Increasing practise time without getting bored?

[ranniks]

That video inspired me more, the guy is moving the keys like butter, I must learn that too.

Basically: Now I'm only pracising an hour a day and leveling up fairly. I want to play 2 hours a day, but I bloody have no idea how I'm going to survive it...

Let me give you my program for today (60 minutes ish):

- Scales with and without metronome max 7 minutes
- Chords with and without beat max 7 minutes
- Prelude Chopin once with metronome once without, tops 5 minutes
- About 10 times repeat second theme of Fur Elise max 10 minutes
- March in D by Bach, repeat 6 times, max 10 minutes
- Schumann piece inspired by Chopin apparently, tops 25 minutes
- Messing around with pieces 5 minutes

It gets around an hour. If I spend more time on scales, I only know 3, I'll get a bit bored I think. And repeating the above would bore me. New pieces would make my brain implode.....

So how do I increase my playing time? Should I even bother seeing as I'm making progression with just that hour?

[j_menz]

You should be able to find some easier pop song/standards arrangement, and grab a list of Grade 1-2 stuff from the abrsm syllabus and get what you can from IMSLP or here.  Then just play/sightead stuff you like.

It may seem that its easier stuff, and won't tax you too much, but there is much to be learned from easier pieces, and you should enjoy playing what you like.

[ajspiano]

During practice.

Drink something (like water, not beer)
Eat something (like fruit or nuts)

Add more free play time, use it to break up the more focused practice. - piece 1, free play, piece 2, free play etc.

Also, have your pieces at different levels of development so practice types are different. Some HS, some HT, some memorisation, some interpretive development.

[pianoplunker]

That video inspired me more, the guy is moving the keys like butter, I must learn that too.

Basically: Now I'm only pracising an hour a day and leveling up fairly. I want to play 2 hours a day, but I bloody have no idea how I'm going to survive it...

Let me give you my program for today (60 minutes ish):

- Scales with and without metronome max 7 minutes
- Chords with and without beat max 7 minutes
- Prelude Chopin once with metronome once without, tops 5 minutes
- About 10 times repeat second theme of Fur Elise max 10 minutes
- March in D by Bach, repeat 6 times, max 10 minutes
- Schumann piece inspired by Chopin apparently, tops 25 minutes
- Messing around with pieces 5 minutes

It gets around an hour. If I spend more time on scales, I only know 3, I'll get a bit bored I think. And repeating the above would bore me. New pieces would make my brain implode.....

So how do I increase my playing time? Should I even bother seeing as I'm making progression with just that hour?

That is a pretty good hour for sure. But dont think that you absolutely must practice longer to have more success.  Longer practice sessions should come about for a reason, not because we think two hours is better than one. In fact one hour of efficient practice trumps several hours of half-assed practice.
when you say Bach March in D - repeat 6 times, does that mean you are playing through 6 times ? If it does mean playing all the way through , that is not practice anyhow so you may want to run through it just once and free up time for other scales or theory study, or sightreading or more practice with the metronome.   You seem to be on the right track. As you add more skills and music to your repertoire, you'll learn how to use the time for those. whether it takes 1 hour or 5 hours.

[hfmadopter]

You seem to be using your hour fairly wisely. As you move along and get into more advanced work you will probably find an hour blows by pretty fast though and the situation cures itself. If you ever practice any performances you will find an hour is not enough to go over a whole program, even a lower level performance. The key for me is to to about 20 minute intervals and walk away. Much as AJ has mentioned, get a drink of water or a nut snack and come back. When you sit back down at the piano it will feel more fresh again, like another practice session is starting. I can go for hours like this and have done 5 hour sessions this way, broken into 20 minute segments. I'm older now but still do 3 hours like this. My practice sessions for my little Christmas performance were three hours for the 3 week period before Christmas Eve, done just that way, for instance ( and I'm real rusty at it having been away from the piano for so many years as I was till last May).

What ever you do, keep at it !! Do give that segmented practice time a whirl. Even to walk away for maybe 3 or 4 minutes, for instance, you gain extra will to go back and put more time into Fur Elise, as an example.

