no piano for a week, suggestions??

[rdf_mx1]

Hi,

My digital piano (which is my main practice keyboard) is now in repair after 9 years or so. A couple of keys around middle C were heavier than the rest so it was not good for dynamics, phrasing etc,because the drop was far from smooth. I do like the keyboard because it feels like a real piano.

Unfortunately i don't have an acoustic so i would love to listen to your ideas on how to use practice time (around 3 hrs per day)  when there's no piano avaiable. Should i do some sight singing perhaps? I have a couple of synth keyboards but i don't really like to practice on light keys since i was working mostly on improving my technique.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[dcstudio]

THINGS TO DO WHILE YOUR PIANO IS GONE...

study your theory
pick up a piece you play and analyze it with Roman Numeral analysis
sight singing is great...  also pick a melody you know by ear...and figure out the pitches
without listening to it first
listen to something on the radio and take rhythmic dictation
listen to something and take harmonic dictation
listen to something and take melodic dictation
read your music and clap the rhythms.. sing the melody in solfeg
pretend you are at your piano and play your piece in your mind "feeling" it under your fingers as you do.
learn all the modes
write out all the pure minor scales, harmonic, melodic

spend an hour a day listening to piano music you have never heard...

pick a composer and listen to his complete works

compose something by just writing the notes on the page without much thought--then see if you can play it when you get your piano back.

study a new piece--analyze the chord progression--clap the rhythm--sing the melody and practice by simply looking at the music and feeling (and hearing it!) it go by... then when you get your piano back see how well you can play it.

that should give you a start...lol

ps--though you should scale it back a bit when you get your piano back...  you might want to permanently add some of these suggestions to you routine...  they work just as well when you have your piano

[rdf_mx1]

This are great ideas! I will definitely try to study some unknown pieces and see what happens when i get my piano back! I rarely begin new music away from the piano so it should be fun. Plenty of listening/dictation to do as well. This should keep me busy for the week! Thank you very much sir!

[dcstudio]

that's ma'am...  but you're most welcome. 

I think you will be quite surprised at how much you can improve without practicing..lol.  Just don't make a habit of it...

if you have the attitude that this is a good thing and you are in actuality studying and practicing.  If you really make the effort to improve your understanding of theory-- then you can actually have one of those "epiphany" type experiences where you suddenly just get better...

[rdf_mx1]

Sorry about that!

I will certainly try to see this unfortunate event as a good thing and perhaps aim to develop my musicianship without depending that much on the piano, by using most of your suggestion. I've had those eureka moments before and it's really fulfilling so yeah, it's worth it.

Thanks again ma'am for the advice and motivation! 

[brogers70]

Take a week completely off. Watch movies, read a good novel. Don't think about music at all. Then when you get back to it, you'll be surprised how much progress you've made just by letting your brain consolidate all that you've been doing. It's amazing to me how an occasional bout of not practicing can make me improve.

[liszt1022]

Take a week completely off. Watch movies, read a good novel. Don't think about music at all. Then when you get back to it, you'll be surprised how much progress you've made just by letting your brain consolidate all that you've been doing. It's amazing to me how an occasional bout of not practicing can make me improve.

Do things that aren't about piano. I have like 4 backup hobbies.

[dcstudio]

Take a week completely off. Watch movies, read a good novel. Don't think about music at all. Then when you get back to it, you'll be surprised how much progress you've made just by letting your brain consolidate all that you've been doing. It's amazing to me how an occasional bout of not practicing can make me improve.

This is also a VERY acceptable alternative to my list...   and it has it's benefits as well especially if you are an obsessive player....

read Stephen King novels
take a walk
go swimming
take up watercolor painting
go to a museum
have a night or two out on the town with your buddies
go to a play
go to an amusement park


so much stuff you can do that is not piano related...  and sometimes you really have to take a break and let everything... calibrate... 

your mind will still work on your music without you really thinking about it at all...

if you have white skin because you never go outside, and circles under your eyes from straining to read notation...stiff neck, stiff back, sore hands...

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING A BREAK

and enjoying yourself...

[rdf_mx1]

I guess i am a bit obsessive so i'll try to take a couple of days off I do have a telescope around somewhere, so, yeah. Perhaps i'll listen to Holst's planets or something

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

[dcstudio]

I guess i am a bit obsessive so i'll try to take a couple of days off I do have a telescope around somewhere, so, yeah. Perhaps i'll listen to Holst's planets or something

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

you can't go wrong with the Planets...  loved Jupiter since they used it in The Right Stuff and Conan the Barbarian when I was just a wee little piano player.   Later I discovered the rest...awesome stuff.