Concentrating at the Piano

[RiskyP]

This is my first post on this forum, so I would like to say a bit about myself. I am 19 years old and I began learning to play the piano 4 months ago... this is my very first instrument. I was never into classical music until I turned 17, when I heard Rachmaninoff's 3 Piano Concerto for the first time. (This was before the movie Shine came out). Since then, I have come to like a huge collection of music from the baroque era to the romantic era.

Four months ago, I had the chance to take a class outside my major (electrical engineering) and I chose to take "Classical Piano for Non-music Majors I". I was introduced to the basics of music theory, pentachords, sight reading...etc. It was extremely hard at first, considering my age and my lack of previous music education. The only thing that kept me going was my love for the music and a quote by Kodaly, Zoltan: "It doesn't matter what a pupil has accomplished at the piano before the age of 18. What matters is what he accomplishes between 18 and 75." (This was a rough translation from Hungarian by me.) Since then, I have practiced almost every other day and I am now in the process of learning the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata.  

My question is, are there any tips on how to concentrate better as one is reading the score while playing? Sometimes, I find myself zoning out for a few seconds, and I don't have enough time left to read ahead. Sometimes, at particularly passionate phrases I completely look away from the score without noticing it, and then I lose my place.

Thanks.

[Celeste]

I have been playing almost ten years, and I still find moonlight sonata an especially hard one to concentrate on. I like to think about the mood of the song and the mood that the composer was in when he wrote it (in this case, Beethoven). Also, you might want to try praticing at a time when you are refreshed and not tired. Don't practice at the end of the day after all your classes when your thinking about homework and your plans for tonight, practice in the morning. This might help the concentration factor a little.

[amee]

Celeste gives good advice.

Maybe try practicing in shorter blocks?  For example just do half an hour each time, but return to the piano frequently.  Don't just play the piece through a couple times; concentrate on the places that are difficult for you.  You can also do a different thing everyday - for example say to yourself, "today I'm going to work on phrasing," or "today I'm going to work on technicality" etc.

[RiskyP]

Thank you for the help. Unfortunately, I am unable to practice in the morning because I lack my own piano. (I use our good friends' piano). But I will keep that in mind if I ever get my own. I knew the first movement of the moonlight sonata was harder than it sounded, but is it really THAT hard? Maybe I picked a piece that was a bit too much for me?

Nevertheless, it is of course very hard for me, but at least our friends say that it is recognizable - good for the first steps. I would like to hear why you find it hard to concentrate on?    

Personally, I thought trying to learn the first movement of Mozart's K545 sonata was much harder for me. I can't think, or play that fast. I can hear the music in my head, but my coordination is simply not good enough to keep up.

Any opinions, help is welcome. Thanks.    

[JTownley]

Risky, may I offer my two cents, for what it's worth? (probably not very much in today's inflationary economy)IF you are "zoning out" for relatively short spans of time, don't worry. I do that all the time. My mind drifts to that pretty girl I wish I'd said hello to when she smiled at me. Or how I'm going to spend all that money when I win the lottery (hehe). It's normal. Point is: keep practicing. Consciously you may not be achieving 100% but your subconscious is taking in more than you realize. If the concentration problem gets to be too much, switch to scales. If you want to develop technique (a MUST) you should be practicing scales until you can play them in your sleep. Push ahead. This is all new to you. The concentration will come as you advance in your skills and understanding of music and all it has to offer.
https://www.JoeTownley.com  Lots of piano videos!

[Stral]

I too tend to lose concentration for brief periods while playing the first movement of the Moonlight, and I think there are a few reasons for it.  The first is the music itself.  It is so "dreamy" when played properly that it can almost lull the performer into a daze unless you are careful.  It is almost like the perfect lullabye.  

The second reason is that although the piece is relatively simple for someone who has played for a while, it still requires focused attention while playing it.   This sort of ties into my first reason, since that momentary lapse that occurs when you get caught up in the music itself can lead to you thinking too much about what you are playing instead of how you are playing it.  It is a deceptive piece in that even though the hand movements required to play it are simple, the level of concentration required to play it well is not.  

I hope I managed to share my points well.  I'm not too sure if what I meant came out right, but I hope some of you can relate.

[OlderGuy]

Szervusz, RiskyP, welcome to the forum, good to see someone who also understands Hungarian  .

First of all: don't worry about the age factor I am 55 and I started from ground zero a year and 1-1/2 ago.
Age has it advantages, believe me: piano is very much of an intellectual process.  If you are lucky to have a good teacher, as I am, it makes all the difference.

I am fighting very much the same thing: my eyes wander away from the score and then I get stuck.

My teacher says: this happens when you start memorizing the piece.  She is very much against memorizing a piece: the chances are you will memorize it the wrong way and to undo it later is very hard.  It happened to me many times: I memorized a piece with either wrong fingering or incorrect timing. When I proudly tried to show off, I have received a cold shower...  To undo the mistake was really hard.

The advice is: when you learn a piece break it up into units, a few bars max.  Don’t reapeat a section for more that 3 times in a line, move to a new section and return to it later. Endlessly repeating things does not make things better.
I also found it is also hard to play things really slow (the way you start learning a piece) somehow, sometimes it does not make sense.
  The best, Peter

[RiskyP]

Thanks to everyone for the responses.
Hungarian: Neked is koszonet Peter! Remelem nem banod, hogy tegeztelek, de az interneten ugysem szamit a kor.

Yesterday I played the entire piece fluently with the exact interpreation I was thinking in my head... it was like magic! I was all alone and I could really feel the mood of the piece just like someone suggested, and I was 100% focused. It really helped me that I was all alone, no distractions, no one to play for and to be nervous about.

I played for 3 and a half hours, began learning new pieces, and still there wasn't a single time I zoned out. This experience makes me think that the best way to practice for me is alone. I guess, I am not confident enough to play when people are around. I make mistakes, I accidently acent notes too much or not enough, but yesterday I hardly made a single error in 3 hours and I played my pieces up to speed.

I'm guessing, there are big challenges for concert pianists away from the piano too, such as controlling their anxiety, since this obviously leads to errors. Performing for a crowd seems like a different form of playing, than just playing for yourself. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I think I am on the right road now as far as my concentration is concerned.    

[OlderGuy]

Good for you Risky!
One suggestion: it makes a huge difference when you listening to yourself while playing or recorded.  It is a really good way to debug.
Make a recording and listen that way. BTW, even the fact that I am recording myself makes me screw up...
 Peter

[RiskyP]

I agree with what Peter said. Learning the piano at an older age has its virtues. By this time I am familiar with much of the history of the age my pieces were written in. I am familiar with bios of my favorite composers. I have been loved   before, I have felt sad before. I have reached the kind of emotional maturity that many pieces call for. For instance, I didn't understand the passion in Rachmaninoff's music until I had met my first lover.

All of these experiences help my playing because it gives my efforts at the piano some meaning. I am not just sitting there, working hard to memorize pieces. I am there for the purpose of eventually being able to express the way I interpret the composer's feelings. So what if I am 19? I don't think it matters when you start when it comes to playing for personal pleasure.