What do you guys do outside of piano?

[jaquet]

Just curious, as i want to see what everyone does outside of piano, my teacher alwasy told me that i should have somthing to do after piano practice to relax, but i have nothing, i play video games i guess, but i want to stop because quite frankly its a waste of time. Outside of that i do fishing whenever i can and of course occasional reading and writing.

[thorn]

I'm a PhD student which gives me a lot to do outside of piano. Aside from that also gaming, dabbling with languages, meditation, yoga/tai chi.

"Relax" means different things to different people, like settling down with a bottle of wine and binging Netflix is my idea of hell. But I can happily settle down with a 40 page academic paper. So you do you 

[bryfarr]

Maybe we should do a poll, something like:
piano student, pre-university
piano student, undergrad
piano student, grad+
piano teacher, university
piano teacher, non-university
full time piano performance
full time worker, piano on the side
retiree or other non-worker

Does that cover it?

[bryfarr]

Maybe we should do a poll, something like:
piano student, pre-university
piano student, undergrad
piano student, grad+
piano teacher, university
piano teacher, non-university
full time piano performance
full time worker, piano on the side
retiree or other non-worker

Does that cover it?

I'm in the last category - not currently working, practice 2-3 hours/day.
Besides errands/chores & social stuff, which everyone has, I also enjoy reading (non-fiction (philosophy mostly) and fiction) and exercise (biking, gym, etc.).  I also try to get out into nature every few days, walk in the woods or hike up a small mountain.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I was amateur boxer for a while and quit in 2021 cause of a shattered hand.  I alternate between skateboarding, speed-cubing, and rock climbing now

I’m a full time musician that doesn’t practice a lot so I have A LOT of free time and I’m able to give a lot of attention to hobbies. 

[bryfarr]

... in 2021 cause of a shattered hand
... rock climbing
... I’m a full time musician

You can play piano after shattering your hand? Rock Climbing is hard on the hands too...   Doesn't seem possible.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

You can play piano after shattering your hand? Rock Climbing is hard on the hands too...   Doesn't seem possible.

I did a piano comp two weeks later and won lol.  Piano isn’t just about the hand it’s about whole body ergonomics.  I can climb for hours during the day and do a concert the same night it’s no big deal.  Imo back or shoulder injuries are way worse than hand injuries.  And as far as hand injuries go tendinitis is worse than a broken hand and people get that all the time from playing piano

[bryfarr]

I did a piano comp two weeks later and won lol.  Piano isn’t just about the hand it’s about whole body ergonomics.  I can climb for hours during the day and do a concert the same night it’s no big deal.  Imo back or shoulder injuries are way worse than hand injuries.  And as far as hand injuries go tendinitis is worse than a broken hand and people get that all the time from playing piano

Good stuff.  Have you told us about yourself in Introductions?  I'd like to read about it.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Good stuff.  Have you told us about yourself in Introductions?  I'd like to read about it.

Nah but I’ve been on here since I was a kid and I’m only active like a couple times a year

[thalbergmad]

I am 60 years old and i am an arm wrestler.
Take me on and you will never play the piano again.
Thal

[perfect_pitch]

What do I do outside of playing piano???

Teach piano.    😁

[dizzyfingers]

Just curious, as i want to see what everyone does outside of piano, my teacher alwasy told me that i should have somthing to do after piano practice to relax, but i have nothing, i play video games i guess, but i want to stop because quite frankly its a waste of time. Outside of that i do fishing whenever i can and of course occasional reading and writing.

I agree with your teacher - do something relaxing.   I can't see how video games are relaxing, more of the same really - intense eye/hand coordination.  I find stretching beneficial after siting at the piano for even just 60 minutes, let alone 2+ hours, some of the poses from yoga are very good for pianists, hold them for a few minutes and breathe.  I'll also go for a walk in a peaceful environment, inevitably I'll do some stretches against a park bench.  It's a leap for most people, but if you can get a meditation practice going, it will provide benefits for the rest of your life.

