Analysis Paralysis Anyone?

[tzachquiel]

Hi everyone,

I've been playing piano since around high school (now a grad student at college), but I've never gotten really serious about it. I had a teacher for the first three years, but then college happened and I didn't have time, so I stopped taking lessons. I still played, but in a directionless manner where I didn't progress or seriously practice anything. I have barely learned any new pieces in the last four years, except maybe a page or so from a dozen pieces way beyond my level that I just played because I like them, like Prokofiev's Toccata or Balakirev's Islamey. The last pieces I was working on before I stopped taking lessons were Debussy's Claire de Lune and Arabesque No. 1, Bach's Invention in d minor, and Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu, all of which I learned in their entirety and then forgot over time. I can only play the first half of each of those now.

Recently in grad school, I have found myself with a paradoxically huge amount of free time. I have time to devote two or three hours to piano a day, and I've been researching the best methods to progress and playing new pieces like Heller's Op. 47 and Beethoven's Op. 49 No. 2. However, my researching is part of the problem, because I'm the kind of person who gets discouraged and loses motivation if I'm not doing something in the most optimal way.

Right now my tentative plan is to work through Bach, starting with his inventions and sinfonias and progressing on to the Well-Tempered Clavier. In addition to this, I want to work through Beethoven's Sonatas. I also want to work through the progression of romantic repertoire that Hans von Bülow listed in his preface to Cramer's studies, because it includes some of my favorite composers (Heller, Chopin, Liszt, and most especially Alkan), and it aligns very nicely with my need for structure and reassurance that I'm working in a progressive manner. Finally, I will devote one practice session (assuming I'm using Bernhard's practice method) for other pieces I enjoy including Satie, Alkan's easier Preludes and Esquisses, etc.

von Bülow's list, which I got from psearpianist(dot)blogspot(dot)com/2013/11/hans-von-bulows-preface-to-his-edition.html basically is the following;

• Stage One: Schmitt's Op. 16 Preperatory Exercises, and Heller's Op. 47
• Stage Two: Cramer's Studies, Heller's Op. 46 and 45, Czerny's Daily Studies and School of Legato and Staccato, and Kunz's 200 Canons
• Stage Three: Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, Moscheles's Op. 70, and Kullak's School of Octave Playing
• Stage Four: Henselt's Op. 2, Haberbier's Etudes-Poesies, Moscheles's Op. 95
• Stage Five: Chopin Etudes and the more difficult Preludes
• Stage Six: Liszt's Paganini Etudes, Concert Etudes, and Transcendental Etudes
• Stage Seven: Alkan Etudes

I have switched around the order of the Heller pieces based on the recommendations of posts on this forum.

I've decided on this plan after months of grueling research all over the internet, but I still don't feel fully committed to it because I'm worried that it's still not the best thing for me to be doing with my practice time.

How many pieces from each of the collections (i.e. by Heller) should I play before moving on to the next one? All of them? Half of them? Just enough until I get bored?

If I use Bernhard's method of practicing, which I have already used to great effect to learn Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 and Bach's Invention in C, then that gives me around one or two 20-minute sessions per piece per day. That seems like it will take me forever to get anywhere. I know it's going to take a long time to get up to Chopin or Alkan Etudes no matter what way I go about it, but it's discouraging to only finish a piece every two weeks. I know that the Heller studies in the beginning will be a breeze if I just focus on them, but I still feel like I've put too much between now and Chopin. It also feels like practicing three or four pieces at a time will discourage me further by making it take longer to finish any one piece.

Basically I guess what I'm asking for is reassurance. Is this a good plan for someone who loves Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Alkan and wants to be able to play their virtuoso pieces?

Sorry for the wall of text, and thanks in advance.