When to practice? :)

[mychel0620]

I’m curious if there are any others in my situation:

I’m in my mid 30’s and started playing piano as a teenager.  There was a period of time of 10 years or so after moving I didn’t have a piano in the home to practice daily. I have a piano now and practice every day, but nothing like I used to. I just don’t have the time. I’m finding it much harder to learn a new piece of music as opposed to when I was younger. I assume that has a lot to do with not being able to practice 1-3 hours a day like I used to. I’m lucky now to squeeze an hour total, breaking up session in 30 minutes here and there. There are so many pieces I want to learn and not enough time!! 

I have a family and work full time. I’m curious if others with similar home/work situations are able to carve out some practice time. My evenings are spent with my husband and daughter and I don’t want to take away from that. I was considering using my digital piano more since I can wear headphones and maybe get up earlier to practice.

[timothy42b]

I don't have a DVR.  If I want to watch Sixty Minutes, I have to do it on the TV schedule.  I can't fit it in 10 minutes at a time during the day. 

I think the same is true of piano practice.  For most of us, if we don't actually schedule it at a set time, fitting it in doesn't happen.

I also find my family honors a set practice time (Daddy is going to be in the basement at 8:30) with no issues, but is less tolerant of suddently trying to fit some in. 

It can vary with the day.  Tuesdays it's 8:30 after rehearsal, but Wednesday it's 7:00 because there's no conflict, etc. 

I do get up early every day and play 30 minutes before work, haven't missed the morning practice in many years.  The family has learned to sleep through it. 

[outin]

I find the best time to practice during the week is in the mornings before I go to work, when the head is free from all the stuff that  goes in there during the day.

That means I have to get up early, which I used to hate, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I am often late from work though, since one cannot always stop when things get interesting 

[hfmadopter]

I find headphones to work well for me in the morning and also when first learning new sections of a piece. As each section progresses I then play live, either through the speakers to the digital or on my grand. So I tend to be working on or fixing up parts of pieces in the early morning at the digital with headphones on. I tend to put in 30 min each am on work days lately. Weekends a couple of hours in the am, 1 with headphone the other without. In the later afternoon I tend to play more performance minded.

[mychel0620]

I find the best time to practice during the week is in the mornings before I go to work, when the head is free from all the stuff that  goes in there during the day.

That means I have to get up early, which I used to hate, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I am often late from work though, since one cannot always stop when things get interesting 

That's what worries me about morning practice!  I'll end up getting my daughter to school late. haha!

[indianajo]

Good luck on fitting it in with children. My Mother gave up the piano she had paid for out of her WWII earnings, and let me learn it.  She went to knitting and bargello, which she could do in front of the television with the soap operas. Sad, I think now.  She bought Rhapsody in Blue and never learned to play it. But I am doing so, now. 
The best practice is to go over the parts you are having trouble with over and over, instead of the whole piece.  This saves time. It is not fun, but makes learning faster.   Go slow enough you don't make mistakes, and your body will take care of playing it fast when it has the part memorized. 
I practice after dinner when my sugar levels are too high, and television is doing nightly news or game shows or something. Children should be doing homework at that hour.  But then we didn't have the temptations of portable games or social media on cell phones in my day either.  A cellphone canceling device turned on at that hour, perhaps?  I was up to three hours homework a night in high school.  Public schools these days don't like to stress children that hard, but I stood up to it.   

[arianareid]

Don't give up! Like you said, you could get up earlier (although I find it easier to play at night). Don't think you have to play for hours at a time. I often play for a half hour here and there, and it really helps me concentrate. When your children go to bed maybe you could squeeze in an hour there. Wherever you can. Maybe have your family listen and critique you, so you're not losing family time. Good luck!

[steve_uk]

There are some good suggestions there and I would try and get your family onside as to how much the piano means to you,but also make time for them at weekends and plan treats so they don't feel neglected.I'm in the same boat as you but I don't make a schedule because I would only start to resent the piano if I forced myself to practise when I wasn't in the mood. So I've missed a session: so what? There's always another day..

[japzz]

I work full time and since I got myself a piano two years ago don't watch TV anymore at all(I didn't that much anyway) to make time for studying and playing piano.And actually,after two years,I didn't miss it for one split second :playing piano (or any instrument for the same reason) is so much more satisfying,exciting,relaxing,whatever....than consuming this "drug of a nation"

[bronnestam]

Skip the TV totally and go for your digital with headphones. Tell your family that this is important for you. Let's say you fix the supper - they can do the afterwork and meanwhile you go to the piano. And if they want to watch something on TV, you sit at the piano instead.

[1piano4joe]

Hi mychel0620,

I’m curious if there are any others in my situation:

Yes, there are many, many others in your situation that have families, work full time and have returned to piano after awhile.

I’m finding it much harder to learn a new piece of music as opposed to when I was younger. I assume that has a lot to do with not being able to practice 1-3 hours a day like I used to.

Well, less practice time should translate into just taking longer to learn something and it shouldn't be any harder. For example, if it takes 20 hours to learn a new piece then practicing 5 hours a day should have it learned in 4 days. 2 hours a day becomes 10 days. 1 hour a day makes 20 days or almost 3 weeks. I am very sad to say that 30 minutes a day becomes 40 days assuming one never ever skips one day in 40. I don't consider this "harder" but more like torture.

Also, did you have a teacher when you were younger and do you have one now? That could have made things easier then if you did and much harder now if you don't. Especially if the pieces are considerably more difficult now.

What type of pieces did you find so much easier when you were younger compared to the new pieces you find much harder to learn now? Maybe they are, in fact, much much harder?