[kosulin]

I am curious what you do inside the piano! 

[dizzyfingers]

I am curious what you do inside the piano! 

I guess I watch a lot of social media outside of piano, not that I practice that much, but I listen a lot, there's so much material on YT - obscure pieces, amazing performances, composer biography and music analysis

[lelle]

Taking care of my kid, web development, gaming, exercise, seeing friends, watching movies, listening to music that's not piano music. A lot of YouTube and psychology podcasts.

[flyusx]

I'm an undergraduate majoring in physics (and minoring in optics) at the University of Rochester.

[dizzyfingers]

Taking care of my kid, web development, gaming, exercise, seeing friends, watching movies, listening to music that's not piano music. A lot of YouTube and psychology podcasts.

When does the young one start piano lessons?

[kosulin]

I do everything outside of piano.
Honestly, I never was inside the piano :-)

[perfect_pitch]

Video games - a great way of relaxing after teaching piano all day.

[orgarnic]

I have school and extracurriculars most of the time during weekdays, piano is like maybe 30 mins during weekdays. I could probably practice more, but i'm too good at procrastinating.

During weekends, I have more extracurriculars, and I practice whenever I want to, maybe like 1 hour in total. I play tennis somewhat a lot, I read, and I play web games.

[dizzyfingers]

When I'm not practicing my new pieces I enjoy playing my old pieces.   :-)

[ricercar]

Just curious, as i want to see what everyone does outside of piano, my teacher alwasy told me that i should have somthing to do after piano practice to relax, but i have nothing, i play video games i guess, but i want to stop because quite frankly its a waste of time. Outside of that i do fishing whenever i can and of course occasional reading and writing.

I eat hot chip and lie, hbu?

[lostinidlewonder]

I'm sorta piano obsessed, I teach it, talk and write about it every day, push boundaries of piano technology with an app I've been developing for several years, I prototype various music games every month using AI (Gemini 3.0 ftw),  run a large music teachers network in my state etc.

Outside of piano I like to help businesses grow, help social clubs and all sorts of other community events. I play various computer games usually multilayer don't have as much time these days to play, when is GTA 6.coming out, or Ark 2 hmmm. I enjoy travelling our world visiting many countries and experiencing cultures and their food. Eating food is fun.

[dizzyfingers]

I'm sorta piano obsessed, I teach it, talk and write about it every day, push boundaries of piano technology with an app I've been developing for several years, I prototype various music games every month using AI (Gemini 3.0 ftw),  run a large music teachers network in my state etc.

Outside of piano I like to help businesses grow, help social clubs and all sorts of other community events. I play various computer games usually multilayer don't have as much time these days to play, when is GTA 6.coming out, or Ark 2 hmmm. I enjoy travelling our world visiting many countries and experiencing cultures and their food. Eating food is fun.

Nice to hear a bit more about you mister lostinidlewonder.
Do you share some of your writings regarding piano here?

[lelle]

I'm sorta piano obsessed, I teach it, talk and write about it every day, push boundaries of piano technology with an app I've been developing for several years, I prototype various music games every month using AI (Gemini 3.0 ftw),  run a large music teachers network in my state etc.

Outside of piano I like to help businesses grow, help social clubs and all sorts of other community events. I play various computer games usually multilayer don't have as much time these days to play, when is GTA 6.coming out, or Ark 2 hmmm. I enjoy travelling our world visiting many countries and experiencing cultures and their food. Eating food is fun.

Sounds awesome, I love being productive and doing many different things. How do you find time to practice during all of that? Do you have kids?

[lostinidlewonder]

Sounds awesome, I love being productive and doing many different things.

Thanks I do enjoy it a lot. Being productive is 100% a desire of mine but at the same time I really do like to enjoy myself too, "work hard play hard" as the saying goes. I at least take a month sometimes more off throughout the year travelling and going on holidays.

How do you find time to practice during all of that?

