work over practise

[charlie9]

Hello
As I am in full time employment it has become more of a priority and my piano practise is not as good as it used to be. I have completed a grade 8 and diplcm in the past and I just wonder how to keep this up without a piano teacher as I keep thinking I am going to loose my technical ability that I have built up over the years but never the passion if all that makes sense.

[iansinclair]

Hello
As I am in full time employment it has become more of a priority and my piano practise is not as good as it used to be. I have completed a grade 8 and diplcm in the past and I just wonder how to keep this up without a piano teacher as I keep thinking I am going to loose my technical ability that I have built up over the years but never the passion if all that makes sense.

At least you have full time employment!

What I would suggest is that you take a good hard look at your current repertoire, and pick a few pieces from it you either really love or which you would like to work on more, and take an hour or so a day and work on them.  Shift them around from time to time, and maybe pick up something new from time to time.

Don't practice exercises or scales or that sort of thing, except for possibly two or three minutes right at the beginning to warm up a bit (and even that time would be better taken on something pleasant and easy and fun).

You will find that you don't lose your ability doing that, although it must be admitted that you probably won't advance that much either.  That will come later!

[charlie9]

Hi

Thanks for your response and reassurance as I am content to stay at the level I am at but in choosing pieces that will inspire me there will always be something extra in them that will add to my learning experience. I am going to get this new routine going and from experience it always takes time and patience when learning new pieces.

[louispodesta]

Hello
As I am in full time employment it has become more of a priority and my piano practise is not as good as it used to be. I have completed a grade 8 and diplcm in the past and I just wonder how to keep this up without a piano teacher as I keep thinking I am going to loose my technical ability that I have built up over the years but never the passion if all that makes sense.

Having been in the same situation for far longer than you have, even involving the abuses of alcohol, I came to the realization that the piano was more important to me.

So, when you finally decide what that means "to you," then you will resolve your problem.

[Bob]

Might be a partial solution... Do practicing first in the day or as soon as you're done with work (but things will come up...).  If you wake up earlier, you can squeeze in practicing when you're a little more fresh.  Be tired at work then, not piano practice.

[outin]

I've never been a morning person, but still for learning the best time to practice is in the morning before work. Even if this means I have to get up half an hour earlier. After 10 minutes or so the fog clears out of my brain and things get really productive. Of course this depends on one's work, but mine tends to drain out most of my brain power...

[bronnestam]

If your full-time job involves commuting time, then you have a great opportunity to do some piano studies while travelling.
You can record your practice sessions and spend time listening and evaluating them while travelling. Or, if you have the opportunity, you can do all the theoretical work that belong to piano studies - memorizing, analyzing ...Learn to practice mentally - this gives you the opportunity to practice a lot during the day even though you are not at the piano. (I assure you this works fine, even though it is a skill to learn.)


Then you will probably still have the time to practice at least one hour a day at the piano, and don't worry, this will keep your technique in perfect shape if you plan this practice carefully. You may have less time for "leisure and pleasure playing", though. Leave that for the weekends.
If you have small children you will have a minimum of time but comfort yourself with the thought that this too will pass ...
If you don't have any children then you have no reason to complain. You have plenty of time! 

If you live by yourself then simplify your living as much as possible. A home with few belongings is easy to clean and maintain, which will also give you lots of time for practicing instead.
Oh, and don't forget to throw your TV out and cut down on computer time. The trick is to spend as much time as possible on activities that matter to you, and literally get rid of those activities/things that don't matter ... 

[j_menz]

Maintaining your standard is actually pretty easy. Not much work, long breaks, all fine. Just the occasional dip in to get things back up to standard will work fine.  Don't sweat it, and enjoy life. Enjoy your piano as well. In balance.

[charlie9]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, it's good to know that the level I am at can be maintained and improved over time.

[louispodesta]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, it's good to know that the level I am at can be maintained and improved over time.

I have had to overcome and continue to overcome immense obstacles to maintain the level of my fine art.  And for others who have had to do the same, Sir, is not only a big deal, it is THE DEAL!

You are not learning how to cook or bake cakes, you are learning one of the highest spiritual fine arts forms ever created.  Please treat it accordingly.  Otherwise, the results, or lack thereof, will show themselves.

I tried it your way for decades, and it got me nowhere.  Please do not make the same mistake.

[amytsuda]

Can you still manage to find a teacher who may be willing to teach you in the evening or during the weekend?

