Suffer from extreme cumpulsive dissorder when picking repertoire.

[torandrekongelf]

Hi there.

I have a real big issue on my mind and I was wondering if you could help knock some sense into my head. I am also interested if anyone suffer from the same thing.

I simply cannot choose what pieces to pick. Something in me tells me that when I approach a composer like f.eks Haydn and I want to play his 34th sonata. I cannot do this before I have played the 33 previous ones. Same with Mozart. I cannot play his K13 piece before I started at K1. With Beethoven I cannot play his Opus pieces before I played all his Woo pieces and then I can start at Opus 1 and go up from there.

Now, I wish I could just ignore this sillyness and think "I just play whatever I want" but I simply can't. I was working on the Pathetique for some weeks and right as I was suppose to finish of the 1st movement it felt so undeserved. I felt I was doing something wrong because I had not played every other keyboard piece up to Opus. 13.

Now, I want to play everything Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven made ofc. Which is an extreme huge task. However I can sight read almost everything they wrote at half tempo. Easiest pieces at full tempo and I just want to learn them at full speed and enjoy playing them. I don't plan to perform anything in public. Just do own recordings.

The benefit of playing things chronologically is that its often so that when doing this, you play easier pieces first, then pieces get more and more difficult. The only difficult pieces in my opinion from Beethoven WoO catalogue is the C Minor Variations.

So, how do you get around strange ideas on what pieces to pick if you have any? Sorry for long post and thanks for help.

[visitor]

the order of publication or opus number is not the order or chronological arrangement of composition so there you go problem solved no need to follow the opus , many times I can be correlated to be appromoxate but it's not a hard fast rule.also some pieces in later opposes are actually reworked early pieces that never got published or got incorporated into larger works .
just play whatever you want.

[torandrekongelf]

the order of publication or opus number is not the order or chronological arrangement of composition so there you go problem solved no need to follow the opus , many times I can be correlated to be appromoxate but it's not a hard fast rule.also some pieces in later opposes are actually reworked early pieces that never got published or got incorporated into larger works .
just play whatever you want.

Thanks and yes thats a good argument. No matter what system I try to follow, I will get it wrong anyway because any system if its chronology, type of work (variations/bagatelle/dances/sonatas) I will get it wrong anyway. So there is no point to it.

[brogers70]

If you really like to follow an order, perhaps you can create your own and ignore the opus numbers. So order the Beethoven Sonatas in the order in which would like to learn them; easiest to hardest, most appealing to least appealing, or whatever interests you. Then write down that order, maybe even keep it on a spread sheet. Then do the same for other composers you like. Then tell yourself you'll do one Beethoven, then one Bach, then one Brahms, or whatever, in order from your lists. Make it as disciplined and systematic as whatever OCD you have tells you to. Just don't base it on Opus number. This way you'll en up doing pretty much what you find most interesting, but you'll do it in a organized, systematic way that you find natural.

[torandrekongelf]

Thats a really good idea. That might help. I will get on with it at work tomorrow evening.

Also, I do have aspergers and I autistic people have a tendency to be obsessed with order, grouping things up in different categories. Probably plays into this as well.

[fftransform]

A cumpulsive disorder?  We don't call it a disorder, any more; that's very old thinking.  Just be out and proud!

[quantum]

How about giving yourself permission to change your mind.  Set an order as brogers70, suggests above.  If when you come to an item in your list, you don't agree with it, change your mind and reorder your list.  It is still a list, it still satisfies your requirement of order, it gives you the flexibility to explore the repertoire without being locked into preset conditions.  


Put it this way, if you wanted to study Bach according to BWV, you would have to learn the cantatas, motets, masses, oratorios, chorales, and organ works before you started on the keyboard compositions (what in modern day we think of as the "piano" works).  

But by all means if you wanted to learn how to sing and play the organ, there is nothing objectionable about that.  

[torandrekongelf]

How about giving yourself permission to change your mind.  Set an order as brogers70, suggests above.  If when you come to an item in your list, you don't agree with it, change your mind and reorder your list.  It is still a list, it still satisfies your requirement of order, it gives you the flexibility to explore the repertoire without being locked into preset conditions.  


Put it this way, if you wanted to study Bach according to BWV, you would have to learn the cantatas, motets, masses, oratorios, chorales, and organ works before you started on the keyboard compositions (what in modern day we think of as the "piano" works).  

But by all means if you wanted to learn how to sing and play the organ, there is nothing objectionable about that.  

Good suggestion. Of course, when it comes to Back. I will only do the 772-994 stuff! I am actually able to free myself enough for that.

[klavieronin]

A cumpulsive disorder?  We don't call it a disorder, any more; that's very old thinking.  Just be out and proud!

Unless it's a compulsion that begins to interfere with other areas of ones life. Then it would be considered a disorder and time to consider getting help. Believe it or not, obsessive compulsive disorders can be fatal.

[beethovenfan01]

A cumpulsive disorder?  We don't call it a disorder, any more; that's very old thinking.  Just be out and proud!

YES!!!!! 

[fftransform]

Unless it's a compulsion that begins to interfere with other areas of ones life. Then it would be considered a disorder and time to consider getting help. Believe it or not, obsessive compulsive disorders can be fatal.

I see nothing about "compulsion."

[klavieronin]

I see nothing about "compulsion."

Well, I don't know how it's spelled where you come from but "compulsion" is the correct spelling where I live.

[fftransform]

Well, I don't know how it's spelled where you come from but "compulsion" is the correct spelling where I live.

Ok, halfway there.  Now look at the title of the thread, jokekiller.

[klavieronin]

Aaaah, it was a joke. I get it.

[stevensk]

Thats in fact a very good idea!
Lots of pianoguys go from "Fur elise" direct to "La campanella" (or plan B, "Op 10 no 1")

[cuberdrift]

I am curious , are you really diagnosed with obsessive compulaive disorder (OCD)? I would say that I've somewhat of a mild version of it.