Hi!
While reading these forums I noticed that most of you are learning pieces, that take you weeks or even months to learn.
I have lessons for few months now and always get only pieces that take me week or two to learn, so my question is: When did you start with those longer, harder pieces?
Im wondering if I should start learning Lennons Imagine cause it doesnt seem that hard. Do you think that is too much for someone whos taking lessons for almost 5 motnhs'

Thanks

Having restarted as an adult three-and-a-half years ago (took lessons for about 5 years in childhood), I had a head start in that I knew how to read music and find my way around a piano keyboard. I started out working on pieces that took about 2-4 weeks to learn, and worked my way up to pieces that take 3-5 months to prepare - from initial sight-read to "recital-ready."

When I was eight years old and started lessons the first time around, I didn't know how to read music or find notes on the keyboard. The first several months of lessons were devoted to learning how to read music, and the pieces I learned really were exercises to drill in those skills. After about 6 months, I started getting assignments that would take more than a week or two to prepare.

I started from scratch at age 47. I learned Solfeggietto after about 14 months, and it took me about a month to learn. I then went to Moonlight Sonata and have been on it for 4 months. Everything prior and inbetween have been 1 week to 2 week pieces. I've been on Moonlight for so long because the first 2 months of it, I was trying to sight read it. Now I am memorizing and polishing.

I don't think taking a harder piece at 5 months is too much, but I would warn about jumping into something too far over your head that you get frustrated from it. I would avoid frustration at all cost.

Now that I think of it, I tried Minuet in G at 10 months or so and it took a couple months. I also never played it very well. =)

i would say from the beginning. i started playing with the first ever attempt (not even an instruction book yet) on learning Fur Elise (1st section). then around half year to one year mark, i attempted another hard piece - CPE Bach 'solfeggioto', and after one year J.S.Bach's prelude in c major and Mozart K545 1st movement.

i think i tried plenty of 'hard' pieces when i wasn't so ready technically yet, and had to revisit them even after a few years.

Yes, you should learn it... not because it's easy or hard but because it's a beautiful song.

You can make it harder, too, if you do what that guy on YouTube did which is to play it while standing BACKWARDS at the piano.

pian00b, i dont look at necessarily how long i have been playing to learn a new piece. i say i like this i am going to play it. regardless if i am ready or not. its the heart and soul behind it. if you love a piece and want to start on it, then do so, just dont get discouraged when alot of it is beyond your level. its all for fun and all for heart. that being said i am working on a very difficult piece now that my teacher said i should have about 15 years experience to play. i looked at her shrugged and said oh well. she laughed and said ok, lets see what we can do with it. we spent the whole lesson looking at the first page. it was well worth it!!! i know alot of it is above my level, but what to get me to the piano more to practice!!! its all in how you look at it, and how you take things being above your level. my belief is if i practice it enough i will get it, in time. take care and hope to hear ya playing or attempting to play lennons imagine soon!!!

I agree with Funburger. It takes a piece you hear and just HAVE to learn. For me it was the Chopin Largo in E Flat (thanks again to Kathleen for showing me the piece). It took me a month and it is a short piece. However I was just bound and determined to learn it despite it being WAY above my skill level at the time. Learning it was the most inspiring thing I've done on the piano, and it gives me confidence to step up my level of playing. I am now trying some Chopin Preludes and they seem actually manageable.

My teacher was even shocked that I could play this stuff. If you find a piece that touches you, you can get through it with willpower and determination, and surprise yourself with the results.

Just go for it. If it's too hard, your fingers and your mind will tell you.

I usually try a piece for 1-2 weeks before I decide whether to continue. By that time I usually can tell if I can handle it or if it's too much for me.

Hi pian00b

I really can't hear anything in this piece that sounds too difficult. Have you ever watched or listened to John Lennon play piano or this piece in particular? I'll leave it at this, if he can do it you can too.

The truly tough stuff is definitely in the classical and jazz realm in my experience.

