Last week I think I may have actually injured myself by not taking off my wedding rings before I played. I normally don't wear any of my rings when I'm just around the house because they get in the way. I had just gotten home or was getting ready to leave, don't remember which, and somehow the way I moved my hand while I was playing I think the ring kind of restricted the movement of a tendon or muscle. It hurt for a few days and I could see a little bit of bruising in the knuckle. Whatever it was, I felt it imediately. Note to self: don't wear wedding ring when attempting to play "Ego"!

I sometimes play in slippers, but I don't do much of anything barefoot.
Sometimes in jammies
Morning or evening doesn't usually make a difference, but once in awhile I hit one of those "flow" states around midnight and it seems like everything just comes right out and then I have trouble bringing myself to go to bed!

Definitely morning. My evenings are like yours - I either play like an angel or garbage comes out of my hands - depends on how tired I am from work.

I practice in the evening normally in pjs or my "piano wear" as my husband likes to call them. Once in a while on the weekend I'll play in the late morning or afternoon but I seem to do best in the evening after dinner. Rings and Crocs, sometimes watch.

Funny. I don't find a difference. Rings on or off. Shoes on or off.. If my feet are warm I'll play barefoot though. I don't like playing in shorts because my legs stick to the piano bench.... Once at a lesson my watch was loose and a little rattly so I took it off but usuallly it's on. Interesting topic..

Frycek- that gives me something to shoot for
DO YOU get to practice as much as you want to or feal you should?
DO YOU try to schedule your practice time so that you do not disturb others?
I don't. I'm getting an average of 2 hours a day. I try to get an hour before work and the rest after dinner. Some days more, some days less. Although I am also an early riser, I don't play before my wife gets up. In the evening if she is watching the talking heads or a ball game, I play away. If she is watching one of her favorite TV shows, I make a concious effort to keep the sound level quiet. Lots of ball games in the summer(Cubs of course), not to many now.
Julius

No, I don't always practice as much as I'd like to or want to. I've got health problems (asthma and pulmonary hypertension) that exhaust me so sometimes sleep takes precedence. As far as scheduling time so as not to disturb others - I'm very lucky in having a rather bohemian household. My husband is just as likely to be up at that hour as I am and if not he can sleep through anything. I'm also very lucky that my piano has its own room so there's no interference with the tv or computer and we don't live in an apartment so there're no neighbors to disturb.

During the school year (I teach) I don't get to practice as much as I would like to. That's frustrating because I really want to play more but my mind is burned out from teaching all day. I never feel like I should practice because it is something I love to do and can't get enough of so it's never an obligation. During the summer I get to practice almost as much as I want which can be anywhere for 3 to 5 hours a day. It makes me feel completely happy and content.


Yes. I have to consider the needs of my family first. I have to ask myself "is it a good time to dominate the sound level in the house with my practicing?" "Am I fulfilling my role as mother/wife by isolating myself at the piano?" and "are there chores that need to be done?" In the summer when the windows are open, I have to consider the noise level late at night. I wish I could practice before work, but I'm the first one up at 5 a.m and everyone is still sleeping.

DO YOU love your piano?

I DO love my piano - especially now that she's got a Dampp Chaser and doesn't do that funny buzzy sound (cracked soundboard) on chilly mornings before my heater warms up.

I play barefoot too, but not in winter because the pedals are too cold....

I absolutely love my piano, a Baldwin Hamilton. I smile every time I play it and every time I sit in our piano/computer room (which is a lot!).

I love the sound of my piano.
I have an Alfred Knight studio console (43" tall) from about 1961. We no longer have the receipt so I don't know exactly when it was purchased. Trying to find information on my piano is how I found the forum. It seems that the few posts that I found, said that they were over rated and difficult to tune (stable, but difficult to set good unisons). My piano tech had no problem tuning it and was surprised at how it sounded.
DO YOU remove the upper or lower panels of your piano so it is louder (sorry this really only applies to uprights).
I will usually remove the bottom panel. Its difficult to hold the music when I remove the top panel, so I don't do that often. If my 86 year old father ever saw that, he'd have more than a fit.
Julius

I too have an upright. A 1906 Wellington. I have removed the bottom panel for louder sound, but last year we got rid of all the carpeting in the house so removing it now is almost deafening to the player. (Usually me).

I used to remove the bottom panel and open the top in my earlier rock & roll days .

I'm a little less wild now.
DO YOU ever just open up the top - upright people?

CMOHR

My Knight has a lever with a spring that opens the top 3". I have the top all the way open against the wall with a folded towel so it doesn't buzz.
DO YOU get crazy when your piano makes buzzing sounds for certain keys?
It seems like its gone on forever, but I think I finally cured the buzz that my piano made by stuffing a folded Kleenex between the arm of the center and left peddle. I never used them anyway, only the gas peddle on the right.
Julius

Re "do you practice as much as you want/should?" No. I am back in grad school and just don't have the time to practice as much as I want. I also can't practice as much as I think I "should," in terms of if I want to improve a certain amount, or work up new pieces, I think there's a certain amount of time and effort that I should put in if I expect results. I am unable to meet that bare minimum, so my progrss is slowed. But it's better than nothing and my goal until I finish grads school is just to keep practicing and playing as much as I can, even if that's a small amount. That way, when I finish school, piano will still be a part of my life.

Re "do you love your piano" No. I had a piano that I loved, and sold if before coming back to the US (are people getting tired of me saying that?!), so I just can't seem to forgive my digital for not being my old upright. Having said that, I have come to see my digital piano as a tool, it's very functional and will tide me over until I can get an acoustic instrument. As with practice time, even if I can't be closer to my ideal, I can still enjoy what I have available to me.

Not nearly enough practice; no discipline.
No need; I use the digital with earphones.

More and more (the acoustic) since I installed acoustic panels to fix the room; what a difference

Do You take the music rack off to play ?

I do; I hear the piano so much better; leave it on to practice of course, with partitions and all.