Pianists with ADHD?

[ranniks]

There's a strong possiblity that I may have ADHD, not, I repeat, not, ADD.

I find this back in my piano practise sessions. Today I forced myself to practise for 2 hours and I had a hard time staying focused on repeating the same material over and over again to refine it.

Out of all the concert pianists out there, mustn't one at least have ADHD?

I'm beginning to doubt my capabilities in any life facet, that, because I might have ADHD, I'm not going to achieve.

But I've heard that there are a lot of smart people with ADHD.

Any advice?

[bronnestam]

Today I forced myself to practise for 2 hours and I had a hard time staying focused on repeating the same material over and over again to refine it.

   Well - that makes you perfectly normal, if there is such a thing as being normal. I can practice for two hours if I split it up in 3-4 sessions over the day, but I don't practice the same thing all the time during these 2 hours, that would be terrible.

There are good drugs that will help your ADHD, for example Concerta. And there are MANY successful artists with ADHD out there, I know that. ADHD is an asset when it comes to creativity. You must make sure that you are not disturbed when you practice, though. Make your practice environment very calm and make sure that every distraction is removed.

My son has ADHD and he recently made a test (for driving license) which showed that his ability to focus over a long time is in fact superior to normal people ... his problem is rather that he not always focus on the right thing ...    (School? Ha, ha ... bitter story there!)
I also advice you, strongly, to avoid all kinds of sugar and "fast carbs". My son is, unfortunately, not receptive for this kind of information, but you might be wiser? If you keep a strict diet without sugar, some of your ADHD problems might diminish.

[awesom_o]

I have terrible ADHD. It makes me a better pianist though. You just have to learn how to work with it!

I could never sit down and practice for two hours straight. That would be boring. My musical strategy never requires me to do anything boring. I don't want my playing to be boring, so I make sure that I am never bored when I play. Music should never be boring. I never ever repeat the same material over and over to 'refine' it. If something needs refinement, I refine it.

I'm much more productive when I avoid sugar and 'fast carbs'.

[theholygideons]

well, if you define ADHD as not being able to sit down and practise 2 hours straight then i might as well have it.

[ranniks]

  Well - that makes you perfectly normal, if there is such a thing as being normal. I can practice for two hours if I split it up in 3-4 sessions over the day, but I don't practice the same thing all the time during these 2 hours, that would be terrible.

There are good drugs that will help your ADHD, for example Concerta. And there are MANY successful artists with ADHD out there, I know that. ADHD is an asset when it comes to creativity. You must make sure that you are not disturbed when you practice, though. Make your practice environment very calm and make sure that every distraction is removed.

My son has ADHD and he recently made a test (for driving license) which showed that his ability to focus over a long time is in fact superior to normal people ... his problem is rather that he not always focus on the right thing ...    (School? Ha, ha ... bitter story there!)
I also advice you, strongly, to avoid all kinds of sugar and "fast carbs". My son is, unfortunately, not receptive for this kind of information, but you might be wiser? If you keep a strict diet without sugar, some of your ADHD problems might diminish.

Thank you sir. I did 4 sessions of 30 minutes, but only 5-10 minutes of a break in between. I didn't do just one thing. I practised hand exercises combined with my repertoire in the first session, a grieg piece in the second session (just one piece), another piece in the third and finally I did a bach piece in the fourth. Still, I had a hard time focusing.......I had the urge to stand and in my mind I was like this 'I'm going to stand and be back in just a minute' but that minute takes longer than a minute if I let it.

About those carbs.....I love carbs....And the fast digesting ones especially. I have a problem with resisting things......Self control is indeed important, but I need to fight to learn it.

I have terrible ADHD. It makes me a better pianist though. You just have to learn how to work with it!

I could never sit down and practice for two hours straight. That would be boring. My musical strategy never requires me to do anything boring. I don't want my playing to be boring, so I make sure that I am never bored when I play. Music should never be boring. I never ever repeat the same material over and over to 'refine' it. If something needs refinement, I refine it.

I'm much more productive when I avoid sugar and 'fast carbs'.

I didn't realise you had ADHD sir, that makes me see a better portrait of who you are.

Wel it isn't so much repeating, it's more playing to make my hands more used to it and for the flow of the piece. The grieg piece for example: the first page I had down, but played several times, reading and without reading, to get the flow and hang in my hands. In addition I practised all the new meassures of the second page, but only tried memorizing a few bars.

