Help :( I'm frustrated :(

[adritjulio]

Hi there.
Uhmm.. I'm new here, I am "AdriTJulio", I am 19. I like to play and practice piano as a hobbie. I started 2 years ago by self-teaching. I decided the "easy" way: learn with Synthesia, because when I tried to learn how to read but it was really hard for me or confusing and then I got easily bored.
In one year I learned some with Synthesia, and my fingers also improved. After that year I met a friend who plays piano, she takes piano lessons. She told me I really should learn how to read sheets.
So... I tried my best and started with easy songs and again got bored in 2 months. I can read though but i'm super slow. So after 6 months (I couldn't play in those 6 months) I decided to learn every piece with sheets, and I wanted an easy one: I started with "Nuvole Bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi, then "The heart asks pleasure first" by Michael Nyman. And then I wanted to try the, probably most famous, piece of Beethoven: "Für Elise". But I'm dissapointed, when I play it I always make mistakes eventhough I practiced a lot... I think it's lack of ability or I need a teacher to guide me. I don't know.

This is my attempt...

Now here I am, frustrated and attempting to learn Sonate K.331 3rd mov. "Turkish March" by Mozart. Almost finished; I'm now practicing the last section. But I cannot play properly these parts:




Please help any advice? I can play it slowly without mistakes but in tempo... it's so frustrating... I'm practicing and practicing 2h a day and still I can't
Should I try easier pieces? or the ones I like? I am willing to learn "The entertainer" by Joplin next.

Thank you so much.

[swagmaster420x]

i think you're really good for only having played one year. for the mozart, i would just focus really heard to remember the hand formation for the grace notes, and look carefully and again focus to play the octaves accurately. practice slowly, then try to play it smoothly.

[faulty_damper]

I'm watching the Fur Therese and I can immediately see the problem: you press down excessively to play.  This makes it difficult to play anything fast.  Learn to use the other parts of the body to play so that you aren't pressing down so much.

[hfmadopter]

Slow it down slightly especially for practice ( Fur Elise), it will come right together. When you feel the full control in your hands at the slower speed then pick it up. Also, don't go by Youtube videos too much, most there play it too fast anyway, everyone is in a rush. Look up Valentina Lisitsa Fur Elise, her tempo and expression is about where you want to be at once you are very sure of your playing it. You're doing quite well, don't fret over strongly about a slipped note here or there, it happens. Instead just make a mental note of it for the future.

[ignaceii]

I don't see a fingering. Make out for yourself which finger is for what.
Octaves here in particular are usual played 4th finger right hand, for comfort, if you can reach.

[adritjulio]

i think you're really good for only having played one year. for the mozart, i would just focus really heard to remember the hand formation for the grace notes, and look carefully and again focus to play the octaves accurately. practice slowly, then try to play it smoothly.

Oh, actually i've been playing for almost 3 years... uhmm, 1 year messing around with a little keyboard, 1 year with synthesia but not seriously, and like 7 months taking it seriously by reading sheets.
Oh ok, but the problem is I always practice slowly and then when I play it smoothly or at tempo I make mistakes. agghh, it's been a week and i can't see any improvements, I can play the right hand accurately but when it comes the left hand... I miss notes, I don't even know the fingering. Thank you I'll focus on that, I'll keep practicing hoping I can play it properly.

I'm watching the Fur Therese and I can immediately see the problem: you press down excessively to play.  This makes it difficult to play anything fast.  Learn to use the other parts of the body to play so that you aren't pressing down so much.

Sorry no one has told me yet how to properly sit or properly use the other parts of the body, how can I improve that?

Slow it down slightly especially for practice ( Fur Elise), it will come right together. When you feel the full control in your hands at the slower speed then pick it up. Also, don't go by Youtube videos too much, most there play it too fast anyway, everyone is in a rush. Look up Valentina Lisitsa Fur Elise, her tempo and expression is about where you want to be at once you are very sure of your playing it. You're doing quite well, don't fret over strongly about a slipped note here or there, it happens. Instead just make a mental note of it for the future.

Oh. Ok i'll slow it down, I didn't know they were so fast, I just followed the rhythm of this one

Aw. Yes, indeed Lisitsa's version is much beautiful and expressive. Thanks for the advice. ^_^

I don't see a fingering. Make out for yourself which finger is for what.
Octaves here in particular are usual played 4th finger right hand, for comfort, if you can reach.

Ah really? Yes I can reach but I'm not used to play octaves with 4th finger, how come is more comfortable? Should I play it with 4th finger? or whatever is more comfortable for me? Anyways I can play the right hand accurately by using 5th finger. I just have problems with left hand T_T

Thank you all so much for your advices.

[srharrison26]

Your Für Elise very good! You play mostly smoothly but then there may be some tough parts that may trip you up; just a little bit but this is no big problem! For a self-taught pianist this is very good, well done. The more you practice, the better you will play so continue to practice each day and you will find you will improve even more.

Now, the piece you seem to be struggling with looks quite advanced due to the amount of trills, grace notes and key changes included. Trills and grace notes are hard to play when the piece is at a fast tempo as they are quicker than a regular note and may be hard to fit in with the tempo.
Try taking each section, that you highlighted below, and each day, practice them. First, start slow to get your fingers used to the action of the trills and grace notes and each day, get faster and faster until you feel confident with fitting them in with the tempo.
When playing a piece for the first couple of times, getting the correct tempo should not be your main aim; getting used to how the piece or particular bar is played is what you strive to do, otherwise getting anything in the right tempo (especially fast) will be more difficult if you do not fully know the piece.
Keep practicing but get faster and faster and, soon, you should be able to play it more confident at a faster tempo; especially as you are self-taught it may take more time.
Good luck!
(And by the way, I have the same piano as you! Haha)