Need Motivation.

[hcollins]

Hello. I am new to the boards.
My name is Haley, I am really looking into getting back into playing piano, and improving my skills. Here is a little about me.

I am 24 years old. I started playing piano when I was about 9. I played in competitions and whatnot in middle school and high school. Then college happened. I became an RN, got married, then went on to get my BSN, and am now getting my Masters to be a Nurse Practitioner. However, my first love was always music and specifically playing piano. I always dreamed of being a concert pianist. Practical goals got in the way. Now I am looking to get back into something that I love, something to take away some stress in my life.

I don't really know how good I was, like what grade. I would say intermediate I guess. My piano teacher was a nice church going woman, so I played some Dino and Anthony Burger, quite a few church songs.  I learned from the John Thompson's books. A few of the pieces I performed was "My Tribute" by Dino Kartsonakis, "Malenguena" by Ernesto Lecuona, "How Great Thou Art" by Anthony Burger, and the classics like Fur Elise, Hungarian Rhapsodie No. 2, Rondo alla Turca…etc. I was always a technical player. Don't get me wrong I play with emotion too. But I was never able to just improvise (My brother can, but I was not blessed with that gift). If it wasn't written down, I wasn't able to play it.

Anyway. I have been having a hard time getting motivated and finding fresh material to play. I am not as good as I was, I can still play those songs but its really just from memory and my hands just go there lol. I have been trying to find songs that I like, but I really want to improve. I was wondering if anybody had some advice or some suggestions for material, suggestions for books or ways to improve without taking classes (I just don't quite have the time or resources for classes) or just anything really.

Thanks a bunch!
-Haley

[bronnestam]

First: Listen to a lot of music that you like. Go to recitals and concerts whenever you are able to, or listen to them on the radio or whatever. Study some great pianists that you like. Study some composers you like - ENJOY the experience. Dive into it, become a true nerd. (For me, it was the sonatas by Beethoven that really turned me on, finally.) You will find the music you love, just go with the flow and have a really good time. And there you will find your dream projects as well. Some you will start dealing with right now, some you will have to prepare before you can handle them.

Second: Make practising your daily routine, but don't push yourself in the beginning. I did this journey two years ago. I started with the modest goal of sitting at the piano 10 minutes a day. It was a struggle to meet this little goal at first, but ... well, you make it a habit, and one day you will find that if you have missed your session, you feel awkward. Then it has become easier to practice than not to practice ... good!
My first "comeback weeks" were painful, because I played awfully. I remembered how well I played some decades earlier, and now I sounded like a bad beginner. Pieces I used to know were "gone". My hands cramped up and I played unevenly, jerkily and uncoordinated. But it slowly got better.
Events in Real Life forced me to put piano playing aside for a few months again, when I had regained some of my old skills, but when I started again after this interruption, I found that I had not lost much. In fact, the interruption was good for me as I had been so enthusiastic with my early progresses that I had practiced too much and got a muscle injury which I needed to heal from.

I then started to think about motivation and I made some experiments that turned out very well. My basic principle was to encourage myself all the time. I did not allow myself to leave the piano in anger, so I ended every session by making a little summary in my head about things I had improved during that session. (Note: during THAT session, not since yesterday.) I could always find something. This little mental trick was simple, but turned out to be effective. The piano became a place I longed for, not a place for defeats and failures. I have had enough of self-critizism for a lifetime, no more of that.

I also put ambitious goal settings aside for a while. My goal for every session was what I just described, to make some kind of progress, no matter how small ... to my joy it turned out that I, by being less ambitious, finally started to make real progress!

So, the first NEW piece I learned since 1984, was the adagio of the Pathétique sonata. I loved that adagio very much. I spent four weeks learning the first 10 bars, because I was not used to learn anything new. After two months I could play the whole piece (but not very good) and I was so terribly proud of myself and I did not have to find ways motivate myself anymore. I just loved the music, the learning itself. Now, one year later, I am far better than I have ever been before and I still think it is a fascinating process to study new pieces. (And I can play the whole sonata, yeeha! Even though there is still a lot to do with it ...)
 