I don't get a huge amount of time for personal practice sometimes nothing per day to a couple hours or so (rare occasions I might do multiple more hours in a day). I do get a lot of practice done through my students, you know learning their works with them does keep the practice method sharp as well as teaching strategy, things which I make a living off a lot more than my playing these days. Although I still play at a high level my interest isn't so much in playing harder and harder works anymore or memorizing a ton of works, I do enjoy sight reading a lot, especially newer works, though I do keep contact with the older masters regularly too.

Do you have kids?

I have many nephews and nieces (blood related and not) who I spend regular time with.  They always want to stay at my home for sleep overs lol, for the last few months when they are over its always K-pop demon hunter video nights -_-.  I have also taught a lot of kids over the years and watched plenty grow from early childhood into their 20s. So I consider them sorta like my children in a way, it also makes you feel old especially if you teach their children!

[lostinidlewonder]

Nice to hear a bit more about you mister lostinidlewonder.

I'm glad it interested you haha.

Do you share some of your writings regarding piano here?

A lot of my writing on pianostreet over the years captures a number of things I write about often though in a more generalized sense. I've been rather hesitant for numerous reasons to release my writings in a book form for many years and I think it was a good decision especially since AI simply rips and steals stuff nowadays. It is also quite exhaustive to explain exactly the pedagogy behind how to do things with ample examples covering all cases and edge cases. I also dont think just giving away my IP is worth enough than selling a book, it limits the potential, I hope to make the very most from it and releasing a book now would help others compete with me more than it would help me. I'm not sure if I want to release any time soon since I am embedding a lot of my pedagogy theories into apps that I create. It's sort of nice to have unique pedagogical ideas which no one thinks about in detail, like for example concepts revolving around proprioception and kinaesthetic language, these are vastly under developed. Of course one might argue me saying those two items will help competition compete, but yeah good luck trying to develop the ideas with them without a huge amount of time thinking about it and countless test subjects over many years to test ideas with. I think if I neatly lay out exactly how many of my concepts are exactly done I could just be giving things for free which have taken me decades to hone. Maybe if I die or am at the end of my career I might just give it away. Of course I'm completely bias thinking my ideas are gold and worth a lot, but I think I've made more money than most piano teachers because of them, it's my own killer feature.

[dizzyfingers]

Eating food is fun.

Who here considers themselves "in shape"?
Alternatively, who here practices health and fitness?

I work out regularly but could loose a few pounds. I love cookies!  Compared to most guys my age, though, I'm looking very fit!  I've been hitting the gym 3x/week for 30 years, there's a long term benefit in there somewhere.  Getting to the gym less than that now, unfortunately, but hitting the piano bench more...

I probably wouldn't eat if I didn't get hungry.  I don't love food.  I like beer and wine better lol.  That's another reason I could lose a few pounds - IPA's!

[lostinidlewonder]

I dont drink a sip of alcohol so that lets me eat more i guess lol. Stay away from sugar as much as possible too. I can still play squash at A grade penants level and can hike and walk good distances so I like to think of myself as fairly fit. Food is a big enjoyment for me, probably because I live so close to south East Asia and my heritage is part Chinese and a mix of German/Italian, food is a big part of the culture. I do love cooking too, im actually very good at making sushi, ive practice that for decades ever since a Japanese exchange student who lived with us when I was a student taught me.

[dizzyfingers]

My heritage is part Chinese and a mix of German/Italian, food is a big part of the culture. I do love cooking too, im actually very good at making sushi..

Looking forward to your invitation to the grandiose holiday dinner for piano street forum participants!
I'll bring the wine!

[lostinidlewonder]

Why not, if we weren't so scattered

[lelle]

Why not, if we weren't so scattered

Just by us tickets bro you seem pretty successful

Just kidding

Let's start a Piano Street meetup fund

[lostinidlewonder]

Lol possible but then you'd need accomodation, food.and you know Australia is filled with poisonous and dangerous animals lol.

[dizzyfingers]

Back to:  Health and Fitness?

