What is your BIGGEST frustration right now when it comes to learning piano?

[keystroke3]

I'm curious, what's that one biggest single sticking point you have right now that's impeding your piano progress? I'm a teacher always looking to improve, and it'd be helpful to have some input on the biggest frustrations people have when learning at each level.

It could be a technical issue, for example:
"I've been playing for 2 months and I just can't seem to get my darn hands to coordinate together."

Or it could be a motivational issue, for example:
"I've been playing for 3 years, and when I go through the tedious process of learning a song measure by measure it's really hard to keep motivated."

Let me know!

[associatex]

My biggest frustration right now (as in, the past 2-3 weeks) is learning a Bach Fugue (WTC 2- # 12, F minor). I have the Prelude down finally (played it 3x in a row with no mistakes).

Its the Fugue that is driving me nuts. I play it slowly on the first run through and there are always small hesitations or micro-errors in at least 2-3 different measures. I work on it for about an hour or two. Then the following day, I forget the fingering on the same measure, so I have to go back and drill it in again. Then a week later, I try to increase the tempo just a bit and at certain measures it just falls apart..

So yes very frustrating because it is taking me a lot longer for my fingers to feel comfortable w/ the fingering. I am sure it will come together at some point, but I really want to play the piece for a performance in 3 weeks and I am nowhere near polishing it for a formal recital.

[dogperson]

My ongoing frustration..... my brain understands much quicker what needs to be done than my fingers do😢. This is not new, and I doubt seriously the finger delay will end.  Execution is just time consuming to conquer.

[ted]

My ongoing frustration..... my brain understands much quicker what needs to be done than my fingers do😢. This is not new, and I doubt seriously the finger delay will end.  Execution is just time consuming to conquer.

I think that applies to all of us, dogperson, the eternal struggle between the spirit and the flesh, the gulf between the idea and its implementation. During improvisation I take every risk, grasp the nettle constantly, but why not ? Safe is boring. A few failures in the cause of a sublime idea are inconsequential as long as growth is audible over the years, and with sufficient discipline it usually is.

[dogperson]

I think that applies to all of us, dogperson, the eternal struggle between the spirit and the flesh, the gulf between the idea and its implementation.....

Ah, but it is such a wonderful feeling when there is no longer a gulf , isn’t it?  I flag all my problem sections with transparent flags .... and removing them when there is no longer a problem feels like a successful mountain climb.  It’s my practice reward

[ted]

Ah, but it is such a wonderful feeling when there is no longer a gulf , isn’t it?.......

Indeed, no other mental state comes close.

[bronnestam]

I never find enough time to practice. First I have a family and an (adult) child with special needs that takes all energy and time I have, but he recently moved out. Then I work as a freelance translator and my workload has been totally insane for a long time now. I often sit and work until I literally fall asleep over the desk. I love to practice but I find it so hard to find the time. This is my one, single and major frustration right now.

[keypeg]

Then I work as a freelance translator and my workload has been totally insane for a long time now. I often sit and work until I literally fall asleep over the desk.

Now that I can relate to.       I had a stint this last week going from Sunday night into Tues. night, and then my "free time" was taken by a late afternoon emergency.  You probably have exhausted every avenue of "efficient practising" like most of us so suggesting that is worthless.  But a while back my teacher gave me something that I might call "power bursts" for want of a name - where you go to the piano, work on some small thing - on that occasion I actually played a chord, got up, turned around, sat down and played the same chord if I could for an isolated thing ..... Then you leave the piano and go about your business.  Next translation break, visit the same thing and something else. The cumulative effect of these "5 minute bursts" can be encouraging on a heavy day.

[_piano_angel]

My struggle is that I need too much time to get a piece up to performance standard 
My dream would be to learn a concerto or things like that in like a few days or one or two weeks, but I sadly do need a few more weeks or sometimes even a few months 

[adodd81802]

I have 2 issues,

First is scales, my thumb under has never been right, I feel like it's to do with having big palms, but I can't do scales or any runs at good speed without it sounding clunky, or overly accented on every thumb-note.

My 2nd is anatomic, my 4th in my left hand is vastly superior to my right in terms of dexterity and range of movement.