I even found a teacher at last and that has been very helpful, of course. A famous concert pianist has promised to give me some lessons as well - let's see when that really will be done, but at least we have a deal. Not because I am such a big talent, but from other reasons. That is, of course, as motivating as anything can be! Right now I have the goal of playing at a recital next year, and I am already shivering ... 

I have also found some online resources that have been most helpful:

https://www.pianofundamentals.com/

https://practisingthepiano.com/

and I know that other people in this forum have other sources to recommend.

Piano playing is my sanctuary right now, as I have some hard things in life to cope with, and I cannot live without it anymore. If people ask me today if I can play the piano, I proudly say "Yes!" Some years ago I just mumbled stupid things about how I learned to play in my youth but that was a long time ago etcetera etcetera. And every time I felt sorrow.
I wish you luck in your personal quest.

[hcollins]

Wow, what a great story. Thank you for the resources. I hope I can be even better than I once was, just like you. It is a journey, and I hope I can love it like I once did.
I have spent so much time working on my career goals, that I have lost everything else that made me happy.

Thanks again for the help :-)

-Haley

[indianajo]

Welcome back to the hobby. I love music and love playing things I hear on the radio myself.  My piano sounds so much better than my radio.  
I got slightly ahead of you to age 16, Lecuona's Malaguena was one of my favorites age 13.  then I quit piano to concentrate on other things, concentrate on my studies and learning a trade.  In the middle of my military service age 32 I owned a house with a big empty living room so I bought a new piano and a couple of books of my favorite pieces of all time.  I had played Moonlight Sonata the first movement as a child, and felt the need to finish it.  Took me 30 years, but I can play the whole thing now, slower than the pros but with few mistakes.  And I do it my way, which is quite different than on the radio.
Your Christian background offers a lot of opportunities for material.  Many of the arrangements published by Word and Sparrow are not that hard, and working with a friend from church who likes to sing gives one the incentive to practice towards a goal.  I realize many churches have gone to the soloist plus backing track from a CD format, but I so much prefer hand made music.  Perhaps you can find a friend in the choir that agrees with me.  I was particularly fond of the Second Chapter of Acts vocal group, and performed some of those tracks with the junior choir of a previous church.  We started with Stamps Baxter books (now co-opted by Barney of PBS, the *******s), some bluegrass gospel songs, and worked up over several years. Those kids could memorize anything, and never gasped in the middle of a word like the adult choir.  
Strength in the fourth and fifth fingers may be a problem in the beginning.  I took as an exercise Scott Joplin rags, particularly Paragon and Magnetic.  These may be a little hard for you in the beginning.  In that case, the midwestern solution is to buy the Edna May Berman exercise books and work through an exercise every week or two.  I would suggest books 3, or 4 to start. After those, comes Czerny Boston book 1 exercises.  
If you don't remember how to roll your wrists in arpeggios or assume the proper high hand position with arms drooping from the shoulders, perhaps a lesson or two with a pro might be in order.  But I don't take lessons, I can tell without a pro when I am playing the wrong notes. Especially on my favorite material I have on LP or CD.
Listen to the radio, or if you don't have a classical station, get WFMT-FM or WUOL-FM over the internet.  I was shocked when I passed through Atlanta or St Louis, neither has a classical FM station.  There is piano material they play that you can play.  On WFMT I heard Lang Lang play Liebestraum last year, which annoyed me because I can play it myself.  WUOL.org just played Shumann Impromptu #3 (or was it Schubert?) which didn't sound outside the realm of possibility.
In antique and resale shops you sometimes see the books of arrangements popular in the fifties for  $1 to 2.  I'm particularly fond of Everybody's Favorite Series #80 PIano Pieces for the Young Student that I inherited from my Mother. I play the John Phillips Sousa arrangements in that, and some other things like Turkish March and Tramerei.   Last year I found a hardbound Masterpieces of Piano Music Edited by Albert E Weir, Carl Fischer pub, for $2.  It has some nice opera arrangements in it.  And Hansen House publisher 47 Modern & Jazz Piano Pieces has some very nice intermediate arrangements of Count Basie and Duke Ellington standards.  
I'm been working since 1982  on Moussorgski Picutures at an Exhibition the piano solo, which is fairly hard, but I'm within 10 pages of mastering it now that I don't have to work. Beautiful music, rarely played on the piano.  There are other great experiences out there.  Chopin is a favorite on this board, not mine, but many of his etudes are not that hard.  Some of the Beethoven sonatas are easier than the 3rd movement of the Moonlight.  And JS Bach, don't forget the two part inventions (arr Busoni)  and 8 Preludes & Fugues for the Well Tempered Clavichord (arr busoni).  
I'm just starting on Gerswin Rhapsody in Blue now that Pictures is winding down.  It was originally a 2 piano arrangement, did you know?  I've been looking for a partner to play this with, nobody that reads the college bulliten board seems interested.  You don't live near Louisville, do you?  Will probably take me two to three years, but I already have the two matching pianos.  
It is Advent and I play the Christmas songs from the hymnal, plus pop standards like Silver Bells, White Christmas, and Frosty the Snow Man. I've been washing dishes at the charity meal program every other month, and the last two times I played on the very nice Baldwin Acrosonic console at the stage of the hall.  someone handed me a hymnal two weeks ago and since I couldn't find the thankgiving hymns (We gather together)  I played some christmas ones.  I was getting requests from the clients!  I played the Scott Joplin rags too, including Maple Leaf. Some old guy was getting misty over his memories of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which that apparently was in.  I may do this again in December, even though our church isn't serving that month.  
So, have fun.  
 

