Rate of improvement

[JLefrere]

(My first post, so hi everyone..)

I was wondering what kind of rate you found yourself improving at. I'm self taught, and started about a year and a half ago. I don't know piano grading, but right now I'm learning Chopin's Butterfly etude, and the beginning of his 2nd Ballade (it's gonna be some time before I can do the 'presto' part!).
I found that, in the first 6 months, I progressed very quickly, but after that I found it much harder to learn new pieces. Since more challenging music is harder to learn, I find I don't often have the discipline to complete and perfect pieces.

[tds]

hi jlefrere,

welcome!!

i am abit dumbfounded now. you are self taught and only been playing the instrument for about 1 1/2 year. and now you are playing masterpieces by great composers. well, honestly, i can't tell you much about anything, other than, to urge you to go find yourself a teacher. oh, also, keep up the good work. warmest. tds

[thierry13]

Go find a teacher. It will help you much! You have bad habits  you can't even imagine when self-taught, that are VERY hard to get rid of. Finding a teacher is the best, really, go for it.

[kghayesh]

I seriously doubt these words. A year and a half of SELF PRACTICE can't ever let you reach the level of the second Ballade, (unless you are a gifted virtuoso like Liszt or something).
If you are right, i am so eager to know what was your plan what did u do during this year and a half

[JLefrere]

Thanks for the replies!
kghayesh, remember I said I could do the beginning of the second ballade, the andantino section. Doesn't compare at all to the later parts of the piece, which I won't be able to do for years and years! I'm not ridiculously talented, that was just a misunderstanding
And tds, bout a teacher... I see where you're coming from thierry, I have some really awful habits! My little fingers are barely used at all. I found this with drums as well, it's very difficult to un-learn things which are holding you back. A very experienced drummer showed me, and it helped a lot. Yes I really should look into this, from your comments it sounds like most of you have been taught.
Thanks again, JL

[musik_man]

I'm self-taught and have been playing for four years.  At the moment I'm working on the Schubert/Liszt Auf dem Wasser zu Singen and Schumann's Aufschwung, and just finished Chopin's op72.1, Khatchuchurian's Toccata, and Mozart's Twinkle Twinkle variations.  I'm satisfied with how far I've come, although I'm way behind most of the people on this board who've been playing 2 years and are doing virtuoso repertory.

I'd advise that you learn some easier pieces.  I say this as someone who did the same stuff that you're doing.  At 6 months I tried to learn the Rondo Alla Turca and at 1 year I tried the Italian Concerto Mvt1 by Bach.  I got most of the notes under my fingers, but it required a huge time investment and sounded pretty poor.  To this day I can't play either of the pieces well, most likely due to bad fingerings and movements that I've deeply learned.  Now, I'm not saying that you need to start learning Bach minuets and Clementi Sonatinas.  I just think that you'll enjoy learning some pieces closer to your skill level.  You'll learn them faster, play them better, and not screw up every other measure when you play.

About the self-taught stuff.  Getting a teacher might help you and might not.  If you were to get, say Bernhard, as your teacher you'd progress much faster; however, if you end up with a bad teacher, it might significantly retard your development, and if they make you do stuff like Hanon and play repertory you dislike, it may end up destroying your passion for piano.  Being self-taught, I'll say that the biggest challenge is actually working on your bad habits.  I have no problem finding my bad habits, but without anyone to make me buckle down and do something, I often just ignore them.