[slobone]

It looks to me like you're chopping up your practice time into little bitty pieces. That's way too many things to do in one hour. I would spend at least twice as much on any one of those.

But as for boredom in general, I find the best approach is not to assume you have to do all your practice in one sitting. Do one thing, then take a break, then come back and do something else. Since I started doing that I'm practicing twice as much every day.

[ranniks]

You should be able to find some easier pop song/standards arrangement, and grab a list of Grade 1-2 stuff from the abrsm syllabus and get what you can from IMSLP or here.  Then just play/sightead stuff you like.

It may seem that its easier stuff, and won't tax you too much, but there is much to be learned from easier pieces, and you should enjoy playing what you like.

Sightreading is probably beyond me right now. I'm glad you understand what I meant, because it is taxing playing that hour straight.

During practice.

Drink something (like water, not beer)
Eat something (like fruit or nuts)
a
Add more free play time, use it to break up the more focused practice. - piece 1, free play, piece 2, free play etc.

Also, have your pieces at different levels of development so practice types are different. Some HS, some HT, some memorisation, some interpretive development.

That seems like a good idea, I'll try that today. Break it up.

That is a pretty good hour for sure. But dont think that you absolutely must practice longer to have more success.  Longer practice sessions should come about for a reason, not because we think two hours is better than one. In fact one hour of efficient practice trumps several hours of half-assed practice.
when you say Bach March in D - repeat 6 times, does that mean you are playing through 6 times ? If it does mean playing all the way through , that is not practice anyhow so you may want to run through it just once and free up time for other scales or theory study, or sightreading or more practice with the metronome.   You seem to be on the right track. As you add more skills and music to your repertoire, you'll learn how to use the time for those. whether it takes 1 hour or 5 hours.

You might be right. But the thing is, I have this Harry Potter piece that's waiting to be finished, but my other pieces have priority.

With the march: I havn't perfected it yet, the last part isn't going that well, so I try to repeat it until I get it.

You seem to be using your hour fairly wisely. As you move along and get into more advanced work you will probably find an hour blows by pretty fast though and the situation cures itself. If you ever practice any performances you will find an hour is not enough to go over a whole program, even a lower level performance. The key for me is to to about 20 minute intervals and walk away. Much as AJ has mentioned, get a drink of water or a nut snack and come back. When you sit back down at the piano it will feel more fresh again, like another practice session is starting. I can go for hours like this and have done 5 hour sessions this way, broken into 20 minute segments. I'm older now but still do 3 hours like this. My practice sessions for my little Christmas performance were three hours for the 3 week period before Christmas Eve, done just that way, for instance ( and I'm real rusty at it having been away from the piano for so many years as I was till last May).

What ever you do, keep at it !! Do give that segmented practice time a whirl. Even to walk away for maybe 3 or 4 minutes, for instance, you gain extra will to go back and put more time into Fur Elise, as an example.

Thanks David. About advance work; Invention 1 is on my wish list next time, so that extra hour might be usefull.

That snack idea is good, thanks both of you.

It looks to me like you're chopping up your practice time into little bitty pieces. That's way too many things to do in one hour. I would spend at least twice as much on any one of those.

But as for boredom in general, I find the best approach is not to assume you have to do all your practice in one sitting. Do one thing, then take a break, then come back and do something else. Since I started doing that I'm practicing twice as much every day.

That's an idea, but if I do that, I'll definitely get bored and it may take the joy out of playing for me. For example: the ear training exercises are what I want to get done first because it just doesn't feel right or something.

Example:

Start: that doesn't sound right
Mid: I got it!
End: Yawn, lets do something else

[outin]

About advance work; Invention 1 is on my wish list next time, so that extra hour might be usefull.

Inventions...I have spend at least 4 hours this weekend with mine(and been on it for weeks already)... still get the bl**dy fingers mixed up or a memory malfunction every other time, even when doing HS...and haven't even started page 2 yet... So be warned! They are some kind of a Baroque era torture method...

[hfmadopter]

Thanks David. About advance work; Invention 1 is on my wish list next time, so that extra hour might be usefull.

That snack idea is good, thanks both of you.

