Any early risers who practice first thing?

[bernadette60614]

When I simply "took lessons to play piano", I was fine with playing at the end of the day. I had no particular objective or long term goal in mind.

Now, I am "taking lessons to become a technically proficient and competent pianist", I find that my concentration flags at the end of the day.

I'm considering getting up earlier and doing my practice before the family begins to stir. Does anyone else do this?

[louispodesta]

When I simply "took lessons to play piano", I was fine with playing at the end of the day. I had no particular objective or long term goal in mind.

Now, I am "taking lessons to become a technically proficient and competent pianist", I find that my concentration flags at the end of the day.

I'm considering getting up earlier and doing my practice before the family begins to stir. Does anyone else do this?

When I was at North Texas, I used to get up at 4:00 AM, do yoga, and then ride my bicycle to the music building at 5:00 AM.  The janitor used to sneak me in because the music building did not open until 8:00 Am..

Then, I practiced from 5:00 AM until 11:00 AM when my first class began.

In your situation, I very seriously doubt that you will be allowed to practice at that early hour, unless you use headphones, which means you are playing on a digital.

If you are playing on an acoustic, then there is no way any normal human being in your household will want to listen to that, unless you have your own very acoustic studio.

If there are no restrictions, then practice no more than two hours because (unless you take a hot shower beforehand:  hint, hint!) your muscles, ligaments, and tendons will be cold and subject to injury.

Further, the mind is much clearer in the early morning.  Good luck to you and congratulations on your re-commitment to the serious study of this great instrument.

[brogers70]

My wife now sleeps happily through the first couple of hours of my piano practice. I find it much easier to concentrate first thing in the morning. On the other hand, I've heard that you learn the most from things you practice just before going to sleep.

[ajlongspiano]

I used to get up at five-thirty in the morning and practice Hanon until eight or nine. Good times...

Best,

AJ

[kawai_cs]

7 weeks before my recital I would get up 1.5 hour earlier every day to practice. My teacher was very surprised and asked me how I could play that early in the morning hahaha.
I had extra motivation to get up that early bc I started preparing for my recital too late. Now I miss that motivation so I get to practice in the morning only from time to time. But it is definitely a good idea to practice in the morning and it is the best time to memorize pieces. Keep it up if you can!

[outin]

I have never been an early riser before, but after I realized that there's no way I could efficiently learn new stuff after a long day at work I started to get up around 6 or even before just to be able to devote some time to practicing. It's definitely worth it. After the morning haze is gone from my brain even a short session is quite productive. And it ensures that I will practice at least a little every day even when my work days sometimes strech rather late into the evening.

[briansaddleback]

.

[hardy_practice]

Get yourself a clavichord.

[timothy42b]

I get up every morning at 0530 and after the usual cleanup chores (shave, brush and floss, etc.) play for 45 minutes and then off to work.

My body did not like doing this but it eventually accommodated.

Think about it, there are times when you must perform at those ungodly hours so you have to practice then too. 

[leemond2008]

Yep I do this all the time, I'm an early riser so I'm normally up at 5:30am, once I've got myself sorted and ready for work I often sit down for 20 or 30 minutes and practice.

I only work on things though, I rarely sit there and play through a piece I already know, I find that I am fresher for this in the morning before the events of the day bog my brain down if that makes sense.

[quantum]

I have a slight preference for late night practice, however I have also found early morning practice quite effective.  The common element, I have found is that practice is most fruitful during times of the day when most people are inactive, well at least for my own practice.  Having a distraction free environment is essential. 

[debussychopin]

I rise early to make a cup of coffee and practice about an hour and half before I have to get ready for work.

[bachchopin]

I practice after breakfast.

[huaidongxi]

for city dwellers the early a.m. is ideal because the general environment is at its quietest and calmest.  in a largish city the noises tend to start fairly early, so for me it means piano work around 0300-0400 before getting ready to retire.  improves my sleep/dreaming, and our cat has an opportunity to come inside if he doesn't want to do outdoors past dawn.