Greetings, introduction and advice.

[nurion]

Hello everyone!


I am 25 years old and I recently started playing piano again, I did play piano for a couple of years when I was a younger but it feels alot like im starting over from the beginning. I can read notes decently I guess.

Earlier last week I successfully finished Bach Minuet BWV 116 which currently is my magnum opus. I dont know what I should practise next. Do you guys have any ideas? How do you guys decide what to practise next?

I want to take piano classes, however I cannot find any teachers around my area (small remote village in north of Sweden) so I'm pretty much stuck in a dead end and I dont know how to proceed. Have you guys had any experience with taking lessons online or something like that? If I could get some advice from you guys, I would appreciate it!

Im sure you guys get this kind of threads all the time, but please bear with me. 


Sincerely,
Nurion

[bronnestam]

Hej och välkommen!

I don't know much about the piece you write about, but my simple suggestion is that you pick your favourite songs, the pieces you really love to hear. Either they are simple and then you will learn them fast, or they are very difficult and then you must work with them for months or years, but so what? It's fun!

I started playing again last year after a beauty sleep of over 25 years    - well, not really, I had a digital piano and I sure tried during the years to maintain my knowledge, but somehow nothing happened, I just felt I got worse. Then I decided to do something radical and start practicing FOR REAL and suddenly it all "took off". The first new piece I learned after these 28 years was the Adagio of the Pathétique Sonata ... Now I work with the rest of that sonata. It is far beyond what I ever thought I would be able to master.
But you know what - I find it thrilling and very, very fun to challenge myself, and I have found that it is much more interesting to work for a long time with a long and complicated piece (that I happen to love) than with something that I don't find interesting. My favourite composer at the moment is Beethoven, his piano music is so wonderfully well crafted.

For self studying, there is a good book, a resource for free on the net: "Fundamentals of Piano Practice". https://pianofundamentals.com/

I recommend it as a start for you. You will find useful tips there and maybe some less useful, but most important is that it might give you a new perspective. You have also found this site, which is a great resource both for sheet music and for discussions. As you are from Sweden, just like me, you might get just as puzzled like I was when you read about people who have reached this grade and that grade yada yada, but bear in mind that people here come from  everywhere and have very different ambitions and backgrounds, so just pick whatever you find useful here ...

I live on the West Coast of Sweden and recently I found a piano teacher, wow! My first lesson will be this week ...    It is hard to find a teacher when you are an adult and cannot get lessons through Kulturskolan, or if you are not satisfied with "study circles" where you learn the basics of the basics.

[nurion]

Hello again


I suppose I could just make a list of songs which I would love to play but I'm not sure if that is the right way to go. I just think that if I pick a piece that is too hard for me and not progress anything for a long time, I fear that I will lose motivation.

I am now reading the book you suggested, seem pretty good so far!

Ah yes! I contacted Kulturskolan and they said they only give lessons to children, I also asked them where I should look for a teacher if I'm an adult and they said I had to find someone who teaches privately during their freetime. I have not been able find anyone who does that. Such a hassle.

Tack så mycket för alla tips! 


Sincerely,
Nurion

[bronnestam]

Motivation is the fuel you feed into your engine ... you have to supply it constantly. The "inspiration" is just the ignition here.
I did not learn how to keep my motivation up when I was younger; that's why I did not like to practice, that's why I never practiced ...

Now I know that what matters is PROGRESS. Not the final result, but the daily PROGRESS. I never, never end a practicing session without asking myself what I did improve today. I always find something, even if it is really small, and as long as I do that, I keep on supplying my engine. It is really that simple! Maybe that is why I suddenly find that long, complicated projects are fun. Before I just got frustrated when I could not "finish" them. I did not enjoy the process, I just wanted to reach my final goal, to be able to master this and that piece. Now I'm happy as long as I improve.   

So why not mix a bit, give yourself a real challenge and add some easy pieces. Two popular songs that are very easy to learn and appreciated by many are "River Flows In You" (Yiruma) and "Ballade Pour Adeline" (Claydermann). Among the classics you must definitely learn Für Elise (Beethoven) and "Beginner's Sonata C Major" (Mozart). If you don't know them already, that is ... A nice challenge is "Minute Walz" by Chopin ... easy if you play it slowly, a bit more tricky when you speed up ... 

Yes, finding a teacher is difficult! Try Medborgarskolan, they might be able to give you a few tips as well. Maybe you can find someone living at a distance, but who you can see every third week or so. I wish you the best of luck!