[hcollins]

I actually live way eastern KY, about 4 hours or so.
Thanks for the suggestions. we don't have a classical station here. But I've been trying to listen on Spotify online. It is a good idea to go to yard sales, I didn't even think about that. I look for online sheet music and books, also at book stores, but they are pretty expensive. I also love to play Christmas music. I remember when I was young I would play Christmas music in July. I have a few good arrangements of a few songs, that is what I am going to start with. Mostly all that I have is the Dino and Anthony Burger stuff, that I played before, but I like those arrangements so I guess it will have to do.

-Haley

[hfmadopter]

You know that right here at Piano Street you can download sheet music. With your Silver membership there are some to pick through, upgrading to gold gives you just about anything classical.

Last year and this year too, I've gotten into a New Age twist on Christmas music. I have easy to play music but still rather nice from Jennifer Ecklund. Some I really like from David Nevue but require a bit more rhythm work and finally some warm classic but New age at the same time from Joe Bongiomo ( his Silver Bells has a real nice sound to me, I like it anyway). Joes requires the most background I would say, his arrangements can get more advanced than certainly Jennifers and it just depends which Nevue piece one grabs how his would be to work on.. They all have web sites and sheet music for sale pretty inexpensively. I have my Grand Daughter working on an Ecklund one for this year, that's why I bought the book (downloadable). Like you I have Christmas music already, I wanted something different.

[indianajo]

If you live in KY blue territory, I suppose U of L might be your bball arch enemy.  But WUOL fm has a second station at Lawrence at 102.3 that covers Lexington. If you hook the FM radio up an old TV antenna pointed west you might be able to get Wuol as far as Wincester, but east of that big ridge near Mt Sterling, probably not. They do broadcast over the internet on WUOL.org if your computer will play music video and your connection is fast enough.  
Louisville is a hotbed of charity resale shops.  Goodwill on Broadway and Dixie Hwy, Salvation Army on Little League in Clarksville, IN, Goodwill on Applegate LN and New to You on Lewis & Clark Blvd in Clarksville are all my favorite haunts.  I ride the bus or bicycle to them, no sense burning gas for used books or records. The music books are mixed in with the other books, just taller.   I understand in Eastern KY Moustain Mission operates some resale shops.  I received a collection of organ records from an AGO member once because Mountain Mission refused to carry them off as a donation. The main thing I buy at resale shops is old LP records.  The classical LPs are usually not too scratched up and usually go for $.33 each to $.75.  Cd's are $1-2 and sometimes worth it.  If you are not afraid of clutter, the LP is a great way to get a classical music education as a listener.  Besides great music, in between all the musak, LP's have liner notes that are like getting a bit of an education as you listen. Most of my musical education came from the radio or LP's, I never saw the point of paying a college for that type of information. I'm going on 12 bins of LP's now that they are cheap and reviled as trash.    
If you search the book section of Amazon.com you might find some used music books.  If you click the sheet music category they sell you off to an internet store that sells new stuff, you are right, those are expensive. You have to click the book category to get access to the old used book stores.   I got my Rhapsody in Blue used from Amazon for $6.  Plus $4 shipping most of the time.  You just type in your author like it was a book, the used shops will come up if they have anything.
As hmfadopter says, if you can keep a printer working the internet allows you to download stuff.  I can never keep an ink cartridge going more than 6 weeks; they always dry up and won't print.  I don't print enough, I suppose.  And those cartridges are $35 apiece and are made in *****.  **** *****ese have enough of the jobs, I'll buy old used stuff instead.   I do like the editor's choice of arrangements, though, pity the only music storei n KY  Wilshire is in Florence.
I was born in W Va; my Mother was the original do it yourself musician in our family.  Except all those country and  bluegrass stars that learned to play up and down Rt 23 where the radio didn't work.  
Well, enjoy yourself.

