lost my drive to practice

[andrewkoay]

I really don't feel like practising piano anymore. I'm not a professional pianist, and all the time I spend on piano is really just for nothing, it brings me no sort of tangible benefit. I know what it takes to really polish a piece and it is really hard work indeed. Sometimes for fun I polish a piece up to performance ready level and nobody's there to listen to it.  This gives me no pleasure at all. Sometimes I practice a piece until I literally get bored of it and the melodies start to ring in my head like noise. The result is just like drivel where I progressively play worse the more I practice. I work on technical issues, but it seems useless since I can already play most of the pieces in the piano repertoire and it's again too much work for nothing in return.

I sometimes feel that I have squandered my years of practice for nothing.

[chicoscalco]

Don't you get joy from listening to the music you made? Or maybe starting on a piece you really wanted to study?

[awesom_o]

When I've lost my drive to practice, I watch videos of Mischa Maisky playing the repertoire I'm working on.

Then I think about how I don't sound nearly as good as him yet!

Then I pick up my cello and get back to work!

Remember! When you're not practicing, somebody else always is!

[cometear]

When I've lost my drive to practice, I watch videos of Mischa Maisky playing the repertoire I'm working on.

Then I think about how I don't sound nearly as good as him yet!

Then I pick up my cello and get back to work!

Remember! When you're not practicing, somebody else always is!

Wow you're a cellist as well?

[awesom_o]

The cello is my heart and soul!

The piano is just my day-job.

[j_menz]

all the time I spend on piano is really just for nothing, it brings me no sort of tangible benefit.

Than what did you start on piano for? Do you derive no enjoyment from it? If not, then give up; why bother? Go have some fun.

[hfmadopter]

I sometimes feel that I have squandered my years of practice for nothing.

Do you know what is worse than that ? To stop playing after so many years invested for nearly as many years as you practiced and then realize you really do love the piano and music after all. Now those truly are years squandered, you move backwards in repertoire and try and regain what you had, before you can move on up. I know all about that scenario .  While I did some great things in life without my piano I should have kept my hands more into it during that time away than I did. Water over the dam now but maybe a heads up to you !

I really suggest that you get something going on performance wise. Maybe put on a recital, invite some friends and relatives to it, make programs and have some snacks ready for after the event. Nothing is like preparing for a performance to get you out of a rut.

Another thing, if you have years invested then maybe switch up the genre of music a bit.

[ted]

Another thing, if you have years invested then maybe switch up the genre of music a bit.

That is a good idea. Or more broadly speaking, change anything. Listen to new things, play new things, try playing with different technique. What about jazz ? What about improvisation ? What about composition ? The second is much bigger than, and not necessarily related to, the first of course. If change doesn't help then try a rest, art is to enjoy, it isn't a deadly battle for breath. When I was ten I felt as you do and stopped playing for four years. Music caught me again without mishap. You have to enjoy your life.

[cometear]

The cello is my heart and soul!

The piano is just my day-job.

Wow awesome! So do you think it's okay to take two instruments seriously?

[awesom_o]

It depends how serious about music you are and how much time you have to devote to it.  But in general, two instruments is better than one, if you can really apply yourself on both.

[steve_uk]

I really don't feel like practising piano anymore. I'm not a professional pianist, and all the time I spend on piano is really just for nothing, it brings me no sort of tangible benefit. I know what it takes to really polish a piece and it is really hard work indeed. Sometimes for fun I polish a piece up to performance ready level and nobody's there to listen to it.  This gives me no pleasure at all. Sometimes I practice a piece until I literally get bored of it and the melodies start to ring in my head like noise. The result is just like drivel where I progressively play worse the more I practice. I work on technical issues, but it seems useless since I can already play most of the pieces in the piano repertoire and it's again too much work for nothing in return.

I sometimes feel that I have squandered my years of practice for nothing.

If you don't feel like practising on a particular day then don't. If you can engage in another activity which requires concentration then I would do that;otherwise go for a long walk in the country and recharge your batteries. You may return to the piano quicker than you think if you avoid the burnout and fatigue which I'm sure is quite common amongst musicians.

[soitainly]

 Playing music just for the sake of playing is enough for most musicians, to a point. But to keep motivation up, you really ought to think of playing for an audience. Another way to keep things fresh is to play with other people. Do you play other styles of music, have you considered even playing in a rock band, sometimes a type of music that you don't necessarily enjoy listening to becomes great fun to play when it is with another group of musicians. You can also start to improvise or compose.

 All these things are ways to keep you inspired for a lifetime of music. So much so that instead of feeling like you have wasted time, that you wish you had more time for music.

 After saying all this, I can still see your point of feeling like it's useless spending countless hours practicing without any tangible gain. A life of playing solo piano alone in a room would test the dedication of any musician. Find a way to play for others, whether it's at an open mic or a nursing home. Join a band or find someone else to play with, offer to back up a singer. You have to be proactive in finding gigs or music partners, but it can be worth the effort.

[andd845]

At the very least the time spent will have helped clear your mind of daily worries and provided a means of expressing yourself, which surely must be good for you.

Anyway, some suggestions...
- How about recording yourself and posting to facebook, youtube or here periodically.
  I've certainly gained inspiration and really enjoyed some of the posting in the audition room here.
  Instead of working on technically challenging pieces, how about some you find more straight forward (so aren't played to destruction before you'd publish to the web) and concentrating on the most inventive interpretation or most beautiful tone?
- Take a break
- Think about what made you want to play the piano in the first place
- See if there are any piano workshops near you where pianists can play to and listen to others whilst being taught. There's always something to learn even if you're advanced, surely.
- Sign up for an exam/diploma
- Upgrade piano. (seems flippant, but it's amazing how much this can inspire. I went from entry level yamaha upright to Kawai Rx2, having become so fed-up with the former as to have stopped practicing as much)
- Teach (e.g. beginners, first exams to start with perhaps.)