Healthy snacks !! I do the same as road bike riding with my 37 YO daughter, we have little health bars, break them up into bits ( you just have a bite here and their). Raisins and nuts are a good choice too. We tend to do the white raisins for riding. Water or Gatorade for our riding, depending on the weather. For piano I do coffee, water or diet soda, of which I only drink diet ginger ale anyway. Beer is a big brain freezer, it clouds your mind badly. I don't drink beer at the house anymore but when I did I learned quickly to not have a beer after work and expect to learn to play piano. That was decades ago. You need a fresh mind for learning piano and I'm numb enough as it is !!!!!

[hfmadopter]

Inventions...I have spend at least 4 hours this weekend with mine(and been on it for weeks already)... still get the bl**dy fingers mixed up or a memory malfunction every other time, even when doing HS...and haven't even started page 2 yet... So be warned! They are some kind of a Baroque era torture method...

Oh ya they are ! And they look easy enough to just read through. I generally do fine hands alone, put them together and wow, this guys mind must have been something else. But I get that out most things Bach, it's just how it is.

[ranniks]

Guys, I've given some of your suggestions a try, this is how it went:

Planned for half an hour (an hour more in the evening today, it's about 5 pm here atm): I began doing scales, chords and such with beat. My hands and forearm were pretty tired. I tried what Slobone said and kept at it for 30 minutes and took small breaks in between to drink tea. I feel energised lol. And also what Aj suggested and threw in some Fur Elise in there.

David, you know what really frustrates me? I keep on telling at this forum which difficult pieces I am working on (well for my level at least), but when I show a progress video it just seems like I'm not being good enough. I mean, when a camera is aimed at me I tend to play a bit bad than usual. I'm pretty sure if I uploaded something now it would justify why I said I would work on the first invention, because I have gotten plenty of good!

[outin]

David, you know what really frustrates me? I keep on telling at this forum which difficult pieces I am working on (well for my level at least), but when I show a progress video it just seems like I'm not being good enough. I mean, when a camera is aimed at me I tend to play a bit bad than usual.

I have given up trying to make proper videos for a while...I just cannot help wondering about the camera all the time...it makes me unable to concentrate...even worse than normally ... and messes up my playing... I just record for my own archives, it's nice to see some progress.

[hfmadopter]

David, you know what really frustrates me? I keep on telling at this forum which difficult pieces I am working on (well for my level at least), but when I show a progress video it just seems like I'm not being good enough. I mean, when a camera is aimed at me I tend to play a bit bad than usual. I'm pretty sure if I uploaded something now it would justify why I said I would work on the first invention, because I have gotten plenty of good!

I see. Well hate to tell you but that's normal. If that's a goal to do then do more of it. However a tip, learn to express less complicated pieces really really well. I can't sing to save my life but I can sing through my piano. How do singers perform, how do they bring a crowd to tears or to joy through their voice when they can only sing one note at a time ? Expression and control. Make your piano do that, no matter how simple the piece. People will appreciate really good expression, dynamic expression in a simple piece vs botched attempts at more complication. Meanwhile keep workng your way up, keep adding that expression as you go.. People get too hung up on complicated pieces, I feel.

Think of Horowitz and his great expression. Ya he played about two million notes at once and we can't, that's true but we can learn how he expressed, those light trailing passages leading into the explosion that takes place in the next. Take a little bit away with you from each artist you like. Over time, learn to apply.

[ajspiano]

Will just echo that healthy snack bit. The right foods should make you feel more alive pretty much instantly if you are feeling drained and unfocused.

[ajspiano]

Oh ya they are ! And they look easy enough to just read through. I generally do fine hands alone, put them together and wow, this guys mind must have been something else. But I get that out most things Bach, it's just how it is.

And if only the pieces didn't just get harder and more brain frying after the (relatively) simple inventions  :/

[bronnestam]

 I keep on repeating the mantra I have been plaguing this site with lately:

YOU MUST NOT GET BORED.

It is better you don't practice at all than you practice and feel bored. I know this might sound a bit provocative, especially for those who are stuck in the "no pain no gain" and "blood, sweat & tears" thinking. But music is art. You can never "whip" art out of yourself. Joy is a total fundamental ingredient in the process of creating art.