The bach piece I did like so:

- sight read right hand first page three times (so playing the right hand, the entire page three times)
- sight read left hand same as above
- practise together 3 times as above

Interestingly this went without me getting unfocusesed because I was busy, but still, it felt like I wasn't focusing enough.

I have 4 pieces that I'm working on, and the only reason for this is that my teacher told me it might be good for me to practise multiple pieces. It, however, requires me to divide my attentiona and focus in 4, which is difficult and sometimes frustrating because I want to impress my teacher and don't want him to think I'm a talentless oaf.

ps: the definition of talent for me is hard working.

Also sir, about the carbs.....It's difficult for me to resist them....I've lost 50 pounds, but because of God know's what reason, I'm gaining some because I'm eating the bad kind of carbs.

[j_menz]

Today I forced myself to practise for 2 hours and I had a hard time staying focused on repeating the same material over and over again to refine it.

If that's the basis of your diagnosis, you may like to reconsider. Anyone who didn't have trouble staying focused on the same thing repeated over and over for two hours would have something wrong with them. Even Liszt suggested reading a book.

[thesixthsensemusic]

I've got ADHD too. It makes practice easier because you have more energy to devote to think you're all up for. Maybe you don't know how to motivate yourself well enough.

Like awesome_o said, make sure you don't get bored by incorporating different routines in one session.

But, also try and figure out not only what parts of a piece to practice how often and with so much time to pause in between, but also make sure to be able to tell yourself WHY and HOW you're helping your progress at the piano by doing so.

If you get more conscious of what you achieve even in a 20-minute practice session involving a 16-measure outtake, I am almost certain you will find it easier to practice for a great deal more every day. Maybe not 2 hours straight but 2 hours in a 4-hour timespan in sessions of 15-20 minutes...
People with ADHD are very susceptible to the notion of being (almost) instantly rewarded for something. This explains some of the issues like (statistically)increased risk for addictive habits we might experience, but you can use this same phenomenon to your advantage too.
If well-managed you can see ADHD as an asset!

[chopin2015]

One thing I can say about the ADHD medicine is that it doesn't much matter if I take half my dose or the whole thing. It lasts about the same time, but has a different effect on the way my body feels. I usually try to take as little as possible. I find that my mind reacts to the way my body is feeling, instead of usual mind affects the body...perhaps. Or maybe not. idk.

I am not able to practice for long hours at a time without eventually losing desire to keep going and falling off into a depressive state, where I literally feel like I am about to burst into tears. Don't do that. Do what you need to do and no more. Past a certain point, nervous system is still awake but your mind may not be in sync, at all...

Anyways. I find that wanting to work on something is helpful. Yesterday I sight-read through 1st mov of Beethoven op 2 no 3. Today I said I would work each section up to a certain point, about 4 pages of it at a decent tempo and from memory as much as I could. Then I moved on to the rest of my practice with a good momentum, after I accomplished something. I find I have an easier time learning something rather than playing it. When I play, it never ends. Something new always happens and it takes control of my mind. I think, it is a body issue. I can't sit still...When in a desk, I just want to spread my arms and break it...

Additionally, the best thing I ever heard was that we all want to keep working and playing in a day's time, because we want to overcome the biggest challenges, which often cannot take less than a few days. So, try planning for a few days at a time but don't force yourself to stick to the plan. If you fail on the plan, assess that. How much time did you spend doing what? That is your average. Try to work at that average and slowly increase your workload or whatever....

Just have a positive attitude about everything you do. Watch your diet and do exercise. Being on a program is good for ADHD people. If you can't focus, then preoccupy yourself.

[indianajo]

those carbs.....I love carbs....And the fast digesting ones especially. I have a problem with resisting things......Self control is indeed important, but I need to fight to learn it.
Also sir, about the carbs.....It's difficult for me to resist them....I've lost 50 pounds, but because of God know's what reason, I'm gaining some because I'm eating the bad kind of carbs.

