Practice routine

[arielbaby]

Hi all, I learned piano when I was small and stopped at passing grade 6 at that time. As a grown-up now is it possible to practise without a teacher and have progress? I can still play grade 6 pieces in general. Is it a must to practise scales in order to improve? Practice time is precious and I would prefer to practise pieces as it's more enjoyable. Thanks!

[klavieronin]

Do what you enjoy and aim to do it a well as you can. Be consistent and be persistent and you're almost certain to make progress. Personally, I don't think it's essential to "improve" to make piano playing worth while. Nobody cares about becoming a better reader. We read because it's enjoyable. Take the same attitude into your piano playing. You can't go wrong that way.

[jimf12]

You can improve without a teacher, and without specifically working on technique.   But the speed and level you improve to would be much higher with both.   I am a "re-starter", took a couple of hiatuses in my adult life (I am 59 now) and took things up again pretty seriously 3 years ago.   I quickly felt I got back to the level I left off (level 8ish or so), but then got stuck.    I sought out a teacher, and not only did I get unstuck but I realized that some of the pieces that I thought I had in my repertoire needed cleanup.   It's not that the notes weren't right, or the tempo, it was little things like phrasing and rhythm.   All of a sudden that Mozart sonata that I was playing "correctly" started sounding Mozart-ian, if that's a word.   

My teacher was from Lithuania, and studied there.   She was a proponent of the Russian school, and technique was a big part of what we worked on.   I work on technique every day, a good 20 minute routine or so in the morning.    Not just playing scales, but *playing* scales.   Staccato, different rhythms, 6ths and 3rds and octaves and alternating octaves.   When I do it right, everything is musical.   It's not just hammering out a scale as fast as I can, but proper accents and cleanness musicality.   Play everything musically, nothing should sound like an exercise - including scales or other technical work.   

To really improve, I do believe you need to work on technique, and I do believe a teacher will help immensely.   But, if you don't have access or time or money, then do what you can do and enjoy it.