Motivation dying during practice...

[Spatula]

Hey you guys get this rush to practice piano..but say 2 hours later into the practice you kinda get bored and just go through the hand motions sans the whole musical aspect?  I try to take breaks for 5 mins every 30 mins of practice.

What do you guys do to keep focused?  I also try to switch from technique to pieces back to technique to keep my mind focused.

[Shagdac]

I try to remember WHY I am practicing. For me personally, I am practicing in hopes of being chosen for a competition in 2006 (entering audition CD end of next year). While I don't necessarily get bored, I do at times get tired or even frustrated. I find that mixing up what I play helps. For instance, if I've been working on something that is really challenging for me, playing something I think is "fun" will often offer a little break, which seems to refresh. I too, try to take short breaks away from the piano every so often, whether it is just to make a phone call, take a short walk, shower, whatever. If I'm really feeling frustrated and want to be inspired, I often will listen to a CD recording of the piece I'm trying to learn by a pianist I feel plays it well. Or watch a video of it being performed. Hearing someone else play a piece well, that I, want to play well, is possibly one of my best tricks I use to motivate myself.

Keeping my goal in mind of what I want to accomplish by practicing also helps...as well as different types of practice, HT, HS...with/without metranome, start to finish, isolated measures, faster, slower. If I'm using the Clavinova at the time, sometimes I'll change the instrument sounds, just to hear the piece as if it were being played
by strings, percussion, choir, harpsichord, trumpet, etc. LOL.....that's pretty fun! Then back to serious practice. I don't think it's worth it if your not having fun. Yeah, it can be alot of work, but don't think I've ever been bored, just frustrated.

Have fun!
S

[galonia]

Taking breaks is a must - I usually do one-and-a-half hour sessions, with a break at the 45 minute mark (approximately).

If I am learning notes, I don't get bored, because I am very determined to learn the notes properly and I have to keep concentrating to do so.

If I am polishing up a piece for performance, then sometimes I agree it's easy for the mind to start drifting, but what I do is, I might go listen to a recording of the piece, or I might tape myself and listen to it so I can pick out particular things I need to work on.

Stopping work on a particular piece when it gets frustrating seems sensible - I will work on another piece or on technical work/studies and come back to the piece later.

[LaVirtuosa]

[...as well as different types of practice, HT, HS...with/without metranome,]

what is HT,HS?

[Spatula]

hands together / hands separate