So, it's 5:49 in the morning right now in Southern California, and what am I doing? I just got off the keyboards after quite a few hours "in the zone"... I stopped playing through Chopin's "Butterfly" Etude, look around, and lo and behold, the sun is poking out from the horizon, outside of my bedroom window.

I figured I would read a bit from the Hanon exercises I bought yesterday, then I got around to sight reading and memorizing two Scott Joplin rags, cleaned up some of my other pieces. It's amazing what can be done at night, when you're not tired at all for some reason.

And so, my reward is... a day at Disneyland [kinda] with my girlfriend and her family... Amazingly, I feel like I won't be needing any coffee :]

Anyone have any "in the zone" or marathon practicing stories?

I do that too, although I don't think I've stayed up quite as late/early as 5:49am! Haha yikes...

I am a night owl, always have been. When I was in school, I always got all my work done through the night. Now that I've gotten back into playing the piano, I sometimes start practicing at 11 or 12 at night and end up working on it until sometimes 2 or 3am.

All I can say is, thank goodness for the awesome headphones I have or I wouldn't be able to do marathon runs like that in the middle of the night. I'd probably drive everyone in my house crazy with Chopin music!

I practiced for 11 hours once... before a recital... I know it sounds bad BUT - I didn't hurt myself at all AND I didn't notice the time flying, plus that was pretty much my only time to practice for that recital...

I love it when you don't notice the hours flying.

I notice your current repertoire AngelinaPogorelich. How is your Brahms op118 no.2 going? I am also playing that piece for my exam next week and was wondering if you had any little pointers you could give out for it?

Uggh. I wish I could play so early (or so late.)

Everyone else in the household probably wouldn't like it very much. haha. Maybe it's time to get a digital piano for the those late night practice sessions.

My dad once offered to pay for my music of Peter de Rose's "Deep Purple" if I memorized it. I had one year's worth of lessons at the time I found it, so reading it was all but impossible, but I made it my goal to finish it by the end of the weekend.

23 hours later, my eyes burned, my head pounded, my fingers throbbed, but I played it, start to finish, no errors, no sheet music.

My reward? $3.79 plus tax.

And a lifetime of Deep Purple.

When I first got the music for 'Dr Gradus Ad Parnassum' by Debussy I practiced only it for about 6ish hours straight haha. I had been listening to it and it amazed me so when I finally got the sheet music for it i was just so excited i just played it and played it. I still play it every day. Its awesome!