My parents gave me sugar.  I know because I  threw an infamous crying fit three months after my first birthday because Mother had a birthday and "Mother didn't get a birthday cake!!!".  I obviously was hooked already.  
I'm off it now. I'm not nearly as hungry before meal time, don't get the shakes, and don't get light headed as I always did when it was time to eat and I didn't.  
I do use sweets, but I buy or make the kind with aspartame sweetner, and sorbitol or malitol for binder and mouth feel.  Same number of calories as sucrose, glucose, or fructose, but sugar alcohols are  much slower to metabolise. And I don't get as hungry or other reactions when some sweet like that is not available.  
I'm no help on ADHD or whatever, I have the longest attention span of anybody I know.  But it can't be boring, I don't like repeating things like a true obsessive. I like really hard problems that take a long time to solve, and set myself a menu of difficult pieces to play, difficult things to repair, etc.  I've been playing some pieces off and on for 30 years, and now that I don't work, I'm beginning to get the hang of it.  
Good luck and good health as Alec Baldwin says after the NY Philharmonic concerts.  

[dima_76557]

I want to impress my teacher and don't want him to think I'm a talentless oaf.

ps: the definition of talent for me is hard working.

Could it be possible, ranniks, that it is actually this thought in the back of your head that distracts you from what you have to do? While it may seem positive in a "hard-working" society, I think it is actually a destructive burden that you'd best get rid of. You simply do what you have to do to get your pieces ready with a positive mindset and high-quality practice and that is all you are responsible for.

[cabbynum]

It pisses me off that people think that just because you're hyper active and can't focus means you're stupid.
You can't have ADHD without having an above average IQ. I have pretty terrible ADHD, I even went to a special school for it. My IQ is nowhere near average and I get lost at the piano I'll play for what feels like a half hour and then look outside and it's dark and I'm hungry and I realize I've missed another meal and forgotten to take a pee.
ADHD is a huge gift and an equally huge curse. Sure I may do terrible in school, but so did so many people with ADHD who turned out to be super successful in their field.
Just do a google search on people with ADHD.
Also ADHD meds suck. I hate them, my psych tries to put me on them all the time. I hate it.

[lousyplayer]

Look, if you have hard time focusing in piano is because you don't like it, end of conversation. Tasks you do like you will do with pleasure. and btw, ADHD is a load of crap created to justify the fact that some kids just don't like school and would rather go outside and play football. Cristiano Ronaldo was one of them btw, and look at how much he's earning today and imagine what he would be today if he was given ADHD medication to force him be in school. Cheers

[ranniks]

Look, if you have hard time focusing in piano is because you don't like it, end of conversation. Tasks you do like you will do with pleasure. and btw, ADHD is a load of crap created to justify the fact that some kids just don't like school and would rather go outside and play football. Cristiano Ronaldo was one of them btw, and look at how much he's earning today and imagine what he would be today if he was given ADHD medication to force him be in school. Cheers

I find your post very inappropriate for more than one reason. And saying that ADHD is 'a load of crap' is extremely disrespectful to poeple who have it.

And don't like school? I'll have you know that I study 20-25 hours a week next to my college hours. Sjure, I get bored during lectures at college, but then again I skip most of them because I'd rather learn from the books. Even then my possible ADHD kicks in making learning uncomfortable because of me wanting to learn 10000 things at once.

Einstein was said to have ADHD and look at what he did? He also played the violin. Imagine what would have happened if someone like you insinuated Einstein should rather play outside.

ADHD doesn't always/most of the times mean that you want to work out and do sports or whatever.

I was terrible at sports in my youth. Especially team sports.

[dima_76557]

Even then my possible ADHD kicks in making learning uncomfortable because of me wanting to learn 10000 things at once.

Have ADHD diagnosed for sure, ranniks. If necessary, get a second opinion with another doctor. Many people are, unfortunately, misdiagnosed with it and are swallowing medication they don't actually need.

About the "10,000 things at once". I used to do the same, but that is actually not very wise because you spread yourself too thin by doing so. No ADHD required to get negative results! In this respect, there is more wisdom in the following Dirty-Harry quote than one would expect: "A man's got to know his limitations".

[timothy42b]

Have ADHD diagnosed for sure, ranniks. If necessary, get a second opinion with another doctor. Many people are, unfortunately, misdiagnosed with it and are swallowing medication they don't actually need.

For every person on medication who doesn't need it, there are ten not on it who do need it.

I had a thought.  We have to get through a number of tasks in a practice session and in a week.  We're conditioned to do them in order.  First I do scales, then I do technique, then I work on lesson piece, then I review repertoire, or whatever.