So, you might think that you have to push yourself. Well, maybe a litte. Don't confuse boredom with fatigue, because the latter is rather natural when you make efforts. Then you rest, and then you eagerly rush back to your practicing. If you get bored, though, you will find it harder and harder to go back once you have escaped.
Maybe it will look good at first. You make progress, at least mechanical. But what happens to the music? Will you still hear it inside you? Will it still make your heart beat faster, will it still stir up emotions in you, do you still wanna sing it? You see, as long as you enjoys the music, you will not get bored. You will happily practice for hours and do whatever it takes to improve, because you want to PLAY.

Play, that is the word. In English, it has double meanings and both are important here. If it starts to feel like a JOB, you will never get far. You will be yet another piano student/player who looks like (s)he is in a fight with the piano and plays like (s)he is deaf. And who finally quits the whole thing, in order to do something that is fun for real.

My suggestion for you is that you first start extending your practicing time - if you really want to do that - without being at the piano. Think about the music, think about parts where you have difficulties at the moment. Get some ideas. Listen to other musicians, dream a little ... build up your energy until you cannot stop yourself from running to the piano and play something for real!

I never start with scales and other dull exercises nowadays. I start with the things I long for playing the most, and when I'm warmed up, I feel motivated enough to do some technical exercises like scales because I feel I need them. And I would go totally mad if I used a timer to see how many minutes I spent on this or that!

 

[ranniks]

I keep on repeating the mantra I have been plaguing this site with lately:

YOU MUST NOT GET BORED.

It is better you don't practice at all than you practice and feel bored. I know this might sound a bit provocative, especially for those who are stuck in the "no pain no gain" and "blood, sweat & tears" thinking. But music is art. You can never "whip" art out of yourself. Joy is a total fundamental ingredient in the process of creating art.

So, you might think that you have to push yourself. Well, maybe a litte. Don't confuse boredom with fatigue, because the latter is rather natural when you make efforts. Then you rest, and then you eagerly rush back to your practicing. If you get bored, though, you will find it harder and harder to go back once you have escaped.
Maybe it will look good at first. You make progress, at least mechanical. But what happens to the music? Will you still hear it inside you? Will it still make your heart beat faster, will it still stir up emotions in you, do you still wanna sing it? You see, as long as you enjoys the music, you will not get bored. You will happily practice for hours and do whatever it takes to improve, because you want to PLAY.

Play, that is the word. In English, it has double meanings and both are important here. If it starts to feel like a JOB, you will never get far. You will be yet another piano student/player who looks like (s)he is in a fight with the piano and plays like (s)he is deaf. And who finally quits the whole thing, in order to do something that is fun for real.

My suggestion for you is that you first start extending your practicing time - if you really want to do that - without being at the piano. Think about the music, think about parts where you have difficulties at the moment. Get some ideas. Listen to other musicians, dream a little ... build up your energy until you cannot stop yourself from running to the piano and play something for real!

I never start with scales and other dull exercises nowadays. I start with the things I long for playing the most, and when I'm warmed up, I feel motivated enough to do some technical exercises like scales because I feel I need them. And I would go totally mad if I used a timer to see how many minutes I spent on this or that!

Hi there! In the case of this post, I think I have to rephrase what I was saying, reformulate.

It is most likely not getting bored, but likely fatigue as you said. Getting bored out of this would make me quit piano, but piano has surprised me like no other thing in life has (Well maybe a few things, like God and my bigger dream in life).

At first I got truly bored with piano, I even wanted to learn the Violin aside it, but then I told my teacher and he got my game up and we are finally on to stuff that really surprised me. Good and complex pieces for my level that really boggle my mind, chord exercises, ear exercises. It turns out my hearing isn't that ruined after all.

Fatigue hits me really hard after 40 minutes of playing, in which afterwards I am unable to play.

But scales do annoy me sometimes. Today with a beat it was actually fun. Maybe because my brain works that way? I was having to concentrate on 2 things, the beat and piano.

Please don't get the idea piano is boring me, for no such thing is possible. I am working on several pieces right now.

