A Bit Stuck

[svensknavi]

Hello all. So I've been playing for about 5 years, but I feel like I'm really lagging behind in where I should be as far as learning and playing new pieces. I've been pondering it for a while, and I believe the root of the problem is that it's taking me too long to go from reading the sheets, to knowing what note to play, to figuring out which key to hit.

For example, I've been working on Beethoven's WoO 23, and have it memorized mentally to the point where I could write the score from memory, yet when I go to play it, it still takes a few seconds to think about what I need to play, resulting in my steady tempo play-through to be about 20-30 bpm, which is pretty slow..

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions/ideas/tips? Thanks.

[muleski]

Hi,

This sounds very different to how I learn, so not sure I can offer any help. 

Do you sight read everything you play?  (even if from your head)  Are you able to memorise the music practically rather than only memorising the score? 

My only thought is that you need to develop memorising the music practically in order to rely less on the score.  I think it would take away at least some of the forethought required for sight-reading.  I could be talking total nonsense, I'm sure someone will point out if I am.  I only say this because my sight-reading abilities are abysmal and so I memorise what I play (I probably rely too much on muscle memory), but probably couldn't begin to write down the score off the top of my head. 

[hfmadopter]

Just as in reading off the score, in your mind you also will have to adapt to picking it up a notch at a time. Also learn to read ahead slightly, the faster you play the more you need to advance forward your reading. You may find yourself reading a measure ahead or full phrases ahead even.

Additionally, while reading is good you also need to learn the skill of feeling the keys under your hands/fingers. You need to learn to feel comfortable with patterns of notes in order to really pick up the tempo. And around the fifth year I would think is a good time to realize this, so you are perhaps more on track than off !!

[svensknavi]

I actually can't sight read almost at all (I'm working on it, not seeming to get much better). I also don't try to learn pieces this way, it's just that since I got it from my teacher 6-8 months ago and have worked on it so much that I just have it memorized to the point of being able to write it down. It's just that when I go to play it, it's taking so long still to go from knowing what I need to play to actually pressing the right key, it's like right as soon as I need to actually play the note, I forget what I'm supposed to be playing..

[hfmadopter]

It's just that when I go to play it, it's taking so long still to go from knowing what I need to play to actually pressing the right key, it's like right as soon as I need to actually play the note, I forget what I'm supposed to be playing..

I'm heading on towards 2 years now since I returned to piano after quite a long time away. I'm also heading on towards 64 years old and have taken to not memorizing entire pieces now but just sections where it feels a bit clunky to read it all. In so doing and also back when I did memorize full works, I'm not reading the notes in my mind either. I memorize keys, Hand positions on the keys and patterns of finger movements. Also the piece sung in my mind, I am actually singing it in my mind as I'm playing. That's what has always worked for me. Initially it came from muscle memory. My teacher back then called muscle memory playing by reflex and considered that alone to be pretty unreliable, so I kicked it up a bit.

You have to know where you are going on the keyboard before you get there is the best I can tell you. The more you do this and the better you know the key signatures of the pieces and related chords as well, the better you will get at it.