Returning to the piano... after a while...

[criggelations]

Hey everyone!

My name is Craig, I'm 29 years old, and on Sunday I will finally realise a lifetime dream - to own my very own piano.
This should be a cause for celebration, except... it's been a while.

As a briefish background: I studied A-level music and got a B back in 2001 with the piano as my instrument, so I must have been proficient... I had lessons for a short while but disliked the pieces and really disliked the teacher, so I quit after my grade 2 exam (but was learning grade 5/7 pieces, and have grade 5 theory). Can pick up nearly any tune "by ear", and can read (but not sight-read) music. The pieces I performed at A-level were the Moonlight Sonata (my A-level teacher's request) and Scott Joplin's Bethena (my insistence when she refused The Entertainer with a groan - I'm a huge Ragtime fan...).

I sat at a piano a few months back and could still remember and play these two/three (including good ol' Felix - the proper version) note-for-note (though, of course, probably with the expression and feeling of a turnip - or a Tory Prime Minister). The point, I suppose - I have no idea how good/bad I ever was, let alone I am now.

But drifting away and giving up is one of my biggest regrets, and I'd like to put that right now. The question is - how? With a job as a maths teacher, working as a tutor and a 1-year-old child and girlfriend, I'm aware time will be very limited - so the summer holidays (sorry non-teachers...!) are my best chance of a 'kick-start'. How should I go about it? I get the feeling playing the three things I just about remember (I also could play a slightly iffy quick Stoptime Rag and knew about 2/3rds of the Chopin Funeral March movement...) will just engrain bad habits, poor technique and lead to me attacking the piano with a hammer... but practicing scales, arpeggios and playing Purcell's Hornpipe in Bb and Norton's Cloudy Day... depressing times for me.

So, any advice on how to relearn (or perhaps just learn), what the best way to enjoy learning, and how to avoid ever playing Purcell's Hornpipe again... would be greatly appreciated! 

[ted]

Work directly toward that which gives you joy, for example ragtime, and start from those abilities which come easily to you, for example your acute ear. Don't worry about serial learning, grades and grinding away simply to achieve. Go straight for whatever takes your fancy and enjoy yourself. More exceptional ragtime has probably been written in the last ten or twenty years than in the several decades since Joplin, Scott and company. David Thomas Roberts, Hal Isbitz, Frank French and many others have expanded the repertoire enormously. These people are very approachable, and ragtime societies in the States have a huge following. Several very good players have emerged, e.g. Adam Swanson and Stephanie Trick. Browse these names on youtube and you might be surprised.

Had you thought about improvisation at all ? Improvisation is an ideal creative medium for those with limited time, and modern recording devices such as the Zoom H2 produce sounds of excellent quality with next to no preparation. The days of wrestling with tape recorders and expensive, complicated arrangements are long gone from home recording. Your strong ear would thrive on improvisation and your technique would strengthen in an indirect and happy way.

There are two suggestions for you. Dozens of paths to musical expression on the piano exist beside the narrowly traditional ones everyone seems restricted to.

[muleski]

Hi Craig,

I'm very much the same (though never did music A-level, or any music exam).  I acquired a piano last year after about 20 years of not playing.  I could remember some of the stuff I'd learned as a kid & was stuck for a bit just playing that over & over.  So I decided to look up a tutor as my theory knowledge was fairly basic.  I also work full time, have kids (and 2 ferrets) etc so like you have little time in which to practise.  I only have a half hour lesson every other week, but it keeps me on track.

What I'm finding is that because I decided to learn things I like rather than go down the exam route (which I admit I do ponder on now & again), I'm largely enjoying it, with only brief periods of frustration (mainly due to not having as much time as I'd like to practise).  I think you already know what you want out of it, but maybe with general life committments being fairly major, you perhaps have to accept that your practise time will be limited.  As far as learning goes, you are already capable & I've found myself that I can memorise music as well now as I could when I was young. 

