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[tibble]

I don't think that all of the frustration my time at the piano causes is healthy.

Surely not.  But the problem is your frustration, not your ability.  If you have to take some time off in order to relax, do it.  If you even have to say you're quitting, fine.  Working on some easier pieces is great.  But above all, don't let the piano become your adversary.

Also, do you improvise/explore at all?  This is a fun way to stay acquainted with your playing without a lot of pressure.  And, it helps you learn to bring out the music in whatever you play, which, if you're paying attention, can also suggest proper technique.

Good luck!  I "quit" several times myself before accepting that my motivation just ebbs and flows over the years.  However, the musical skill - the appreciation and understanding - only grows, and that's the part that really counts.

[pocorina]

Please do not quit. Okay, let me talk from experience.

I gave up the oboe and the violin because I didn't have the courage to struggle through when all I was thinking was "I'M CRAP"! I regret giving up the violin so much, but now it's too late, as I cannot ever see my teacher again.

However, I re-started the oboe because I want to make a go of a musical career properly, and not just with my beloved piano. You would not believe the number of times I have told everyone I am going to give up the piano because sometimes I think it's like flogging a dead horse. I have been through phases where somebody listening to me would NEVER guess I'm a pianist-for-real, but then I drag myself right through it again and I'm glad.

I just keep bouncing back. DO THE SAME! take my word for it. Find some pieces you like, which are not too hard, and learn them. Once you learn them, it will get your confidence up again, and then you can build it back up. Re-adjust your attitudes and find your talent again. Please do this for me

Best of luck

[lfischer]

First drawback of being agnostic that I've noticed 
I'm not going to barge into a church I never before visited and ask to use their piano. Seems rude to me.

Hey I did just that actually. Little church near me with an amazing Steinway model C that never gets used, its also got a very large (and unused) organ. Chuch acoustics are often very good for piano playing. I feard that old ladies might come in and then listen and make me self-conscious about my playing. It never actually happened though, and the Church people were delighted to have somebody using the instruments.
I'm just about as atheist as they come, but I'm not sure if the Church people know that. 

If you do give up, then don't give up on any other instruments you play. I gave up the violin which was my main musical interest, and I have some regret, but as a result I ended up focussing more on my piano, which I believe I am more suited to. I can't do minor seconds any more on the violin  Hehe I can get 13ths on the piano!
I give up the piano every couple of weeks, but then I realise I have to keep going, because otherwise theres not much else for me to say that I "do" when meeting new people... 

[tomclear]

 More on the giving up theme (a variation, actually):

  A young fellow I know played piano and French horn; by high school he
was the state champion in both.
 He went to a new piano teacher, after his teacher stopped teaching. She
listened to him play for awhile, then advised him to give up!
 His technique, his habits, were all wrong, she said; he'd never be a classical
pianist.
 Well, he listened to this idiot. He gave up on classical piano, will play "only"
jazz, and went to Juillard for French horn.
 Isn't that outrageously stupid?

[timothy42b]

Just want to point out that there is a piano mindset that is unique, and not shared by other instruments.

This person does not appear to share the forum mindset consensus, so I'll just point some things that apply to other instruments.

Millions of people play guitar well enough to gig.  They are almost all selftaught.  Very few people ever get good at piano or trombone despite lessons.  Why the difference?  Mostly, practice in real time.  (IRT) Partly, lots of practice, some confidence that it is possible, and hefty motivation.  When you play in a band, you practice because you have to;  and if you play in a rock band, you get lots of chicks. 

I have observed quite a number of adults who either start trombone at an advanced age, or return to it after a couple of decades off raising kids, starting a career, etc.  Some succeed.  Some get frustrated and quit.  The difference is just one factor.  The ones that succed join a community band right away, practice and improve, join a better band, etc.  The ones that fail are the ones that are going to join a band just as soon as they get good enough.  They never do. 

[Dazzer]

I want to quit to... - sigh - life is sh*t...

[pocorina]

Oh yeah, I have another story like that one. This dude called (name anonymous) started piano lessons with my teacher when she was about grade 5. Her previous teacher told her she was an absoloutely useless musician, said her timing and aural perception were crap and that she had NO HOPE!