[pencilart3]

my biggest frustration

[dorihunt]

I have been taking lessons for 6 years.  I got a new piano teacher 6 months ago as my other teacher moved out of state.  My current teacher has had me playing the same piece over and over again.  It is memorized— Reverie by Debussy — and has been for over 4 months.  He has not asked me to perform in his upcoming recital.  (You have to be invited to play in his recitals.)  I don’t know why he wants me to keep playing it....Do I play it poorly?  Do I need to play it differently? Punishment?  I feel very frustrated and sad.  I am an adult student and would like the opportunity to perform it.  I don’t know if I should ask him his reasoning? Thus, my biggest frustration right now is not knowing how best to communicate with my teacher.  I don’t want to make him mad. 

[dogperson]

I have been taking lessons for 6 years.  I got a new piano teacher 6 months ago as my other teacher moved out of state.  My current teacher has had me playing the same piece over and over again.  It is memorized— Reverie by Debussy — and has been for over 4 months.  He has not asked me to perform in his upcoming recital.  (You have to be invited to play in his recitals.)  I don’t know why he wants me to keep playing it....Do I play it poorly?  Do I need to play it differently? Punishment?  I feel very frustrated and sad.  I am an adult student and would like the opportunity to perform it.  I don’t know if I should ask him his reasoning? Thus, my biggest frustration right now is not knowing how best to communicate with my teacher.  I don’t want to make him mad.

Hi
I am also an adult student.... and My position is you are entitled to know why you were not playing in the recital. Your teacher should be reviewing with you every week specific details at this piece that need improvement, discussing and demonstrating  how to execute the changes and evaluating your progress.

If your teacher does not volunteer this information at every lesson, please ask for a detailed evaluation and instructions.  If your teacher will not adapt, i suggest you find another teacher!   

[ted]

I concur with dogperson. Better to welcome contributions from all pupils who wish to play regardless of comparative ability. The teacher is just keeping up appearances, get another one who cares more about his pupils than himself.

[pianoplunker]

I'm curious, what's that one biggest single sticking point you have right now that's impeding your piano progress? I'm a teacher always looking to improve, and it'd be helpful to have some input on the biggest frustrations people have when learning at each level.

It could be a technical issue, for example:
"I've been playing for 2 months and I just can't seem to get my darn hands to coordinate together."

Or it could be a motivational issue, for example:
"I've been playing for 3 years, and when I go through the tedious process of learning a song measure by measure it's really hard to keep motivated."

Let me know!

 I cant seem to find Al Capo very gracefully. He shows up suddenly and BOOM! there goes my attempt at sight reading. I often have to play by ear even though I can read notes just fine.  If you find Al Capo, just tell him I have been searching for him. We have a score to settle - pun intended

[dorihunt]

I concur with dogperson. Better to welcome contributions from all pupils who wish to play regardless of comparative ability. The teacher is just keeping up appearances, get another one who cares more about his pupils than himself.

Thank you for your advice.  I need to be more assertive.  I just hate to question him.  I shouldn’t let it bother me so much.  It is not like I am trying to get into Juilliard.  My teacher has other very accomplished students who are young and may end up studying piano in college or professionally.  I certainly am not at their level and probably won’t ever be.  Maybe there will be other opportunities for me.... we will see. Thank you for your reply.

[keypeg]

I have been taking lessons for 6 years.  I got a new piano teacher 6 months ago as my other teacher moved out of state.  My current teacher has had me playing the same piece over and over again.  It is memorized— Reverie by Debussy — and has been for over 4 months. 

What kind of feedback and guidance are you getting?

[keypeg]

To Keystroke (OP) - Do you have any thoughts to the answers you have gotten so far to your question?  I see even more on the other site, and I've been checking in on your ideas on and off. 

[dorihunt]

What kind of feedback and guidance are you getting?

Keypeg... Well that seems to be the difficult part.  I feel like my teacher tells me when I am doing something poorly.  He will tell me how it is wrong and then usually he will show me the correct way.  He gives me corrections and I do what I can to make them right.  I usually only have to be told once.  That is where I don’t understand about Reverie.  He doesn’t say anything bad about it.  Maybe I should ask him what I need to change?  How should I be playing it different?  Is there anything he doesn’t like about it?  Keypeg— what do you think?

