Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Is 3 years - Scratch to Grade 8 for Piano possible ?

i dont get your wife's point.
to make up for time lost on something that we wished we did, just start enjoying it, at a quicker or slow pace whatever one can handle and just enjoy it. doesnt matter what level you get to in 'n' amount of time. isnt that the point? just to enjoy?

like if one person missed out on spending time with his children when they were younger let say, now he wants to spend as much time as he can now they are older, well, that may mean just slowly develop the relationship and spend time when you can, when they can.
but certainly he doesnt swipe them and take em to disneyland, camping trips, etc and check the events off on a paper to do all within a year? you know what i mean?

it just seems more about himself than the actual value of having the opportunity to make up for loss time on things.

I believe that learning to play the piano should be more of a process to enjoy, rather than a 'chore' where one has to devote a fixed number of hours to. You will need time to appreciate the beauty of music, rather than pushing yourself to the limits to sit for an exam.

I feel the piano is like a fine meal or a good wine to sip and savor as opposed to a drive thru fast food joint, gobble it down in a hurry to get to the place you're rushing to.

I admire your wife's commitment and your support for her! Best of luck to you both!

I would have to echo my teacher's advice to me that as long as she is a quality practicer, passing Grade 8 will take care of itself in time. I don't think it will do any good to rush it or set strict deadlines because everyone learns at their own pace. As long as she is flexible about her goal and doesn't get stressed out if it doesn't happen as quickly as she'd like, I think she will be on the right track and enjoy her time with the piano more.

I think she should focus on musicianship first & foremost. It often gets neglected somewhat when one is rushing to achieve the technical proficiency for a grade. Better to be a great pianist in 3 years than a "typist" (as my teacher would say).

She should never overpractice...especially don't start out practicing hours and hours every day. It may be possible to practice for a long time without injury, but one has to develop the physical & mental endurance for it over time and not have any bad habits.

Now if I could just take my own advice

I also think 1-=12 hours is a lot! :p
I thought I was practicing a lot with 3 hours hehe
Maybe if she practice too much it won't be as fun as it could be...Well of course it depends of her personality...