I am also one of those adult amateurs who have more than full-time work. I stopped piano for 25 years, and then, 4 years ago, I started picking it up again. I normally practice during the weekend as much as I can, but I travel a lot, so it's been challenging to find time to practice. But last year and half, I finally had a courage to work with a teacher. It helped me improve drastically actually. I never had a real piano teacher in my life and I mostly taught myself so I had no idea what they can do for me. They CAN do a lot.

Only issue is that they are not used to teaching people like me who can come to a lesson only once a month or at very odd timing. To be honest, I kind of got fired by the first teacher, who'd rather teach committed kids who come every week or even more often, and now I am with the second teacher. But I tell myself that I am hiring them and paying them so I will simply just find the one who takes my money and teaches me. Since you are already quite advanced, you will gain a lot from a good teacher. Of course, I live in a big city with tons of good teachers, so that may not apply to you.

[Bob]

Only issue is that they are not used to teaching people like me who can come to a lesson only once a month or at very odd timing. To be honest, I kind of got fired by the first teacher, who'd rather teach committed kids who come every week or even more often, and now I am with the second teacher. But I tell myself that I am hiring them and paying them so I will simply just find the one who takes my money and teaches me. Since you are already quite advanced, you will gain a lot from a good teacher. Of course, I live in a big city with tons of good teachers, so that may not apply to you.

I think there's something to this.  Teach yourself.  Hire someone to give your some advice now and then.  That can save time.

If it were me, I'd look more for advice and direction, rather than specifics on pieces.  A lot people I've seen are preparing for something, and want information on the exactness of the pieces they're playing at that moment.

Still on that idea though, I wouldn't mind specifics on the style for anything I'm playing.  Learn the style for something, carry it to the next piece.

[bronnestam]

I don't see my teacher more often than once a month. On the other hand, our lessons are never shorter than one hour. I have an irregular schedule as I'm a freelancer, and some weeks I don't have much time/energy to practice, and other weeks I have better opportunities, so lessons once a week does not suit me at all! Besides, I have to drive one hour before I get there. And afterwards one hour back ...

When I was a teenage pupil I had 20 minutes of lesson every Monday afternoon and there I played last week's assignment and got a new assignment ... or the same assignment again, depending on how much I had practiced ... I got many repeated assignments. Or "back assignment" as we call it in Sweden. They are to be regarded as punishments, you are supposed to feel bad when you get them, because that means you have been a bad and lazy girl, not doing your assignment. Now, everyone, do you think this is a wise approach in general? And do you think that I, now a middle-aged woman who pays a lot for these lessons, would accept it?
Of course not, and my teacher is not stupid either. She asks me what I want to work with and I tell her. Sometimes she has prepared exercises or even suggests pieces for me. We spend quite a lot of time addressing some issues I have with technique and ergonomy. But I am the one who decides what to do, and when to do. I e-mail her and say "I think it's time for a lesson now" and so we make our appointments. I love my lessons!

Looking back to my school years, I really wish I could have got one hour every third week instead of 20 minutes every week.

[louispodesta]

I don't see my teacher more often than once a month. On the other hand, our lessons are never shorter than one hour. I have an irregular schedule as I'm a freelancer, and some weeks I don't have much time/energy to practice, and other weeks I have better opportunities, so lessons once a week does not suit me at all! Besides, I have to drive one hour before I get there. And afterwards one hour back ...
Now, everyone, do you think this is a wise approach in general? And do you think that I, now a middle-aged woman who pays a lot for these lessons, would accept it?
Of course not, and my teacher is not stupid either. She asks me what I want to work with and I tell her. Sometimes she has prepared exercises or even suggests pieces for me. We spend quite a lot of time addressing some issues I have with technique and ergonomy. But I am the one who decides what to do, and when to do. I e-mail her and say "I think it's time for a lesson now" and so we make our appointments. I love my lessons!

When, I was in my 20's, I used to have lessons about every three months.  They went on for three hours, with a 15 minute break in between.  And, this went on for 15 years.

What did I learn?  I learned how to practice, and how to produce a singing tone.  These are two things that 99% of the pianists on this planet don't know how to do because they have not been taught properly.

The point is that whatever your desires for the future, you have to have specific musical goals that you wish to attain.  Otherwise, all of the massaging in the world, in terms of time schedules, will all be for naught.

And, for the record, my mother would not allow me practice in the house when she was there, so I would have to take the city bus at night down to my college teachers studio.  It was after hours so the janitor would have to sneak me in.  After I was finished, in that I didn't want to wait another hour to take the bus back, I would hitch-hike back home.

Like I said - specific musical goals.