Get through books or build repertoire?

[naumdar]

Hello 

I'm guessing the answer to this already - but I need some of you to slap me please.

First off - I don't practice enough. I should probably say I barely practice, maybe 3 hours a week. Yes I know this is the first thing to change, there is just too much going on and I need to make piano a priority.

However, I have a really bad habit of finding pieces that are ambitious to learn, and learning half of a movement and then stalling because in actuality it is too hard, and then I kind of move on to a different piece. Horrible, I know.

My question is this: Should I just learn the pieces in the Masterworks series books to basically build technique through standard / less sexy repertoire and get comfortable as an intermediate pianist and then in about a year or so start actually trying to build a repertoire? Or should I really just start now by learning full pieces?

Ideally I know the answer is to do some technique every day, have some pieces that I play from books and then have one piece that I am memorizing / actually working on within my playing ability. 

It might just be a matter of enforcing the discipline to the above. I just sometimes think that if I got through all the Masterworks books to speed and playing correctly and articulating correctly - I would have a lot easier time trying to learn the beautiful pieces I have always wanted to play.

Please help one confused and poor disciplined fool.

Thank you.

[lloyd_cdb]

I'm guessing the answer to this already - but I need some of you to slap me please.

/slap

I need to make piano a priority.

I think most people on these forums (especially Students Corner) aren't professional pianist or even planning to be.  Don't make piano a PRIORITY especially if that means stressing yourself out.  Everyone has reasons to play, make sure none of them incur stress or you'll hit a lot more frustration that you already do.
 

Ideally I know the answer is to do some technique every day, have some pieces that I play from books and then have one piece that I am memorizing / actually working on within my playing ability.

This.  Don't challenge yourself too much early on, as you'll encounter the exact frustration you mentioned earlier which may be discouraging.

It might just be a matter of enforcing the discipline to the above. I just sometimes think that if I got through all the Masterworks books to speed and playing correctly and articulating correctly - I would have a lot easier time trying to learn the beautiful pieces I have always wanted to play.

Don't look at one book as the end-all-be-all of technique.  You won't finish those and magically be able to play hard pieces.  Those difficult pieces (they are called that for a reason) will still require learning more technique as you go along as well as constant repetition to reinforce it.  But, yes, it will definitely make it easier.

[ajspiano]

Ideally I know the answer is to do some technique every day, have some pieces that I play from books and then have one piece that I am memorizing / actually working on within my playing ability. 

Not a bad regime, but also not fitting for the word "ideal". I'm not going to outline a better one for you though, the forum already. Get obsessed, start digging.

If you genuinely want to get better, start practicing everyday. Try to do at least an hour, plan the sessions..  As a generalisation, break it up into 15-20 minute chunks and work on one specific thing during that time (not necessarily one piece, rather possibly one section of one piece). After 15-20 minutes has elapsed, move on to something else.

Also, do not feel that the full hour must be done at once, its fine to spread yourself out s 2-3 shorter sessions throughout the day...  However, if it's difficult to find that much time everyday, don't push yourself, just start small, get in the habit of doing it daily (assuming you don't already, as in 3 hours spread over 7 days, rather than 3 hour sessions spread across 7 days).

Go read pianofundamentals.com so you practice atleast a little bit more effectively.

[naumdar]

Thank you both - I have actually read that book. Thankfully the time I spend practicing I feel as though I do so productively. I also should mention that I have a degree in music but I was studying percussion, mostly mallet percussion and music history. I'm familiar with how to practice, its just that I wonder if I was being too ambitious in the repertoire.

I think I'm going to try to practice in my ability even though the pieces I really feel like I want to play are a bit beyond.

Really this whole thread is me saying I'm not patient to get through pieces I don't like and I can see that for what it is now. Sometimes externalizing stuff like this really makes you realize what's going on - its just pretty clear I need to buckle down and get through what's in front of me, and then get to the repertoire I want to build.