I tkonk I'm progressing too slowly

[mike71]

Hello all, this is my first post here, even if I've been lurking for some time. I'm a little bit over 40 and I stated learning piano a year and three month ago. I follow some lesson in a school, half an hour a week of piano practice and 45 minutes a week of solfege and ear training.
I try to make half an hour of practice at home every day.
The piano practice is mainly focused on Beyer 101, sometimes I got some other music exerises to learn.

The big problem I have is that I feel that my progress are too slow. After over a year I'm still halfway of the Beyer book (actually #52).  After half an hour I feel very little improvements that normally are half wiped the next day.

The question I have is the feeling that I'm progressing too slowly is real or not. And if I'm progrssing too slowly, how to speed up the learning curve. (Or deciding that the efforts aren't worth the results, but this is another question).

[bronnestam]

I toss in my standard reply  with tips to two useful resources:

https://www.practisingthepiano.com/
https://pianofundamentals.com/

There you have a lot of material to study, which will improve your learning a lot and give you a good perspective. Perhaps you are just too impatient, perhaps your learning technique could be improved - I don't know, but try these.

And yes, it is perfectly normal that your progress on Monday is 50 % wiped out on Tuesday. Or, that is how you feel sometimes. We all do, from time to time. Good luck!

[outin]

Where do you people get the patience to keep working on such exercises as the Beyer for lengthy times is beyond me...If my teacher made me do something like that instead of actual pieces from the beginning  I would have bursted (and quit the piano as well)!

After a year you could surely be playing some lovely music. Pieces up to grade 4 seem to be quite ok for most adult beginners with over a year of piano lessons. It's not about how fast you progress, but what kind of fullfilment you get out of your playing.

Besides it's pretty common to learn faster when one is really interested in the material, while something boring may seem impossible to learn even with plenty of regular practice.

[chopinlover01]

Are you not doing any... you know... ACTUAL MUSIC? 
If your teacher demands you stick to the exercise books after >a year, you may want to find a new one. If you're inclined to stay with him, purchase a copy of the Bach Two part inventions. They may be a little difficult, but they're quite lovely. You could also read through some Mozart sonatas and Haydn sonatas.
Overall, play some music. That's the cure.

[mike71]

Where do you people get the patience to keep working on such exercises as the Beyer for lengthy times is beyond me...If my teacher made me do something like that instead of actual pieces from the beginning  I would have bursted (and quit the piano as well)!

I've taken the Beyer book to give a rough estimate of my progress. I've got other easy pieces to study.

After a year you could surely be playing some lovely music. Pieces up to grade 4 seem to be quite ok for most adult beginners with over a year of piano lessons. It's not about how fast you progress, but what kind of fullfilment you get out of your playing.

Ok. I'm progressing too slowly. Progressing slowly makes impossible to me to play the interesting pieces. Hulk's "A lonely man" or "Fly me to the moon" are difficult, I've discovered.

Besides it's pretty common to learn faster when one is really interested in the material, while something boring may seem impossible to learn even with plenty of regular practice.

Hey, I've studied line integrals, I know what is boring! Beyer, at least the original version I'm using, isn't so boring.

[cwjalex]

i have no idea what the beyers books are but i think from the very beginning you should try to play music that you really like.  this will probably make you practice more.  to be honest, it sounds like you don't practice a whole lot.  you say that you "try to practice 30 minutes a day" which to me means that you practice at the maximum 30 minutes a day and quite often under that number.  

we have been playing the piano the same length of time but i have probably spent 8-10x the amount of time actually sitting down at the piano practicing.  i know i'm approaching the excessive practice time but i want to illustrate just how much that some people practice.  if you think you are progressing too slowly try upping your practice time to 45 minutes a day?

p.s. i also don't think you should shy away from those difficult pieces.  don't make them the only thing you are working on but don't dismiss them as out of your ability.  for me i think it is these pieces that are out of my ability that made me improve the fastest and also gave me the greatest satisfaction once i finally was able to play them.  i learned some pieces, like literally 1/5 of the speed.  even very difficult pieces are easy if you slow then down enough. 

[stoat_king]

Progressing slowly makes impossible to me to play the interesting pieces. Hulk's "A lonely man" or "Fly me to the moon" are difficult, I've discovered.

Hmm. I wonder if you have just picked the wrong music.
The sheet music I have for 'fly me to the moon' has left me underwhelmed. Imo its overly complicated and doesnt sound that great either.

I remember looking for 'easy to play' jazz standards years ago and settled on 'Unforgettable' and 'Stairway to the stars'. Obviously it depends on the arrangement, but if you have the same versions I have, you will find them easier and more enjoyable.

[bernadette60614]

First, it is nice to meet another adult student!