Best of luck

[andd845]

And you could have been watching TV or becoming a master of I don't know, Call of Duty rather than playing the piano. Now that would be time spent with no real useful outcome or artistry...

[andd845]

Hold on a minute - I've just found this

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=52948.0

You really can't be serious about stopping? I mean, that's a great performance. You play very well indeed. Post more in the audition room please!

[chopin4life]

Andd854 is completely right!! You cannot stop if you're able to play like that!
I admit I'm still young (only 17), but playing the piano is my passion. A few years ago I got fed up with it, but then I got another teacher. Right now I can't imagine one day without playing the piano.

Playing that sonata the way you did (fabulous!!) is still a dream for me..

[bronnestam]

You play very well! 

OK, some suggestions, which are just variations on what is already said:

- take some piano vacation. No playing at all for some days, do other stuff. I promise, it won't hurt and it won't "damage your development".
- play just in your head for a while. Hear you favourite pieces, dream up the ideal interpretation, spend time with this - not by playing. Finally you will long for going to the piano and try your ideas out. Do not return to the piano until you feel that it would be great fun.
- record and upload pieces on YouTube, Soundcloud or any other place where you can get listeners. I am a shy performer with terrible stage fright so I basically hate recitals, but in this way I can share music with people without going through hell ... and my friends and relatives have expressed their appreciation.
- start composing.
- I have a nice digital and I have also added a virtual piano (Pianoteq) to my equipment. I record MIDI files and then I process them in my computer and there is no end to the possibilites ...

[birba]

I can certainly empathise with you.  I lost the drive to practise and play a few months ago.  If i don't have a goal - a concert or recital- it's difficult for me to apply myself to the piano.  It's made me wonder if i was ever really cut out to be a pianist.  But now i've sort of changed my musical motives.  Now i just read through lots of repertoire.  When i find something that strikes me personally, i work on it and try to get it up to par, so to speak.  And i think i'll start posting again.  That could be your goal.  Prepare something to post on PS.  I just "found" an arrangement of Lady be Good.  Very pianistic and different from what i usually play.  I've al ways wanted to be able to improvise (like Ted!) and maybe doing stuff like this might help me.  You know, when you're tied down to the written note, it's hard to break that frame of mind. 

[future_maestro]

I went through this for a couple years as well. What remedied it for me was getting some new songs in my repertoire.

You can force yourself to play a song, but only when you play something you love, do you never get bored of it. Look around the internet. I'm not sure what style you play, but when I discovered Beethoven's Appassionata and Chopin's Scherzo No. 2, it rejuvenated my love for classical music and has kept me playing piano for many more years since.

[senanserat]

Make a youtube channel and fill it with stuff...

[noambenhamou]

Oh that's you???

I heard the appasionata first movement earlier today and was very impressed!! I didn't reply because the thread was like s month old but now I regret I didn't say something.

Yeah, you can't stop playing.

You just probably need something new and inspiring.
Why don't you work on henselt piano concerto?

I made the orchestra in midi format I can sent it to you. It's fun to play with the midi orchestra

I'm like you, no one to play for (thank god because I have mega stage freight)
So I make a point to make a YouTube recording once a week. That keeps me going and once in a while I even get a compliment those keep me motivated as well.

[liszt85]

I really don't feel like practising piano anymore. I'm not a professional pianist, and all the time I spend on piano is really just for nothing, it brings me no sort of tangible benefit. I know what it takes to really polish a piece and it is really hard work indeed. Sometimes for fun I polish a piece up to performance ready level and nobody's there to listen to it.  This gives me no pleasure at all. Sometimes I practice a piece until I literally get bored of it and the melodies start to ring in my head like noise. The result is just like drivel where I progressively play worse the more I practice. I work on technical issues, but it seems useless since I can already play most of the pieces in the piano repertoire and it's again too much work for nothing in return.

I sometimes feel that I have squandered my years of practice for nothing.

I suspect you and I share a problem - a problem of ineffective practice. I have failed to develop the right practice habits and so I sometimes have the tendency to just sit down at the piano and play through my repertoire over and over, sometimes progressively getting worse. I realized this and cut down on that kind of "practice" because that isn't practice. Here is a random video I found online that I thought had useful bits of advice about practice:

I took lessons with a concert pianist and university professor recently. Even he did not tell me how exactly to practice because he assumed I knew (as I have been playing for over 20 years now). I'm looking for a teacher now who can teach me this stuff starting at the beginning. I also intend to spend a couple of years perfecting my scales and arpeggios and also reading up on theory (I did do a theory course at my university, I now need to read the rest of the textbook). So the realization that it is ineffective practice methods that leads to frustration (due to inaccurate playing and seeing no real development despite time spent at the piano) has only motivated me more to seek the right kind of help.

So if you love the piano (which I assume you do) and if you feel like the above resonates with you, I highly recommend seeking out a GOOD teacher, preferably a concert pianist who has extensive teaching experience who can tell you effective practice strategies among other things (I know you said you already know how to polish a piece to performance standards but I suggest this because you also said you feel like you weren't getting any tangible benefits from practice). If you could play the Appassionata like that when you were in HS, then with only a little bit of guidance, you can be up and running again.

Also, write to your local hospitals and ask if you can play for visitors and patients occasionally. That will help you with performance focused practice and will help you have a goal that will make your efforts at the piano seem worthwhile. I just wrote to a couple of hospitals here.