Maybe the ADHD person should start every practice session by rolling dice to see what to do first.  Maybe we all should.  Maybe he should roll the dice every 10 minutes.   

[lousyplayer]

I find your post very inappropriate for more than one reason. And saying that ADHD is 'a load of crap' is extremely disrespectful to poeple who have it.

Nobody has ADHD, its something psychiatrists invented to make money and satisfy parents of bad behaving kids. People do get different levels of capacity for concentration, doesnt mean you have a disease or excuse to do better or worse.

And don't like school? I'll have you know that I study 20-25 hours a week next to my college hours. Sjure, I get bored during lectures at college, but then again I skip most of them because I'd rather learn from the books. Even then my possible ADHD kicks in making learning uncomfortable because of me wanting to learn 10000 things at once.

Your ADHD doesnt kick in, you get TIRED like everybody else, we all have limits. Your brain gets tired more quickly if you do not enjoy what you are doing.

Einstein was said to have ADHD and look at what he did? He also played the violin. Imagine what would have happened if someone like you insinuated Einstein should rather play outside.

Who said that? ADHD didnt exist in Einstein days. He got tired too, yes, because he was *** human.

ADHD doesn't always/most of the times mean that you want to work out and do sports or whatever.

It means your brain is asking you to do other things (sports was an example)

[lousyplayer]

For every person on medication who doesn't need it, there are ten not on it who do need it.
 

Nobody needs stimulant drugs, they all want them though, because it will increase work capacity and improve grades. Its an excuse, you wont be called dumb by your peers anymore, parents will be happy because their kids arent stupid, they just have a brain malfunction (duh....), and kids will get a completely unfair advantage for their studies compared to non diagnosed students. Ritalin and other medications, are stimulant drugs which will increase intelligence artificially.

[bronnestam]

Nobody has ADHD, its something psychiatrists invented to make money and satisfy parents of bad behaving kids. People do get different levels of capacity for concentration, doesnt mean you have a disease or excuse to do better or worse.

You know what? YOU KNOW sh*t!!!! You have no idea what you are talking about. You have read an article here and met someone there, and the rest you have guessed, sitting at your dusty computer or talking to your equally ignorant friends. Maybe you mainly educate yourself by reading the paper on the McDonald's plastic trays, I don't know, but obviously you have not the slightest idea of what you are talking about right now. Absolutely no idea. Now, stop making statements about things you have no knowledge about. 

Be happy that I cannot reach you, or I would go after you, you #¤%& IDIOT. All I can do right now is to send a complaint to the moderators of this discussion board.

I AM GOING THROUGH HELL WITH MY CHILD AND HIS ADHD. We suffer heavily in my family, my husband has already been hospitalized once for a life-threatening depression, caused by worry for our son, I am sometimes on the edge, we have had scenes here that you should be very, very happy that you have not watched. We face difficulties here that you cannot imagine.

And no, I am no a slappy and ignorant and stupid parent. I am a very well-educated, loving and responsible mother, and unlike you I go for the facts and search real knowledge before I say something. Yes, I have also a child without ADHD, so I know the difference.

[cabbynum]

You know what? YOU KNOW sh*t!!!! You have no idea what you are talking about. You have read an article here and met someone there, and the rest you have guessed, sitting at your dusty computer or talking to your equally ignorant friends. Maybe you mainly educate yourself by reading the paper on the McDonald's plastic trays, I don't know, but obviously you have not the slightest idea of what you are talking about right now. Absolutely no idea. Now, stop making statements about things you have no knowledge about. 

Be happy that I cannot reach you, or I would go after you, you #¤%& IDIOT. All I can do right now is to send a complaint to the moderators of this discussion board.

I AM GOING THROUGH HELL WITH MY CHILD AND HIS ADHD. We suffer heavily in my family, my husband has already been hospitalized once for a life-threatening depression, caused by worry for our son, I am sometimes on the edge, we have had scenes here that you should be very, very happy that you have not watched. We face difficulties here that you cannot imagine.

And no, I am no a slappy and ignorant and stupid parent. I am a very well-educated, loving and responsible mother, and unlike you I go for the facts and search real knowledge before I say something. Yes, I have also a child without ADHD, so I know the difference.

Thank you so much, I've reported this person as well.