i am an adult late starter who began playing five years ago and who passed grade 3 in November. Since then, full of enthuisiam and confidence, I bought a new piano and launched into a couple of grade 4 pieces, only to find they seem much harder than expected. I now feel fustrated, am now waiving in motivation and am wondering whether I want to carry on. Playing the piano is rewarding but it just never seems to get any easier, once one hurdle is overcome, another pops up. Has anyone else had the same experience but perserved or can someone give me some advice and encouragement to help me stick with it.

Welcome to the forum, jaldipianocat!

I think the key question here is whether you are playing pieces you enjoy. I think it is true that pretty much we are always learning and always facing new hurdles. That can either be frustrating or energizing, depending on how enthusiastic you are about the new hurdles.

In short, if you are playing music you love, then working on it shouldn't be that frustrating. (Or, if it is, that's a sign that you're attempting something too advanced for you and should scale back a bit.)

Are you taking lessons? Are you picking out your repertoire or playing things assigned to you by a teacher?

Welcome Jaldipianocat.
The Grading system of pieces seems to me to be rather arbitrary. I have had some pieces that were graded higher than others, that I found easy, and some that were graded lower that I had problems with.

Dont' get discouraged. Just seek out pieces that you enjoy playing regardless of the grade, and bit by bit your previous enthusiasm should return, and you will be making progress. There is a marvelous sense of accomplishment when one can really play through a piece.

You might try to analyze why the pieces you are working on are difficult. Is it a question of being able to sight read them with ease, is it a question of difficult fingering, keys that you are not familiar with, tricky passages (chromatic scale runs, leaps in both hands etc..) If you can identify what is making the piece difficult, perhaps you can work on those sections and develop the necessary skills needed to play them.

I am no expert by a long shot, just another adult who has returned to the piano after a long hiatus, but this is what I try to do, and it has helped me. Gaby Tu

yes, I am taking lessons - one a week - and I think part of my problem is that I want the piano to be a hobby, one where I just move on through the grades as a nice benchmarch of achivement in a relaxed timeframe (fitted in with a stressful job and hectic lifestyle), whereas my teacher seems to view my 'advancement' as a personal quest (that's not knocking him, he's a great teacher with lots of patience). But I had in mind a nice leisurly grade 3 year, he's pushing for the grade 4 pieces already. Perhaps part of me is also fustrated because I feel I have left it quite late to play the piano and another part of me is also fustrated cos my dad was a jazz pianist and I don't seem to have inherited his basic talent. However, I will keep perserving.
PS Nice to hear from you both in the US. We go there often on holiday and think it's a great place.

Hi jaldi,
When I first took lessons (am looking for a new teacher now), I got frustrated, and was ready to throw the towel in. I thought it was gonna take forever. I told my wife that I would be 50 before I could play anything, I wanted it too come quicker....she told me I am gonna be 50 anyway, whats the rush? Since then, I don't put a time table on it, am now 57 and looking to get back at it.

Don't give up the Ship!!!!

Hmmm.... to the extent that piano talent is heritable, I suspect you HAVE inherited your dad's basic talent... but I also suspect that your dad has put in thousands of hours more than you at the bench. And it's the hours of practice that matter more than the talent.

Comparing yourself to your dad or any other professional musician, or long-time dedicated amateur pianist who has been playing for decades, is indeed an exercise in frustration. I have an easy solution for that: Stop comparing to them! I personally think the only comparison that makes sense is to yourself six months ago or a year ago or when you first started.

Glad you're persevering. Have you had a frank chat with your teacher about your feelings? Perhaps just telling him that you need piano to be a source of stress relief, not something that contributes to your stress, and that you want to go more slowly and play more pieces at a given level before moving up, is all that's needed.

Hi Jaldi,

I agree with a lot of what the other posters have already written. Please do tell your teacher that he is going too fast for you at the moment. If you are feeling pressured, it really does take the delight out of playing.

Secondly, realistically work out how much time you have to practise on a daily basis and let your teacher know honestly how much time you can comfortably fit into a day. He can then estimate how much improvement or advancement you can both expect within the year, and work towards that end.

Finally and most importantly, do play the pieces that you enjoy. You will find that you will want to get to the piano when you have that favourite piece to look forward to.

All the best of luck and I do hope that you don't give up. Perhaps just a little bit less pressure and more fun in your lessons and daily practice is all you need to get on track again.

Grace

I'll second that emotion: he might be very well-intended in pushing grade 4 right now, though, to keep you from getting bored with the "baby songs" as my teacher called them, OR to keep you from settling on your laurels, hang at that level too long, and not continue to stretch.

But you DO have to stretch (I keep one song in the basket that's just a killer and chisel it down measure by measure.)

Just keep thinking "one line at a time ... one line at a time...."

Hi - thanks for all your great responses. Has helped a lot. Latest update - new piano has arrived (a magnificant Kemble, much bigger that my first piano so will take some getting used to but he's lovely, just off to work now to pay for him!). Have also 'downgraded' my pieces and feel much happier and, more importantly, motivated again. It's great to have this forum and I'm sure I'll be posting more questions soon. Cheers. Steph

Congratulations on your new piano, jaldipianocat! We love pictures here, so if you have access to a digital camera, post a couple for us.