On another further note, listen to Funburger, this is the bottom line, if you want something badly enough and are willing to make the sacrifice necessary regardless of the hurdles, you will achieve it. It may take a while if it is well past you level but it is always attainable.

Thanks to all!
I got the sheet and saw that it really isnt complicated; in fact, I can play about 70% of the song now already, but at slower tempo.

@Monica
Yes, it really is a beautiful song. But playing backwards will have to wait

@funburger
Yes, I saw about your decision in other thread, too. I have to say that youve got my respect

@Vintagefingers
If Lennon could do it, I can? What, was he so bad piano player??

pian00b

Lets just say he wasn't an Elton John or Billy Joel at the keyboard.

Yeah, pretty sweet.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yUCgTpc913E&search=piano%20imagine%20

There is no real set time on when you can start a "hard" piece on my opinion. Yeah, the more experience the better, but that hasn't stopped me from starting to learn the 1st movement of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier".

I started a small thread on the Hammerklavier a while ago just to see who has done work on this piece and I got no useful information on it but people saying that I'm not experienced enough for it. Well that is something that I totally admit that I'm not, but all that means for me is that it takes more practice on the piece for me, rather than someone with more experience I guess.

I've been working on the song up to bar 123 or so, the end of the 1st repeat of the section. right now I am really concentrating on bars 63 through 74 as I can play bars 75 through 123 pretty well (but needs some polishing). It took me longer than it would most people to get the extended trill down in bars 105 to 110.

I started this movement because I love the challange and the song is just soothing to listen to.

I guess the whole theme here pian00b is that is doesn't matter when you start a difficult song. You might find more frustrations along the way but it can be done if you find a song that suits your way of playing. Like for example, my weaknesses are arpegieos (sp) and tremelos so I try and stay away from songs that have a lot of that (ex: Beethoven's Appassionata movement 3, Moonlight sonata movement 3 and Waldstein movement 1). Because I know that without being fully prepared for tremelos and arpegieos (sp), I will have a hell ova time learning a song with that.

It's all about being comfortable with what you are trying to learn. I find it easier if I am able to listen to the song first before I start to play it, that's makes it easier on me at least.

cheers!

it's still debatable about 'play or not to play a difficult piece' thing, when you're learning.

i have done all that: just pickinng up a piece i like, whether or not i was ready for it wasn't really issue until it forced me to give it up because of its difficulty. my teacher still would tell me that i shouldn't try some pieces i'm not ready for because it would take far too long or even never would play it well due to my low technical skill level. i'm still arguing with him about it...

but the fact is that when you're ready for a piece, even if it's a difficult one or impossible one you once thought, it makes so much easier and quicker to learn and play. it's simply because you have improved and has the skills or techniques at a much higher level that things start falling under your fingers much at ease. the point is if you want to spend 6-month or 1-year now on a difficult piece, or learn something easier now, and pick up that difficult piece to learn after another year, which would then take you only 3-month or less to learn without any sort of frustration on your part.

so, it's all about the choice. i agree with my teacher on this, even though i don't always listen to his sugguestion, that it's going to be much easier to learn an advanced piece when you're ready. but how to get to the 'ready' stage is another issue.

i am basically a beginner as well but i dont think it will hurt to play /Attempt any hard difficult piece, as long as you have a normal formal practice regiment, to improve.

even if not a regiment, like me , no teacher as of yet, i dont think it hurts but actually it is good to try to SIGHT READ any music, and not the same composition per se over and over again, as the memory usually helps not really sight reading improvment.
even with no real formal training as of yet, a practice of sight reading of a plethora of music can get you a good head start before getting into formalized training, just the catch is dont form any bad habits.

"Harder" pieces? Well... I'm right now just about to finish Chopin's etude op.25 no.2 "The bees"... Just a few bars left, and then I'll be moving on to a romantic work, maybe Schubert. I've been playing for a year to get to this intermediate level were I am. If you want to move on to "harder" pieces, study as much as you can, that's the only way.