The thing that does frighten me is that while me brain is way ahead on Chopin's Nocturnes, Beethoven's Sonatas, Mozart's Rondo, Bach's Inventions and Suites, Clemenzi's pieces, Brah's Hungarian dances, my hands and experience are not. I cannot play those pieces yes and will most likely not for some time, but I must persevere and in that perseverance I will endure fatigue.

That hour needs to be spend well, maybe notch it up to 1.5 hours or even 2, but I have to build up to it.

Just wanted to make clear that I love the piano.

Many people laugh at the notion of Fur Elise as a piece of pride, but I love it, the main theme is just subleme, even though a 5 year old can learn it.

I love piano and I will endure.

Boredom is part of every calling in life, but it has to be done. The thing is, piano has many factions, why quit when just one portion of it is destroying your joy? If you absolutely hate pop piano, will you stop playing piano all together? I think not.

But, definitely, thanks, Fatigue was the word I was looking for. I was too quick to use the word 'bored', excuse me for that and my English.

[j_menz]

Sightreading is probably beyond me right now.

And always will be unless you acdtually do some. Now is a great time to start.  Start with the easiest pieces you have on hand and read through them a few times.  You'll get better as you go.

[ranniks]

And always will be unless you acdtually do some. Now is a great time to start.  Start with the easiest pieces you have on hand and read through them a few times.  You'll get better as you go.

Yes sempai!

Err, so basically get easy sheets, read and try to play them without actually practising? Then moving on to other pieces to sight read? Not sure how I should go about this, but I'll go get me some very easy pieces.

[j_menz]

basically get easy sheets, read and try to play them without actually practising? Then moving on to other pieces to sight read? Not sure how I should go about this, but I'll go get me some very easy pieces.

Yep.  At the start, the pieces you can do will be pretty basic and not really all that interesting, but as you get better the range of pieces you can actually enjoy starts to increase dramatically and then it actually becomes more fun than anything. It's a great way to expand the range opf things you've played, and it's always nice to just be able to pick something up and play it for fun without having had to really work on it.

[ajspiano]

Yes sempai!

Err, so basically get easy sheets, read and try to play them without actually practising? Then moving on to other pieces to sight read? Not sure how I should go about this, but I'll go get me some very easy pieces.

Get mikrokosmos (bartok) - its in 6 volumes, it ranges from really easy to pretty damn difficult.. its good for reading because of the way in which concepts are gradually introduced. The first volume should be manageable and be a good start for you.

You'll find the scores attached to this post.
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=34501.0

[bronnestam]

Hi there! In the case of this post, I think I have to rephrase what I was saying, reformulate.

It is most likely not getting bored, but likely fatigue as you said. Getting bored out of this would make me quit piano, but piano has surprised me like no other thing in life has (Well maybe a few things, like God and my bigger dream in life).

At first I got truly bored with piano, I even wanted to learn the Violin aside it, but then I told my teacher and he got my game up and we are finally on to stuff that really surprised me. Good and complex pieces for my level that really boggle my mind, chord exercises, ear exercises. It turns out my hearing isn't that ruined after all.

Fatigue hits me really hard after 40 minutes of playing, in which afterwards I am unable to play.

But scales do annoy me sometimes. Today with a beat it was actually fun. Maybe because my brain works that way? I was having to concentrate on 2 things, the beat and piano.

Please don't get the idea piano is boring me, for no such thing is possible. I am working on several pieces right now.

The thing that does frighten me is that while me brain is way ahead on Chopin's Nocturnes, Beethoven's Sonatas, Mozart's Rondo, Bach's Inventions and Suites, Clemenzi's pieces, Brah's Hungarian dances, my hands and experience are not. I cannot play those pieces yes and will most likely not for some time, but I must persevere and in that perseverance I will endure fatigue.

That hour needs to be spend well, maybe notch it up to 1.5 hours or even 2, but I have to build up to it.

Just wanted to make clear that I love the piano.

Many people laugh at the notion of Fur Elise as a piece of pride, but I love it, the main theme is just subleme, even though a 5 year old can learn it.

I love piano and I will endure.

Boredom is part of every calling in life, but it has to be done. The thing is, piano has many factions, why quit when just one portion of it is destroying your joy? If you absolutely hate pop piano, will you stop playing piano all together? I think not.