Using your holidays (not that I'm jealous of that or anything...) is a good idea, but accept that come term time, you'll have to be quite regimented in setting aside some practise time. 

Good luck, hope the new piano is decent!

[indianajo]

I left piano (about 3 years past J. Schaum book 5) for high school band, which had girls to watch and school paid road trips (including overnight football games,  All State Band in Austin,  and playing for the President one gig at the Astrodome).  Then paying my way through college, I no time for hobbies, then I was very poor in the post-Viet Nam recession, lived in tiny rented houses etc. I bought a piano when I was 32 and in the Army.  I started by buying  the NY Public Library Scott Joplin ragtime book even before I had a piano, at church etc.  Magnetic Rag, Paragon Rag, Maple Leaf Rag, are really good for building up your 4th and 5th fingers and getting you used to octave jumps.  If you're not up to that level, the Belwin Ragtime Piano book 11414 has some simpler stuff. I also started on Movement 3 of the Moonlight sonata I'd done movement 1 age 11, and Pictures at an Exhibition, which was too hard but fun. Progress really speeded up on the latter two when I quit working age 58, and both are fairly compentent now.  
In the "eat your beets" department, Mother ran me through the Schmitt exercises in the G Schirmer book, which did wonders for developing my skill at using the end fingers.  Good for strength, too. I used to practice these while reading novels, like people watch TV now while riding the exercycle.  Later the piano teacher ran me through the Edna Mae Berman finger exercises, then finally Czerny book one, which are good for piano tricks.  
Seeing a pro teacher occasionally is useful in the beginning to learn the right posture and hand positions. If you do these wrong you get carple tunnel, etc, so it is important. I find classical I can listen to the record if I've got it wrong, so I don't need a teacher to point that out or pick classical repretoire anymore.    Teacher's ideas of literature to study often don't line up with one's own, and I've been looking for 2 years for a jazz/standards/improv by playing ear coach, without success.  Interesting there are Ragtime societies, not around here I don't think. I'm the only person I know doing ragtime, and that guy on TV at U Sou Ill who did the Ragtime Caberet TV show which I thought was interesting history but lame performance wise. His grand piano was so limp.   I'm looking to buy a honky tonk upright:  Scott Joplin sounds fine on a Steinway console but even better on a tinkly pre-depression upright. But they are so hard to move!
So work on your ear sklills, but don't forget reading charts and scores, you're not whole until you can to do both.  When the kids get 4 or 5, involve him in the piano, it is great training to use the hands, and he/she might grow up to be a surgeon or something.  Mother taught me the first couple of years until I got beyond her.  
Have fun.  

[criggelations]

Thank you so much for the replies so far!

With regards to what I want to achieve - I'm not actually convinced I know the answer to this. The simple answer would be 'to enjoy'... however I am fiercely self-critical and competitive, and part of what drives me will always be a desire to get better than I am. So whilst being able to pick up tunes by ear and cobble together versions of songs is in one way a good thing (and I quite like the idea of improv - I used to do some when I was in school at 15-16), it'll also annoy the buggery out of me not improving properly and being able to learn the really difficult technical pieces that I'd love to be able to play (my second love after Ragtime is Chopin/Scriabin, much of which is fiendishly difficult to a duffer like me!). But I think there will always be an element of these suggestions in my play - I'll always return to the things I love... I just think I do need to force myself to expand my horizons a little as well. If nothing else I'd love to be able to play Bartok's Childrens Suite and Debussy's Golliwog's Cakewalk to my child before encouraging him to learn!

Muleski, I'm glad there is someone in a similar situation to me - do you think you will ever go back down the examination route? A part of me (probably that niggling competitive part again) really hates having to answer the inevitable question "What grade are you?" with the honest answer... and I'd really love to at least achieve one of the middle grades that I think I should be capable of. But I don't know if I'd ever do it if I didn't do it straight away...