Second, I think as adults we have very high expectations of ourselves.  I'm proficient in my profession, and I find it very frustrating and demoralizing not to be proficient at the piano.  However, I think, based upon my experience, that starting an instrument at middle age presents more challenges than starting as a child.  I know I have ingrained habits of body and mind which I struggle with...my fingers aren't as flexible as they were when I was a kid, my mind tends to wander over my to do list when I should be working on a piece.

What has helped me is to preplan every practice session with the intent of working on specific tasks supporting goals. Right now I'm working on a Chopin Prelude, a Mozart Sonata and a Schubert Impromtu. At the close of each lesson, I ask my teacher what I should be working on during the forthcoming week and that is my priority A list.  I then play those sections of each piece first in my lesson, get an assignment regarding them or moving forward for the next week.

I think it is hard to feel you are making progress without some "map".  Perhaps asking your teacher to help design one each week would give you a feeling of forward motion.

[mike71]

First, it is nice to meet another adult student!

Thanks

Second, I think as adults we have very high expectations of ourselves.  I'm proficient in my profession, and I find it very frustrating and demoralizing not to be proficient at the piano.

This is how I feel and I'm glad I'm not alone ("Mal comune mezzo gaudio"). Having spent the years of my youth on the books, for me it is natural to study at a desk effectively. I am also an avid reader, so I can read and read and read.

However, I think, based upon my experience, that starting an instrument at middle age presents more challenges than starting as a child.  I know I have ingrained habits of body and mind which I struggle with...my fingers aren't as flexible as they were when I was a kid, my mind tends to wander over my to do list when I should be working on a piece.

I feel that another big problem is time. A child has a lot of free time and doesn't have long and tiring commuting every day. On the other hand as an adult I feel more motivated, because to learn piano is a decision I made ad I pay for the lessons. Because it's my decision, the possible outcomes are either to continue, or decide to stop.

I think it is hard to feel you are making progress without some "map".  Perhaps asking your teacher to help design one each week would give you a feeling of forward motion.

Use project management techniques in piano learning is absolutely useful. When you have a small task to complete in a week and smaller tasks every day you exactly feel that you're proceeding too slowly.

[aliasrick]

Well, I'm in my 40s a and progressing at more or less a grade a year, with 30-60 minutes practice each day and weekly lessons (during school terms). Grade 4 pieces after only 1 year? I wish!

Playing the piano is flippin' difficult. It requires physical as well as mental training. It takes time for your brain to build the connections and for your body to develop the muscles and control. How long that takes is going to vary. It's the difficulty that makes it worthwhile isn't it? If all you want to do is listen to a piano played well, buy a CD.

The best advice I've come across is that you never finish learning - there is no final destination at which point you can say "now I can enjoy being a pianist". You have to love the journey, because that's all there is.

[aliasrick]

Oh yes, and like some other have said, play some music you actually like which is pitched to your standard... I've found following a recognised syllabus like ABRSM, even if you don't do a exams, is very helpful as a structured approach to learning - the pieces at each grade are challenging but doable and as you go from grade to grade you get a clear sense of progression.

[outin]

Well, I'm in my 40s a and progressing at more or less a grade a year, with 30-60 minutes practice each day and weekly lessons (during school terms). Grade 4 pieces after only 1 year? I wish!

I'm sorry, I did not mean that one would necessarily be proficient in playing any piece labelled grade 4 after a year. But many do pick one or two more difficult pieces and learn them with a teacher. There are plenty of grade 4 pieces that don't require lot of technique. But it's clear that it also depends on the person and if he has some background in music before.

It's clear you (or your teacher) have chosen a linear way of learning, going by grades and aiming to "finish" one before going forward. It does not suit everyone, some people learn better in a seemingly random way, picking things up here and there and then at some point just jump onto a completely new level. If one feels very frustrated, one might benefit from trying another method.

[perfect_playing]

I'm sorry, I did not mean that one would necessarily be proficient in playing any piece labelled grade 4 after a year. But many do pick one or two more difficult pieces and learn them with a teacher. There are plenty of grade 4 pieces that don't require lot of technique. But it's clear that it also depends on the person and if he has some background in music before.

It's clear you (or your teacher) have chosen a linear way of learning, going by grades and aiming to "finish" one before going forward. It does not suit everyone, some people learn better in a seemingly random way, picking things up here and there and then at some point just jump onto a completely new level. If one feels very frustrated, one might benefit from trying another method.

I couldn't agree more with outin. I learn in a somewhat random way, not linear at all

[bernadette60614]

In addition, something I do is to write the date I start each piece...not to give myself a deadline, but because I can go back a year or two and see what I was playing.  Three years ago, I was doing 3 finger piano in a community music program.  Now, I'm working on a Chopin Prelude.  I'm not claiming to play this prelude (the 3rd), like a concert pianist, but it is nice for me to see that I've made progress.