IMO stretching is essential for pianists, especially older ones who practice technically challenging pieces.  I've developed a few stretches for my arms/forearms/hands, etc.

I consistently am seeing posts by older pianists (across multiple sites) siting muscular issues (pain) ... I truly believe that more than 50% of these wouldn't occur if people had a regular stretching routine .. and that includes the whole body, but there are specific ones that address the muscles pianists are taxing.

[dizzyfingers]

Lol possible but then you'd need accomodation, food.and you know Australia is filled with poisonous and dangerous animals lol.

Did you know Geoffrey Tozer?
Such a gifted pianist.
His Medtner still outshines most recordings...

[lostinidlewonder]

Did you know Geoffrey Tozer?
Such a gifted pianist.
His Medtner still outshines most recordings...

No i didn't know him. I had a lot more to do with Roger Woodward when it comes to influential Aussie pianists as he was my teacher for a while.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Back to:  Health and Fitness?

IMO stretching is essential for pianists, especially older ones who practice technically challenging pieces.  I've developed a few stretches for my arms/forearms/hands, etc.

I consistently am seeing posts by older pianists (across multiple sites) siting muscular issues (pain) ... I truly believe that more than 50% of these wouldn't occur if people had a regular stretching routine .. and that includes the whole body, but there are specific ones that address the muscles pianists are taxing.

Ya know ironically playing piano helps me with workout recovery but not the other way around.  I’d be curious to know if there’s any science behind this. 

[radjabov]

I play chess, learning things about technologic and software management and developing, drawing, 3d and 2d design, some electronic practices as a hobby, playing role playing games and wargaming, play pool, read books and gamebooks, watch cult movies, playing visual novels.

[dizzyfingers]

Ya know ironically playing piano helps me with workout recovery but not the other way around.  I’d be curious to know if there’s any science behind this.

No science, just crazy you.   


More seriously - care to elaborate on that?  Perhaps you're resting on that piano bench which feels like workout recovery?

[dizzyfingers]

I play chess, learning things about technologic and software management and developing, drawing, 3d and 2d design, some electronic practices as a hobby, playing role playing games and wargaming, play pool, read books and gamebooks, watch cult movies, playing visual novels.

Gosh, lots of hobbies!!  do you have any job responsibilities?

[radjabov]

Gosh, lots of hobbies!!  do you have any job responsibilities?

Yeah i have a full-time job, but i have holidays or day offs from time to time. I get up early in the morning 4 a.m. to do first thing in the morning some tasks i don't want to skip

[rachmaninoff_forever]

No science, just crazy you.   


More seriously - care to elaborate on that?  Perhaps you're resting on that piano bench which feels like workout recovery?

I’m a rock climber and my finger pulleys recover a lot faster if I’m playing a lot.  I think it’s a blood flow/supply thing

[dizzyfingers]

I’m a rock climber and my finger pulleys recover a lot faster if I’m playing a lot.  I think it’s a blood flow/supply thing

Professional pianist who is a rock climber
You're brave.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Professional pianist who is a rock climber
You're brave.

Eh it’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be.

[lelle]

Eh it’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be.

Isn't it quite common with chronic strain injuries in the hands and arms in the climbing community?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Isn't it quite common with chronic strain injuries in the hands and arms in the climbing community?

The most common strain is on the fingers.  But a tweaky or sore finger pulley doesn’t affect your (my) playing at all.  And they get stronger over time. 

Any chronic strain injuries from climbing is from extreme overuse (not resting) or trying something too hard too early.  Which is very common for beginners who are very fit who get into climbing cause their tendons and pulleys haven’t caught up with the rest of their body.

Which is also the EXACT same thing that happens with piano.  IMO the worst thing you can do for piano is play piano.  I’ve seen more people ruin their piano playing by playing piano more than any other activity. 

You can play with a damaged A2 pulley (or maybe even completely ruptured A2 I haven’t had that happen before).  You can play with golfers elbow, or sore forearms, or a sore hand.  But you can’t play with tendinitis if it’s from playing piano.