Hitting the Wall

[gkatele]

Do you ever hit the wall?

I'm relatively new here, as you can see from my "newbie" status, and it's been a revelation reading all the posts here. An amazing source of information and learning. Seems to me that this is a place for pretty advanced pianists - something I would have been, if I hadn't stopped playing because of college, postgrad work, career and kids.

But I digress....

I'm working (still) on the c-minor fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One. I  started working on it around Thanksgiving (end of November for the international crowd), and about 3 weeks ago, I thought I had it pretty much nailed. I play about an hour a day, in 20-30 minute segments.

In the last 2 weeks it's fallen apart.

I find myself tripping over the descending scales, the thumb won't go where it went as recently as two weeks ago, and I've gotten sloppy. I feel as though I hit a wall with this piece and have bounced back.

The c-minor prelude which I started working on before that has shown a steady progression, and it's starting to sound like music, not like a typewriter.

Anyhow, has anyone else had this type of regression?

What can I do to get over it?

How long will it last?

Thanks in advance for any advice.


George

[musik_man]

I've had this sort of thing happen all the time.  Actually, it took place today.    I played Chopin's E minor waltz at the end of my practice session, and it completely fell apart.  I messed up even the easier sections.  The bad part is that I had finished up this piece a month or so ago (the technical side of it at least.)

I've found that the only way to get a piece back where you started is to break up the sections that gave you trouble, and learn them in the same method that you use for a new piece.  Playing through it at full tempo and messing it up over over won't help you at all.

[richard w]

I'm working (still) on the c-minor fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One. I  started working on it around Thanksgiving (end of November for the international crowd), and about 3 weeks ago, I thought I had it pretty much nailed. I play about an hour a day, in 20-30 minute segments.

In the last 2 weeks it's fallen apart.

I find myself tripping over the descending scales, the thumb won't go where it went as recently as two weeks ago, and I've gotten sloppy. I feel as though I hit a wall with this piece and have bounced back.

Ok. Can you give details as to how you have been practising the fugue, for instance what size sections, what speed(s), hands together/separately, including details of how your practising changed as you became more acquainted with the piece. The answers may lie within.

Meanwhile, I'll draw some likely conclusions beforehand. You say you are having difficulty with the descending LH runs, especially with the thumb. Have you looked at these sections HS, and then HT before putting the piece back together, for example? If you do the preparation thoroughly enough then your problems should sort themselves out.

I look forward to hearing how you have been practising.



Richard.

[gkatele]

Ok. Can you give details as to how you have been practising the fugue, for instance what size sections, what speed(s), hands together/separately, including details of how your practising changed as you became more acquainted with the piece. The answers may lie within.

Meanwhile, I'll draw some likely conclusions beforehand. You say you are having difficulty with the descending LH runs, especially with the thumb. Have you looked at these sections HS, and then HT before putting the piece back together, for example?

I look forward to hearing how you have been practising.

Richard,

Thank you for your insightful reply. I am a returning pianist. I just began working on this fugue in late November, and after about 6 weeks, it was going pretty well.

I started it HS, working on the (for me) difficult passages, starting at measure 15, and going through measure 20. Of course, playing slowly HS is not much of a problem, and for that matter, playing at about 60 is not too much of a problem HT either. However, getting it up to speed HT has caused me to miss notes, and that's when it falls apart.

Perhaps I just didn't learn it HS well enough. Time to go slow HS again?

George

[richard w]

What speed are you aiming for? Can you do it HS at or beyond that speed? That would be your first aim, and if you can't at first then break down and work on the technique, ie the movements your hands are making. Then put together at your final speed in the same small sections, perhaps groups of  half a bar at a time, ensuring you overlap onto the first note (or even beat) of the next group. Basically, if it is HT at speed that you can't do then this is what you must practise. If you play through HT at speed you will just end up learning your mistakes, so breaking down into small segments allows you to learn the co-ordination you need without overloading your brain.

Try it and let me know if it worked.


Richard.

[ted]

George:

Could it be that you are putting too much of your energy into one thing, i.e. this prelude and fugue ? Variety is good for music, and it's possible to end up practising the act of "hitting the wall" itself rather than the act of playing the piece. I don't think playing the piano is like uni-directional activities such as physical training. In fact, the more I avoid concentrated grind the better my unconscious seems to like it. Everything seems to influence everything else in a way quite unrelated to proportion. Because one man can mow a lawn in half an hour it does not follow that a million men can mow it in a fraction of a second, yet this is the sort of linear reasoning many people constantly apply to problems of every type. Beyond a commonsense degree we are not linear creatures.

Put simply, I would ease off on those pieces a little and inject some fresh variety into your practice with other things - improvisation perhaps ? Some jazz ?

[gkatele]

Could it be that you are putting too much of your energy into one thing, i.e. this prelude and fugue ? Variety is good for music, and it's possible to end up practising the act of "hitting the wall" itself rather than the act of playing the piece.
Put simply, I would ease off on those pieces a little and inject some fresh variety into your practice with other things - improvisation perhaps ? Some jazz ?

You know that makes a hell of a lot of sense. I read your post last night, and today, I said, "I'm doing something different." So I pulled out my book of sheet music and played the MUSIC, rather than the notes.

I started with the WTC preludes and fugues in C and C-minor (with the attitude - "Mistakes be damned - have FUN.") Then a two part invention, then the Rach 18th Paganini variation, worked on the Raindrop prelude for about 15 min, and then the Harmonious Blacksmith for about 15 min.

I walked away feeling a TON better, and knew that tomorrow, when I sit down and PRACTICE, it'll be better. It was today, when I stopped paying attention to all the details and let the music come.

Thanks for the tips.


George