[hfmadopter]

I
As hmfadopter says, if you can keep a printer working the internet allows you to download stuff.  I can never keep an ink cartridge going more than 6 weeks, they always dry up and won't print.  I don't print enough, I suppose.  And those cartridges are $35 apiece and are made in *****.  **** *****ese have enough of the jobs, I'll buy old used stuff instead.   

Ah, desktop inkjets will drive you nuts ! Thats why I picked up a rather inexpensive Brother, Black only laser printer. The toner cartridge never dries up because it's dried flakes inside them already. I print receipts and music with it and some statements. Buy the right cartridge you get something like 2200 sheets out of it. It prints music perfectly well, since music is B+W..

[bronnestam]

I'm just starting on Gerswin Rhapsody in Blue now that Pictures is winding down.  It was originally a 2 piano arrangement, did you know?  I've been looking for a partner to play this with, nobody that reads the college bulliten board seems interested.  You don't live near Louisville, do you?  Will probably take me two to three years, but I already have the two matching pianos.  

 

Gaaah, I want to study Rhapsody in Blue as well, for double piano. I just love that piece! So, I have even downloaded the notes from IMSL.

... too bad I don't live near Louisville, though. I live in Sweden.    But it is a small planet, I will keep in mind that there is someone in Louisville who wants to play the Rhapsody ...

[ted]

I shall make my usual suggestion of contemporary ragtime, in particular the fine piano solos of David Thomas Roberts. Three examples:

[hcollins]

Those are very nice. Thanks for sharing. They look at little hard for me though, I would have to work my way up to those.

[awesom_o]

Hi Haley,

Improvisation isn't a gift. It's something anyone can do.
It's something everyone should do.

Don't sit around silently waiting for something to come to your mind-that isn't how it works.
You have to just start simple, and gradually develop your focus and awareness of what you are doing.
Don't worry about conforming to any particular style or idiom. Music is speech. Develop your own vocabulary.

[hcollins]

Oh I've tried many times to improv. In high school I was in a little jazz ensemble. I done really well with the written music, but when it came to improv, I just froze and drew a blank. Maybe I just don't have enough experience. I know my brother has been able to do it for years, and technically I was always a better player than him. I guess its probably the fear of doing it "wrong", even though I know thats silly, because there isn't a wrong.

[awesom_o]

If you just froze up and blanked out in situations where he would keep on playing away, how do you reckon you were technically a better player?

[timothy42b]

Oh I've tried many times to improv.

I suspect we could help you if you were to clearly define what you mean by improv. 

[hcollins]

I meant I could just play more difficult pieces of music. I was better on a technical aspect and he was always better at improv and playing by ear. I'm not super wonderful, but I could just play more difficult songs, and learn them a little faster. We were just better at different parts of playing I guess.

[hcollins]

I suspect we could help you if you were to clearly define what you mean by improv. 

Well my brother can take a song and kind of make it his own. I've tried, but it just doesn't sound good like it does when he plays. Makes me feel like I just don't have that talent or something.