Hi
i was playing the piano between the ages of 7 and 13, i had weekly 1 hour lessons and 3 1 hour practice session per week.
before i quit i played pieces like beethoven's fur elise, bach's invention no.1 and invention no.8, and clementi's sonatinas op.36 no.3 and op.36 no.6, and obviously i also practiced scales and arppegios, but i was never a good sight reader (always had to count the notes, and eventually played my pieces from memory), i prepared a piece or 2 for a concert during a semester and after the concert i forgot the piece as i no longer played it.
i found some recordings of me playing back then:
here is fur elise, played about 6 months before i quit:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8yjg7npiouq7m70/fur_elise.m4a?dl=0and the first movement of clementi's sonatina in c major op.36 no.3:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m3zquft4rd1ah75/sonatina_c_major.m4a?dl=0well, according to how that sounds i guess i was quite bad when i quit, i played way too slow , and i made some very noticeable mistakes.
i quit 5 years ago, and i want to get back to playing, this time i am motivated, and i am willing to commit, putting at least 2 hours of practice every day.
i have a few goals i would love to reach, i sorted them here to short-term, mid-term and long-term
goals:
my short term goals are:
1)getting back to the level of playing i was at when i quit
2)learn to sight read and be able to read the piano part of songs from piano/vocal selection books of broadway and west-end musicals.
my mid term goals are:
1)learn more new pieces and improve my technique, specifically getting to a level in which i can study grade 8 pieces in a few weeks
2)be able to sight read the piano accompaniement from vocal scores of operas and to accompany opera singers on the piano.
my long term goals are:
1)to learn to play lisz't transcription of Danza sacra e duetto finale from Aida, which i fell in love with.
2)improve my sight reading skills and to be able to sight read more complex pieces.
3)to become the best pianist i can (this might sound i want to be a professional pianist, but no, i just love being the best i can in everything i do)
my questions are:
1)according to the information i gave you above, during the 6 years i played piano before i quit, how was the progress i made compared to the avarage student, both with the same practicing schedule as me and with a normal practice schedule for that age (practice 30 minutes or 1 hour every day)?
2)could my practice schedule have any impact on my progress (for example, could practicing 30 minutes every day, or even 1 hour every day, instead of 1 hour every other day make my progress any faster or slower)?
3)what level did i reach? was i still a beginner when i quit, an early intermediate,a late intermediate, etc.?
4)will the progress i made have any effect when i come back to the piano, or will it be meaningless?
5)assuming i will have a good teacher and practice at least 2 hours a day, how long will it take me to reach each one of these goals, if they are even possible to reach for me?
6)are there any nice pieces that will help me get back to where i was and make progress from there?
and last but not least, if you have any advice to share with me, i would love to read it.
thanks!