The Paragon is one of my fave rags and I used to be able to play it just about when I was in school... wasn't above my level, but not sure these days! But definitely want to work on my music reading - never ben taught how to sight-read, and not sure how I'd go about it, so this is another area I need to work on. Never heard of any of these 'exercise' books though- the names fill me with dread!

[outin]

There are quite a few us here who have returned to piano. I didn't even touch one for about 27 years and even more time passed since having lessons as a child. When I started again I never even considered exams, I don't need them for motivation and this time things have to be on my terms (except for the tecnique part, where my teacher will have the last say for now). I play pieces that I like and sometimes pieces that I don't like so much, but can see some benefit it studying them briefly with my teacher (things like classical sonatas or studies). But mostly just stuff that I could see myself enjoying later as well. Some of my pieces have been too hard for me really, but as long as I can enjoy working on them occasionally, I don't mind that it takes a year or longer to get them somehow presentable...

[muleski]

Thank you so much for the replies so far!

Muleski, I'm glad there is someone in a similar situation to me - do you think you will ever go back down the examination route? A part of me (probably that niggling competitive part again) really hates having to answer the inevitable question "What grade are you?" with the honest answer... and I'd really love to at least achieve one of the middle grades that I think I should be capable of. But I don't know if I'd ever do it if I didn't do it straight away...

Hmm, it's probably a decision I wil make in a moment of folly (like entering the Brighton marathon next year).  I don't know.  Half of the time I think it would be a good thing to do because it would make me learn stuff I wouldn't otherwise bother with & the other half of the time I think it doesn't (in reality) demonstrate how good you are (that's the anti-establishment aspect of me!).  I'm also very self-critical and like Outin I learn stuff which is too hard for me really.  I've been working on the same piece for about the last 8 months (that's the main one anyway).  But like you say, enjoyment is the main thing.. would exams give us enjoyment?  Probably not, but at the same time, they may well give a sense of achievement..  As you can see, I'm still no-where nearer to making a decision on exams!

[muleski]

Sorry, I should clarify my comment on exams & how good/irrelevant they are.

What I mean, is that I believe it is possible to be able to learn & play very complex pieces without ever doing an exam.  The ability is in the person, not the piece of paper.  If someone is striving to achieve a career in music or to study it, obviously it has more relevance than it does to someone like me.  But I think any mature mind would accept that to be able to say 'I'm grade 5/6/7/8 whatever', is not the be all & end all. 

[outin]

What I mean, is that I believe it is possible to be able to learn & play very complex pieces without ever doing an exam. 

Of course, exams as such do not teach anything (except maybe patience and how to handle nerves). IMO Having a good generally demanding teacher will be much more beneficial for learning than just preparing for exams. My teacher does not let anything pass, so every lesson is kind of an exam in that sense...

[muleski]

Totally agreed Outin.

[indianajo]

Exams and levels were invented after I learned piano.  I find them irrelevant.  I don't know what level I am, either. All I know is I heard Pictures at an Exhibition at a recital of a Masters in Music Performance candidate at the local University.  I can play it now.  I couldn't learn it in a week, that has something to do with the levels.  but I could learn something similar now in a year.  I just started learning it in 82 without a teacher, have it down now.  I might hire a teacher for one session to check I am playing the right notes. but teachers at that level tend to want to book lessons weekly an entire semester. That doesn't fit my budget, time or money. Once you've learned the hand motions (with exercise books) forget teachers IMHO, we have electronic music now to compare with.  Next for me- original 2 piano version of Rhapsody In Blue. along with making up an arrangement of They Call Me Da Breeze, with baritone voice (mine).  
For exams, I'm starting to play extemp at church dinners for charity.  If they don't tell me to quit or throw food at me, I pass.  Scott Joplin rags & Bach Inventions went okay last quarter, next quarter I'll try Pictures.  For 4th quarter I'll try George Winston's Holly & the Ivy that was such a flop as a church postlude twenty years ago.  (transcribed by me off the LP).