Am I Over practicing?

[nocturnetr]

 Firstly, I am 14 years old and I have bought my piano this summer. I don't have a teacher, but my father is a musician (not pianist) and has thought me how to read and write music, and I do have perfect pitch. I can now sight read simple things.

 I have told people that I had been practicing up to 15 hours a day, and they have told me that it is way too much. Now, the summer is sadly over and I have 50 hours a week to practice when I am not at school and I can practice 3 hours a week at school (The piano I have is a digital Yamaha, in school we have an upright and I feel like I need to practice on it too). I also found a few ways to practice without a piano, so I always practice while listening to teacher and doing other things. (My teacher shouted at me in front of my class for this  ) That makes 75+ hours of total (including non keyboard and the time I borrow from my sleep.) a week. I don't do anything else. Sometimes I study German but that's not much. 

 I had been only practicing to improve my technique, like Liszt did for 2 years, and tried to play things! I have composed to improve my musical skills. I play them staccatto, or using pedal, using only sostenuto pedal etc. by using as many different interpratational elements(what a word  ) as I can. And I thought it was boring and started playing real pieces.

 I can now play Rachmaninoff's C# minor prelude (the middle part is such a mess), Etude Tableau Op. 33 No. 3 C minor (That EGCG chord!!), Two Chopin Preludes (7-20, easiest ones ), three nocturnes (9-1, 9-2, Posth-20), Satie's Gnossienne No. 1 and Gympnopedie No. 1, Bach Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Prelude (Not Fugue) No 1 and No 2, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Movements 1-2 and Chopin's Sonata Op. 35 No. 2's Funeral March movement (I have forgotten which one it was  ) Am I a fast learner or is it normal for one who practices 70 hours a week.

 I have played Moonlight Sonata 1st and 2nd movements in front of a concert pianist (He is a friend of my father). He told me (I don't know if he's told me these to not hurt my feelings  ) my interpretation of Moonlight was concert level and my C# minor prelude is really good, I was fast in the Cascading chords part, except the middle fast section was not clear and I could not accentuate the right hand's theme.

 I actually now think about playing the third movement. I have heard that it was difficult, but I think that it is doable . I have opened up the tutorial video of bbdhrggl and it said it was grade 10 and it meant ten years of serious piano playing. Ten years? Come on, I don't even play for ten months. But it also said level 8 for the C# minor prelude so I didn't care about that.

 I have started practicin it 20 mins ago, and I can now play the opening arpeggios at %85 tempo. While playing %100 it is really sloppy. I can also play measures 9-14 with both hands. Would you recommend me to learn this piece or try something easier?

 Am I over practicing and should I stop practicing at this pace? How long should I practice a day and how must I practice? Thank you for reading and sorry for my English. I'll be glad if you help.


 

[ranniks]

How do you practise 50-75 hours a week with having school?

And why don't you post a recording of yourself? Would love to see what almost a year and way too many practise hours have harvested.

Anyways, really well done. But 15 hours a day in the summer? Just wow, dedication, nice! Really impressed. You really must love the piano. I wonder if there are concert pianists who play that many hours in a day 0.o.

[nocturnetr]

I actually think about posting a recording but I have a digital piano and I don't have a mic, but as soon as I get a good microphone I will post. I think I will be recording Moonlight Sonata.

I hate school, I wanted to study music. What would you do if you had seen that your child had an amazing (Not that amazing) musical talent. My father prevented me from studying music until I was 14 ON PURPOSE, to prevent me from being a musician. Is that fair? He wants me to be a doctor. There is a High-School entrance exam which over 1.5 million students take, and I was in the best of the best. Now I take my revenge and do not care about school