To take a break, or to push yourself to practise

[dontcheeseme]

How do you know if it's time to take a break (for a few days or so) or time to push yourself to practise a minimum time of n hours per day?

[bronnestam]

From experience I know that pushing yourself very seldom is a good idea. Ok, so I play just for my own pleasure, I am under no pressure to achieve something within a certain timeframe ... on the other hand, if I were, I would not have problems motivating myself either, hence no "pushing" would be needed.

Your joy and your inner drive is the main key to all your success and happiness as a pianist. If you kill it, you will be in trouble. But if you lose motivation and needs to take a break, maybe you should also consider WHY you feel like this.
Maybe you have worked too hard and really need this break - ok, simple, then just take that break until you feel hungry again.
Maybe it is something else, maybe you are playing because it is your mommy's wish, your need for approval, your fear of doing something else that will be a bigger challenge, an old dream you have outgrown a long time ago, or whatever.  Then you need to take a deep look into yourself.

Or maybe you have wrong practice routines. I know many who swear by the method of beginning every practice session with half an hour scales and finger exercises. This would never suit me.

Or maybe you play music you don't really like and/or you have a teacher who you don't like. This can also reduce your practice ambitions.

[bernadette60614]

Thanks for asking the question.

I took " break" when our son was home for the weeks between summer camp and the start of school of about 2 weeks.  I have a lesson in 9 days.  I find that I have lost about 50% of the progress I had made on two new pieces I was assigned.  So, now I'm basically starting from scratch because I didn't at least keep practicing the work I had done previously.

So, I have learned:  Taking a break doesn't have to mean not touching the keyboard.  I now know that taking a break can mean not working towards a goal, but at least keeping fresh the work I've already done.

I guess my answer then is:  What kind of break?  Not touching the keyboard, only practicing old pieces for me has proven to be something of a disaster.  I wish I would have at least sat down for 15 minutes a day and "refreshed" the new sections I had learned.

[louispodesta]

How do you know if it's time to take a break (for a few days or so) or time to push yourself to practise a minimum time of n hours per day?

As someone who used to practice hours and hours a day, I got smarter when I got older.  So, I will share with you my experience, for all it is worth.

1)  I do not know how old you are, but the muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons of the human body react different ways as they age.

2)  Chopin nor Hummel recommended that any student practice any more than two hours a day.  Dalis Franz of UT Austin, who was a student of a pianist whose first name was Rachmaninoff, stipulated that it was not possible to concentrate for more than two hours at a time. 

Accordingly, he urged all of his students to engage in all of the normal life activities that they could (as Chopin).

3)  And, please don't hand me any of this garbage about Cliburn's practice schedule at Juilliard or Fleisher marathon schedule in his early years.  Cliburn rarely practiced at all in his later years, and we all know how it has turned out for Senor Fleisher.

Therefore, per your age, and its associated body morphology, be sensitive to your own circumstance and follow your own practice schedule, accordingly.  In the long run, that is the only one that will work for you.

[ted]

Three weeks ago I cut a finger in such a way that playing was impractical and I had a week off while it healed. I could not remember having breaks of longer than one day at a time since I retired eight years ago. When I recommenced I was a bit rough for the first ten minutes but then began perceiving all sorts of new insights into the physical aspect. I have never "pushed myself" to play, it has always been pure pleasure, but in view of the experience I think I might try various  patterns of rest days and see what happens, as the improvements were very noticeable.

[flashyfingers]

Let us know how the rest helps you over a long period of time! Tell us your philosophy!

[crusader13]

from my experience, i usually stop playing because my hands get sore or i lose interest in the piece and cant find anything else to fill the void. usually i can 'push' myself to keep going if my hands get sore but when i lose interest in a piece after trying to get it right so many times and going through it equally as much it can take days to months for me to go back to practice again. sometimes if i cant find someone i want to play i will just compose something of my own liking.

right now im trying to learn a piano sonata, suite or one of faure's nocturnes before i turn 18. earlier i was working on schubert's 845 but the difficulty in tempo for the andante movement as it fluctuates a lot made me stop trying. idk if ill go back to practicing or not atm lmao. also in case anyone's wondering im 16 and have played since age 10.

this has also happened before when i tried to learn czerny's 9th piano sonata and a few miscellaneous clementi sonatas.

but yeah thats kind of how i see it here

[louispodesta]

How do you know if it's time to take a break (for a few days or so) or time to push yourself to practise a minimum time of n hours per day?

What the Taubman/Golandsky people don't tell you (but they know) is that there is nothing in their course curriculum that even mentions how many hours one should practice or references standard exercises, etudes, scales or arpeggios.  My gosh, these are the technique experts.

Accordingly:

1)  There are no muscles in your fingers, absolutely none.  They are comprised of bone, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage.  Therefore, if you don't practice, then there can be no atrophy in the muscles of your fingers because there "ain't" any.

2)  As an example, it has been well documented that Claudio Arrau never touched a piano during the summer months.  It obviously did not affect his playing.

3)  The muscles you do play the piano with lie mostly in your lower forearm.  However, it is very important to maintain and even "slowly" strengthen the ligaments and tendons that are in your fingers.

4)  That can be done with any common grip exercise, with a great deal of caution.  Personally, at the age of 65, I daily use my chest expander, which requires a strong grip, followed with quick release.

I hope this helps because in my case (my coach is Thomas Mark www.pianomap.com) even if I feel cold at the beginning of a practice session, especially Mozart, I just utilize my Rachmaninoff speed exercises.  Then, after a few minutes, I am up to speed.

Oops!  If want to find out how to do that, please search my prior posts on this specific technique or contact me by PM

Bottom line:  rest when your mind and body when they tell you to, and most of all:  structure your pianism in accordance with the laws of kinesiology, and not some stupid arcane daily practice routine.

[j_tour]

Bottom line:  rest when your mind and body when they tell you to, and most of all:  structure your pianism in accordance with the laws of kinesiology, and not some stupid arcane daily practice routine.

Well, that sounds like a bunch of bullshit, but I've found results consonant with actual experimental studies in exercise of self-control.

Basically, all studies show that self-control tasks -- the exemplum is still the good old Stroop Task -- is not only aided by, as you suggest, proper rest and glucose supply, but is, one might say, able to leap tall bounds.

In other words, exercise in self-control, hard as it may be, seems to correlate to tasks which employ similar faculties.

We know there aren't any "faculties" of the mind, but I'm trying to simplify the research in machine learning to something even a piano player can understand.

[irrational]

My teacher advocates a week or so of rest a few weeks before exams.
She calls it "Sinking in".
I find that it helps to see the music in a new light. I feel a small deterioration in playing, but 2 days of practice and its better than before.
I take 10 days or so off for our local Burning Man event annually and it is a very worthwhile rest.
Directly after exams I also take a week or so, listening and reading about the new works to learn, but not playing much. I think occasional rest is only beneficial and you'll know when it should be.