But, definitely, thanks, Fatigue was the word I was looking for. I was too quick to use the word 'bored', excuse me for that and my English.

Oh, this was nice to read!    And don't worry about your English, it is not my first language either.
Well, every area in life, even you passion, has it's share of "tedious" tasks, but thing is that you don't mind doing them if you see the point with them. I mean, who likes scales, really? But we just do them, because we feel we need them.

Fact is, that I also have trouble with fatigue from time to time. The best solution I have right now is to practice a lot with hands separated, so that one hand can rest while the other is working. In my daily work as a freelance translator I spend an awful lot of time at my desk and my computer, and I have a raisable desk so that I can regularly work in a standing position - otherwise I get injuries! My physician recommended that I don't sit down more than 20 minutes at a time. I believe this also goes for piano. Take five every 20th minute, move around, stretch, relax, have a cup of tea and then you can go on playing.

I also believe that learning is - unfortunately! - a process that seldom can be rushed. It is not your hands that need to learn, it is your brain. Fatigue means that you get unnecessarily tense because you try so hard. This happens to me as well. Once you really know how to play a piece, you can do it in a more relaxed way and then you can do it for a long time without getting tired. So ... maybe you should just trust yourself. Your brain is post-processing the learnings even after you have left the piano, so maybe you need to rest more. I have often surprised myself when I have been forced to take a day or two off because of other duties - when I sit down to play again, I often play BETTER than I did last time.

And hey, what's wrong with Für Elise?    I love to play it, and it is one of the very few pieces I  have memorized for real, because I am an awfully bad memorizer. I know this great pianist and two years ago I asked him over mail on advice on how to approach Für Elise in the right way. (I had not played the piano for many years and I wanted a fresh new start.) He gave me some suggestions and obviously I also gave him an idea because some weeks later he gave a big concert which most unexpectedly was introduced with - Für Elise. I was sitting in the audience and I felt extremely honoured ...    And the rest of the audience just loved it, of course.  

So, let's just like the pieces we like.

[hfmadopter]

Yes sensei!

Err, so basically get easy sheets, read and try to play them without actually practising? Then moving on to other pieces to sight read? Not sure how I should go about this, but I'll go get me some very easy pieces.

I mentioned easy sheets to you maybe two weeks ago now ! Not just for reading but also for applying chord association and to get yourself able to play with emotion without getting bogged down with tons of notes. You can also use them and learn to arrange from them, since they are in a simple form and you can apply yourself to them. It's all great fun and a spin off from your main lessons. I believe I mentioned downloading versions that have guitar chord symbols above the score, they really aid in dissociating the chord structure of each measure you play. Next thing you know you can fill out the keyboard with block or arpeggiated chords. Next is re-writing the piece as you arranged it. Getting into notation and on and on you go !!!!!!!! What ever you do, just don't stop !

Fur Elise ? I can't tell you how many times I've played that piece. I used it in recitals , playing in public, countless work shops, countless family parties, it's always a hit with listeners if you do it well.. I was always including Fur Elise because I liked the piece and so do other people. They may get snobby around here about it but your family, friends and general public will not, I assure you. Even today my daughter asks me if I will play Fur Elise ! Well as you know I had been away from my piano for years and got back last May but as yet have not included Fur Elise, opting to learn new material instead. So now she has a new one she wants me to play every time she is at the house, Solitude by David Nevue. Another simply written piece of music that people are loving ( my wife actually stops what she is doing and gets tears in her eyes listening to me play that piece but with strings background on my digital piano). It is so easy to play but load it with emotion and people just love it with or without the string background sound.

This is what my other message was about, simplify but make it good.

[ranniks]

Must have misunderstood you David, excuse me!

Anyways, bronnestam, I tried what you suggested about reversing the order of playing. I took scales/chords for the last 10-20 minutes of my practise and it went really well.

I combined all your tips, thanks everyone: took regular breaks, played more free time and switched scales/chords to last. My practise lasted almost 1 hour and 40 minutes today and I feel like having done a lot. The Schumann piece is coming there as well.