Now she is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire and is a successfull concert pianist. Which proves: a) people can be wrong, and b) my teacher is a genius.

I didn't reveal her name incase someone here knows her, and this is her "secret past" which she does not want anyone to know about, as it might jeapordize her career.

thankyou for listening 

[pies]

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[ryno200sx]

             
I am a beginner (I've been playing for a under a year) and I constantly have to find ways to keep myself motivated to play the piano. I find myself wishing I had started sooner (I'm 27 years old) and I get discouraged alot.

I feel this way everyday. I listen to bunch of piano mp3s, build up inspiration, and a few minutes into playing it all disintegrates.

 
I go through this all the time. I listen to a piece/song and then I get the sheet music. While I'm looking at the sheet music I say to myself-"I can play this". Then I get to the piano and it doesn't happen for me. I put the sheet music away somewhere and go back to my "First lessons in Bach" book to take on pieces more suitable for my skill level.

I'll do anything to stay motivated. I constantly search the web for new and better ways to do things, different approaches, etc. There are computer programs and web applications to help you learn everything from theory to sight reading. I suck up information like a sponge. I archive it and print it. I carry the information, tips and sheet music EVERYWHERE I go. When I found this website I felt like I hit the piano jackpot The wealth of knowledge available here is simply staggering. I purchased the Richmann Super Sight Reading Book to help me cultivate that skill, a Roedy Black Chord Poster to help me learn chords and all of their inversions. I go out of my way to meet and talk to people who play the piano. I have met many people this way, some of them have been very helpful and gave me tips, some didn't.

Have you viewed these threads?

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7008.0.html
Beautiful Music that is easy to play

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4238.msg39061.html#msg39061
Easy Show Off Pieces

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7872.0.html
Developing a 5 year plan

https://members.aol.com/chang8828/contents.htm
C.C. Chang's Free Book dedicated to Piano Practice methods

These are just a few of the many excellent threads I have found in the 1 month I have been visiting this site. I've been proactively going after the pieces I learned about in the above threads. I have also began to construct a long term plan. I can't wait until I can conquer advanced pieces like Liszt's Consolation No. 3, Debussy's Reverie and the like. My goal is not to become a concert pianist. I just want to play beautiful music. I want to make someone smile. I want to play a song for a pretty girl. Armed with all this knowledge I feel like there is no way I can fail at that.

I guess my point is I hope you have truly exhausted all possibilities and sources of inspiration and knowledge before you call it quits. If not you are selling yourself way short.
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[fred smalls]

Reading this thread gives me a false sense of hope.

You know what? If you are soo negative, and everyone here is trying to help you, but you don't listen. I don't care if you quit, it's probably better for everyone here that you do! Is that what you want to hear?

Your Welcome

[pianomann1984]

bach partita no. 6 bwv 830 - only the courante/corrente
rach - rhapsody on a theme of paganini var. 18 op. ?
rach - prelude in c# minor op. 3 no. 2
scarlatti - piano sonata k. 27

Is it me or are these pieces pretty tough?  The Rach's are very difficult for starters (I don't play them and have been studying and performing at a high level for 14 years!).  Don't quit...just re-evaluate and try try again.  When I was 15, I can remember spending hours in music stores getting music scores that looked amazing.  I couldn't play them, so I shelved them and now I am coming back to them with ease!  I am impressed that you have this much knowledge of the repertoire at this early stage.  Try some Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata or 2nd mvnt of the Pathetique.  Rachmaninoff is a dangerous composer to deal with becuase good performances make ot all sound so easy.  Just remember you are not alone.  As many here may already know, I have been Studying the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto for a performance that is happening in a couple of weeks now.  I nearly quitted so many times.  It drove me to such distraction that I nearly quit and even contemplated taking an overdose.  My teacher, close friends and family were instrumental in getting me through this and now I am looking forward to a pretty good performance!  Now I'm not saying you need to think about suicide to get through this!  But tell me something...do you feel that your piano sucks because people tell you it does, or because you are unhappy with the results yourself?  If people tell you you suck, its because they are jealous - those types of people are not healthy to be around.  If you, yourself are unhappy with it, then it is a fair indication that you have the potential to do well because you want to be motivated to do better.

Give it some thought and try again.