Having lessons as a teenager and attempting Bach inventions or Chopin pieces now are worlds apart.

My evenings are spent with my husband and daughter and I don’t want to take away from that. I was considering using my digital piano more since I can wear headphones and maybe get up earlier to practice.

How old is your daughter? If she is younger, then an 8-9 p.m. bedtime, on a school night is not unreasonable is it? My brother puts my nephew and niece to bed 8 p.m. They stay in their rooms watching T.V. but they do have to stay in their rooms. If she is an older teenager I would think she would rather be out with her friends and have a certain time expected to be home by. I say all this because frankly, I don't understand. Kids around here have boy scouts (or girl scouts), after school sports, karate, dance, sleepovers, etc.

When the cat's away the mice will play! Piano that is.

Okay, don't laugh now but is your husband ALLOWED OUT? Many men go bowling twice a week, work part time night jobs or play poker with their buddies. Some men go fishing or boating on the weekends when their not busy puttering around in the yard and garage fixing stuff being manly men. So, this means more mouse time on the cheese, I mean keys.

It seems when they are involved with their own activities would be the perfect time for your own personal endeavors right?

Just curious but how do the three of you spend your evenings? Is it in front of the T.V.? I remember growing up with 4 T.V.'s running. Mom in one room, dad in the other, my brother in his room and me in my own room. We all had different tastes as well as different schedules. Mom got home one time, my brother another, my dad another and me another. We SOMETIMES ate dinner together but often we did not.

I think you know when to practice. I really do. He's out getting an oil change. Practice time right? Daughter stays after school for extra help twice a week. Practice time. I don't know your personal situation and I don't really need to know but I think you understand where I'm coming from. Make a grocery list and send dear hubby to the store. Abracadabra practice time.

That's all for now, Joe.

P.S. Welcome to Pianostreet!
  

[bernadette60614]

Also a parent who has to get a child to school!

Something I learned from experience:

I don't have to sit down and practice for an hour.  I can sit down and practice 15 minutes a time if that is focused practice. Right now, I'm working on three pieces and each is at a different stage.  I plan my practice goals for each for each week after my piano lesson and I know each week what I'd ideally like to accomplish.

So, for example, on the Mozart sonata my goal is to increase articulation in a section which is fairly well learned, focus on clarity on the octaves in another section, focus on hands alone practice on the new section.  I'll start 1) new goal first 2) clarity 3) articulation.  What I"m going from is newest to the section which are just being polished.

My goal is 6 solid hours of practice a week, but that can be broken up into 20 minute segments...20 minutes before the family gets up, 20 minutes after school drop off, 20 minutes after everyone who needs a story is put to bed.

An hour sounds laughable compared to the many hours a professional pianist demands of him/herself, but it is amazing what you can accomplish by doing this consistently.

[bronnestam]

Also a parent who has to get a child to school!

Something I learned from experience:

I don't have to sit down and practice for an hour.  I can sit down and practice 15 minutes a time if that is focused practice. Right now, I'm working on three pieces and each is at a different stage.  I plan my practice goals for each for each week after my piano lesson and I know each week what I'd ideally like to accomplish.

So, for example, on the Mozart sonata my goal is to increase articulation in a section which is fairly well learned, focus on clarity on the octaves in another section, focus on hands alone practice on the new section.  I'll start 1) new goal first 2) clarity 3) articulation.  What I"m going from is newest to the section which are just being polished.

My goal is 6 solid hours of practice a week, but that can be broken up into 20 minute segments...20 minutes before the family gets up, 20 minutes after school drop off, 20 minutes after everyone who needs a story is put to bed.

An hour sounds laughable compared to the many hours a professional pianist demands of him/herself, but it is amazing what you can accomplish by doing this consistently.

Playing and practice the piano is a skill that is developing just as any other field of knowledge. I discussed these things with my piano teacher yesterday. Piano teaching of today is very different from the school of my youth, 30 years ago - unless you don't stick to "old school" of course ... I would say it is so much better now. There are so many myths that are proven to be untrue. For example, the stupid idea that you simply cannot learn a new skill when you have surpassed a certain age. Or that perfect pitch is a talent that you are either born with, or just lack. Or that the  more hours you practice in a day, the better. The winner is the one who plays until she faints with fatigue. Or that no pain, no gain ... every successful artist has to struggle or suffer!

So, I am not sure that you HAVE TO or even SHOULD practice for a dreadful amount of hours every day. At least not at the piano. Perhaps you should devote quite a lot of practice time to related activities - relaxation and breathing techniques, mental practice, music theory, even physical training like going to the gym, listening to recordings with yourself and others, planning, evaluation ...

When I discovered that my practicing started to feel less inspired, aimless and not effective, I went back to the trick I started with: set a timer, and play for 15 minutes. Then leave the piano and take a long break, even if you are in the middle of a piece.
With a tight schedule like that, you have no choice but being incredibly effective every minute of the session. For example, I remembered the good principle of focusing on what I really intended to work with and not play the whole piece through every time ...

So I think you are doing the right thing and that it really can be very effective, so that the final result probably is far better than it would been if you had had all day to spend at the piano with someone else running your life around you.

[timothy42b]

I get up at 0530 and play half an hour before work.  (every 3 minutes I do my mandatory stretches, at my age flexibility must be worked daily)

I get in another half hour most days right after work.  This is when attention is good.  I work on musicality and skills that require concentration, I record and listen to short sections repeatedly.  Then there are almost always evening events I have to attend, at church or wherever.   

Before bed I play another hour.  This is not as high quality practice because there isn't a lot of energy left, so I choose material that is suitable.  I aim at 9 - 10 PM.