[ted]

......... I got a new piano teacher 6 months ago as my other teacher moved out of state.  My current teacher has had me playing the same piece over and over again........ I don’t want to make him mad.

The bizarre implication of what you are saying here did not strike me before. You have studied nothing but one piece with him for six months without respite and no musical variety ? And you don't want to annoy him ? Had I been his pupil I would have found sterling work for a blunt instrument a long time ago. Music is supposed to be a constant joy, not a protracted grind until you are either dead or broke. Get rid of him.

[dogperson]

The bizarre implication of what you are saying here did not strike me before. You have studied nothing but one piece with him for six months without respite and no musical variety ? And you don't want to annoy him ? Had I been his pupil I would have found sterling work for a blunt instrument a long time ago. Music is supposed to be a constant joy, not a protracted grind until you are either dead or broke. Get rid of him.

Absolutely!!!! And with your next teacher, please remember you have a right and responsibility to ask questions about your training. Asking should never make your teacher angry 😊

[maxim3]

My biggest piano frustration: I can't drink as much as Art Tatum!

[keypeg]

My biggest curiosity is what Keystroke thinks about all or any of this.   

[j_tour]

My biggest piano frustration: I can't drink as much as Art Tatum!

Yeah, I think I've got that part of Tatum's and Waller's diet down pretty good, even after a long time of just drinking beer, mostly.  Less fattening than the good hard stuff!  Also less drunkening, but that's OK for now. 

Unfortunately, those two heavyweights had extraordinary improvisatory skills, whereas I'm just stuck with a bad memory and mediocre ability to cover up rough spots in European "art music" with improvisation.  Doesn't seem to affect playing blues or general American "roots" music or some not-too-cerebral jazz, much, but it's a problem elsewhere.  And, in fact, a ton of jazz standards or just plain "standards" I can only fake through if I haven't played it in years.  Jazz or even rock tunes is a pretty big book of tunes to remember some subtleties unless you play and rotate all them most days, which I haven't done in at least a few years.  You never forget completely, but they get a little foggy as time goes by, no matter how good the ear can "fake" a forgotten bridge or turnaround.

So, memory for holding, say, a dozen pieces I'm working on in mind (trying all the tricks in the book to extend memory and learning to cover each piece in entirety [e.g., dividing pieces into discrete "blocks," practice away from the keyboard using snippets of the score, incorporating aural memory in a conscious way, even down to writing mnemonics on a whiteboard using Roman Numeral analysis above the keyboard, etc.]), while trying to retain some basic repertoire that I technically "know" (or have known) that I like to keep as back-up.  There's a lot of those that I can play a page or two from, but it still takes some small effort to keep even that as I get older. 

ETA For "old repertoire" that I can supposedly play, but struggle to remember, from Brahms, the B minor Rhapsody, the Eb minor Intermezzo from Op. 118, or, for that matter the A major intermezzo from the same.  Many of the Beethoven Op. 126 (I've resorted to printing four pages on one page on scans from my favorite edition, the Brendel ed. from Wiener).  Some Chopin Waltzes or Nocturnes. You know, those ones you "know" but after a few twenty-four bar segments, you forget the rest.  Or insert any number of other pieces — I've gotten better at remembering the Bach Partita in E minor, the fugue, but at many places in the supposedly improvisatory-like Toccata-like sections, I either have to make something up..  Likewise many other sections of the same partita, like the Sarabande or the Corrente:  enough to get it going, but not enough to remember all the way through.  (NOT the Gigue:  I've given up on that).   I think I might be retarded, but it's rare I can even remember much beyond the first half if the "Air."  That's part of why I like the Sinfonie of Bach:  while one can get tired of the music, there's not the pressure to play them all from memory, even though, like the WTC, they're pedantic pieces, but like Chopin's Préludes, they're also little jewels of music. 

The rest of my own problems is that I know pretty well how to fix moments of musical "stuttering" over certain passages, down to noting specific measures of various pieces to drill, revising uncomfortable fingerings, but after I spend a week of writing down great plans of attack, something else in life comes up and I forget my resolve to stick to my plans, and just play the music in the easiest way possible.  Namely, just sight-reading through and noting..."Hmmm...I should fix that.  Oh well, water's boiling, time for a coffee break!"

[maxim3]

j_tour,

See my new post "Art Tatum: More Than Human" in Performance section