The invention is really.....Complex, need to study videos of it.

[pianoplunker]

The invention is really.....Complex, need to study videos of it.

Not sure which invention you refer to but I remember thinking of them as complex at first but then fun.  Hands-separate practice is enjoyable with those so you can really work out the fingerings. 

[ranniks]

Not sure which invention you refer to but I remember thinking of them as complex at first but then fun.  Hands-separate practice is enjoyable with those so you can really work out the fingerings. 

The first one. I have the simplified sheet of it, which is not good because it has the twist signal above some notes indicating you have to go updownupdown (ABABABA for example), which confuses me. It is the complete piece though, just mashed up.

Will print the better one out today in hopes of better practise.

Also printed out the sight-reading sheets, will get to that today.

[hfmadopter]

The first one. I have the simplified sheet of it, which is not good because it has the twist signal above some notes indicating you have to go updownupdown (ABABABA for example), which confuses me. It is the complete piece though, just mashed up.

Will print the better one out today in hopes of better practise.

Also printed out the sight-reading sheets, will get to that today.

You might just want to read this page in your spare time, your twist indication you mention I suspect is a Mordent. On this page they show the symbols ornamentation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_(music)

[ranniks]

You might just want to read this page in your spare time, your twist indication you mention I suspect is a Mordent. On this page they show the symbols ornamentation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_(music)

Thanks David, I will! It was indeed the Mordent code, like you said, now I know. Btw, I've practised the first bar of the invention just now for about 10 minutes (last 10 minutes of the 75 minute practise session), first seperate then together, still not sounding that well, lol, but going the right direction.

[ranniks]

Also:

Feddera, can't thank you enough for the Chopin in A minor piece, it's easier than I thought. I guess thinking your oponnent is twice as strong as you are does help.

J_Menz and Ajspiano, you both rock! Just did my first ever real sightreading 2 pages of the first volume, the music sounds awesome and totally for someone at my level. Is the purpose now to not do the first 2 pages again and just contineu or can I repeat the first 2 pages some other time?

David, you were absolutely right about the time thing. I have the invention, march, schumann, sightreading, fur elise and perhaps the chopin waltz to work on now, too much for that hour, will need at least 2 hours, so we'll figure that out. Out of all the pieces I'm working on, the invention is the most hard, but I'll persevere.

And if not, I'll just lighten the weight and contineu with Fur Elise and the Schumann piece. I don't want to overload myself.....

[ranniks]

Also Ajspiano, the mikrokosmos volume is just brilliant, totally my kind of music! Will need to study this composer next year (this year is dedicated to Bach and Chopin).

[outin]

Also:

Feddera, can't thank you enough for the Chopin in A minor piece, it's easier than I thought. I guess thinking your oponnent is twice as strong as you are does help.

I assume you are talking about the waltz in A minor (posth)? If so I would advice you to involve your teacher in the study. There are quite a few spots there that involve things you probably haven't touched yet, like how to play the ornaments and the left hand chordal accompaniment, rhythms etc.

Sorry for being too tired to write comments about your recordings. Some parts are really good already, but I think your pieces are in general a bit difficult a set for the short time you have been with the piano (that's what you get for selecting Bach and Chopin   ) and it's good to include something easier like the Mikrokosmos. Especially the rhythmic consistency and flow (which has improved a lot!) is something you could still work on also with less complicated music. I don't know if you like to sing, but that is very helpful to find the right flow and phrasing in the music, especially with composers like Chopin. When I was working on the waltz I was singing it in the shower every morning. Just got very annoyed with the high notes that I could not hit

[ranniks]

I assume you are talking about the waltz in A minor (posth)? If so I would advice you to involve your teacher in the study. There are quite a few spots there that involve things you probably haven't touched yet, like how to play the ornaments and the left hand chordal accompaniment, rhythms etc.

