the only person I can actually discuss piano playing or piano music is a colleague. We are not quite on the same page though, she has played for 2 years or so, but was a complete beginner and her teacher does not work on technique the way mine does. I did play a few years as a child about 30 years ago and have some experience on other instruments, so I already knew quite a lot about music, notation and so on. This also has a downside, aiming too high can sometimes prevent progress. It's hard for me to practice slowly when I know exactly how the piece should sound played at tempo.

I am now certain that playing the piano is something I will continue for the rest of my life. Hopefully enough time to progress to a level that I can play some of my favorite music. The next big project is to replace my upright with a small grand...

[ichky]

Hi outin,

I can understand your frustration, and it sounds like you already know the root to your problem, and the solutions for it. You just have to adapt.

I don't think you are looking for any advises, but here is what I can say.
What you really want is to be able to play the piano at a level, where you don't even have to think about the piece. So that it comes naturally, and you can remember all the pieces you have practiced.

It is like driving a car. The more you drive, the better of a driver you become, and eventually you won't have to think about when to switch gears etc.
You can even have a decent conversation while driving.
This requires not just hours of practice, but it requires practice in a certain way to drill the piece of music into your subconscious mind. This is called Deep Practicing.

Also, frustration only occurs when you take the "Fun" element away from your practice. Playing the piano to me is fun, and always has been fun. I only practice when I feel like it, and sometimes I don't practice at all. I only practice the pieces that I love to play. I skip any boring pieces that I do not like. You will naturally find that you tend to focus more if it is a piece you really love.

Best of Luck!

Ichky

[outin]

Hi outin,

Also, frustration only occurs when you take the "Fun" element away from your practice. Playing the piano to me is fun, and always has been fun. I only practice when I feel like it, and sometimes I don't practice at all. I only practice the pieces that I love to play. I skip any boring pieces that I do not like. You will naturally find that you tend to focus more if it is a piece you really love.

Best of Luck!

Ichky

Thanks!

Luckily I always enjoy practicing (that was not the case when I was a kid). I even practice too long often, overstraining my back and neck muscles. I "warm up" very slowly and don't get mentally tired easily, so after an hour or so I actually will find it easier to concentrate. Unfortunately the lessons are only 45 min and after a day at work, so my poor teacher always has to put up with me at my worst

My frustration is not towards the music or practicing, it's towards the slow learning because of my natural limitations. I am not used to being "slow" to learn. I have succeeded in my profession and other fields because of my ability to very quickly crasp new ideas and concepts, my understanding of complex issues and my ability to quickly find the essential in large chunks of data and ignoring what is not important. Now when I got to the piano these skills seem almost useless on the basic level where I would instead need to slow down and concentrate on simple details... In piano playing EVERYTHING is essential, you cannot just concentrate on one part and move on. But as you say, I'm sure practicing will make a difference in the end.

BTW. I don't drive, probably safer to everyone, if there's an interesting conversation going on, I would quite certainly stop looking at the road. I have never been very good in multitasking.