Piano Forum

Some of the Bach inventions don't feel the most comfortable to play so don't feel too bad. They were written more for composition in mind so you may find other works of his much more "pianistic". Also sometimes revealing "what we didn't know we didn't know" can make our progress seem meagre since you have a better understanding of the larger picture. I find that overthinking a situation can sometimes however stunt ones progress or aspirations, putting mental barrier up etc.

As an adult we can be more aware of what need improving throughout the process of study where as child generally they are are just doing what currently works for them letting it evolve more organically and not being overly concerned about perfection in an adults sense. Some kids I teach are proud if they hit all the right notes with some expression here and there, that is good enough for them, we of course aim to heighten their sense of what perfection is but indeed their initial attitude can be helpful,have lower expectations as it allows more and more musical experience without being overly tied down with complete mastery.

Adults generally work well when they form a strategy to improve and work with a plan in mind. This can be quite meticulous (due to their music experience, listening, playing etc) and reveal a huge amount of work they see to play at their ideal quality. Sometimes you need to however abandon an image of perfection or at least forcing it and be satisfied with where you are. I've taught a few adults who know exactly what mastery sounds like and how it feels in the hands but they struggle to achieve it. Sometimes it is good to go back into that childlike approach, that we don't care it is not perfect and just keep moving on. Of course this doesn't mean we should condone sloppy unmusical playing, but we need to be careful not to be too perfectionist and thus limit/slow our experiences.