Sorry for being too tired to write comments about your recordings. Some parts are really good already, but I think your pieces are in general a bit difficult a set for the short time you have been with the piano (that's what you get for selecting Bach and Chopin   ) and it's good to include something easier like the Mikrokosmos. Especially the rhythmic consistency and flow (which has improved a lot!) is something you could still work on also with less complicated music. I don't know if you like to sing, but that is very helpful to find the right flow and phrasing in the music, especially with composers like Chopin. When I was working on the waltz I was singing it in the shower every morning. Just got very annoyed with the high notes that I could not hit

Yes, that Waltz. And in the next 3 weeks I want to be able to play....3 bars of it, lol. The rest my teacher can teach me since I have other things to look at as well.

Thanks for listening to my recording! Bit disappointed to hear about it being too high leveled for me, but as you know, you and I (I assume you as well since you said so in that other topic) both take things to heart (well I do at least). Don't worry though! I'll take it like a man *pumps chest forward*. And learn from it of course. What could I work on to improve what I showed though? Any input is welcome.

Also, hope that your practises are going well, we should be able to play the Raindrop Prelude together in 2014 hopefully@#@!#!#@! :p

[ajspiano]

Also Ajspiano, the mikrokosmos volume is just brilliant, totally my kind of music! Will need to study this composer next year (this year is dedicated to Bach and Chopin).

You may also like his "first term at the piano" set.

Youll find a link to download that here

https://ndmusicedition.wordpress.com/downloads/

They also have a score bachs 18 small preludes which will not be sight reading for you but they may come in useful later - they are also hard to find on the internet for free i found. IMSLP didnt have them last time i checked, though that was quite a while ago.

[j_menz]

J_Menz and Ajspiano, you both rock! Just did my first ever real sightreading 2 pages of the first volume, the music sounds awesome and totally for someone at my level. Is the purpose now to not do the first 2 pages again and just contineu or can I repeat the first 2 pages some other time?

You can play them as often as you like, but once you have played them a few times you aren't really sightreading and so won't get that benefit.  The aim here isn't to really learn them, just to enjoy them and to improve your sightreading so you can enjoy more in the same way.

[outin]

Thanks for listening to my recording! Bit disappointed to hear about it being too high leveled for me, but as you know, you and I (I assume you as well since you said so in that other topic) both take things to heart (well I do at least). Don't worry though! I'll take it like a man *pumps chest forward*. And learn from it of course. What could I work on to improve what I showed though? Any input is welcome.

What I meant is that these are not beginner level pieces and usually (at least if you were a kid learning to play) you might get into them after a few years So you should not expect to get them sound perfect at this point but think of them more as learning devices. Many of us do the same thing, pick pieces "above our level", nothing wrong with that but it's good to also go to basics every now and then. I have studied many level 1-2 pieces still as well, often recommended by my teacher to work on specific issues. Right now I do some Lemoine studies for kids

The first thing that came to my mind about the Chopin prelude is that the left hand still needs work. The pulse and the rhythm is off sometimes. You even play an extra chord in the first bar. Do you play only the left hand alone? You should do that a lot, it has a melody as well, so it's nice to play alone. And your voicing is already good. When you play it alone and get the idea of how the music evolves, you shouldn't mix up the count of the chords anymore...

[ajspiano]

I'm going to reply here to your post (ranniks) from the "what did you practice today" thread - I think it fits better in this thread in context with the other comments and discussion about sight reading practice.

You said you noticed the difference in difficulty level as you progressed onto the next few pages of the mikrokosmos volume.

One of the advantages of working through a volume like this is not solely to improve your sight-reading generally. Rather, because of its construction you can identify reading problems that you personally have.

Notice as you look through the first few pages, the initial small pieces are all in unison, and, they are also in a 5 finger position (no major hand position changes required. Bartok steadily adds new concepts... Different note lengths, rhymic changes through placing minims at different points in the bar..  then comes dotted minims, more frequent directional changes, repeated notes, ties, rests in different positions..   next comes pieces not in unison, and the first example is in perfect contrary motion..   pieces in unison but with simple and distinct hand position changes.

etc. etc.

Try to be aware of what new challenge bartok presents you with, and if it presents a difficulty look for other simple repertoire that may present similar isolated concerns - work on it in other contexts. Recognize where it appears in the other pieces you are studying etc.

Think about why you have trouble with reading when that particular problem appears - is it having to read multiple lines at the same time? is it physically challenging to coordinate your hanes doing different things?