Hi again PPP, thank you for accepting my words in the spirit they were intended.

I really do admire your determination - and maybe you do need to give your target more time to see if it is realistic or not.

I have an idea. How about a sort of compromise?

I will go to the first page of MOYD and create a new category - I will call it "MOYD with a twist"

This can be a slot for anyone who has a special target for their daily activities. The target doesn't have to be disclosed or discussed - (so no stress for anyone) - but you can report in as necessary that you fell off the wagon and are getting back on....and I hope that I won't be seeing too many reports! :):)

Would that work for you?

Really the point of all this is to help and encourage people to reach their goals, - if that will help you, then.... well, why not? It isn't as though it creates extra work.

Would you like that?

Well, so far, other than my trip to the states, I have been faithfully practicing every day. I will admit that one day was only 15 minutes, because we went on an overnight skiing trip. While everyone else was breakfasting, I slipped off for a short rendezvous with my piano. It was all I could do before the train. But, that balances out my 4+ hour practice days when its such fun that I just can't get enough piano!

Sounds Great! Lets do it.

I didn't contribute to polyphasicpianist's original thread about wanting to go beyond the minimum MOYD requirements, but having watched this in operation now, I don't think MOYD with a twist makes sense. In the context of MOYD, I feel no cheerleading sympathy at all for someone beating themselves up for practicing two hours a day. I think MOYD is about just getting to the piano, and if someone wants group motivation to do something else or more, it would work better on a different thread.

PPP did try to start a different thread, but there were no takers. I'm trying to offer a compromise.

I see your point - but I see that it is important to PPP too.

However, if there is strong feeling against this idea then that's a problem too.

hmmmmmmm a bit more thinking on this one is required perhaps..

casinitaly, I have recovered from my ill humor of last night. If the Twist works for you and polyphasicpianist, and no-one else objects, then I won't object either.

Separately: I got to play a clavichord for a very teeny bit tonight. A fascinating instrument. I wonder if this counts for MOYD .

I've been reading this, too, tho I don't participate in MOYD simply because it's not my style to play every day. I do have goals, and I keep track of them. I don't personally feel a need to find a way to use MOYD "with a twist" in order to keep track of them or to share them with others, tho that's just me. MOYD is MOYD, to me, and it's been around a long while. I think it's a kick that people do this to encourage each other.

I've read casinitaly's clarification, each time ppp posts, that MOYD isn't about how much time, and for sure not about 4 hours a day, but about getting some time each day. And I can see that it needs to be clarified each time, because some people come to the thread late and may not read the whole thing, and be confused about the basic premise of MOYD.

So for one thing I think it is ppp's responsibility to MOYD to clarify, if he's posting about specific numbers of hours, that he's fallen off his personal wagon, and not off an MOYD wagon, so that others will not mistake the "particular amount of time" as a general MOYD thing, rather than the "at least a little" time that really is MOYD's. I don't think casinitaly should have to do that.

And I really don't see a need for a category for one person. :shrug: If no one else was interested in Extreme MOYD (I think that was the proposed name) then - oh well. MOYD as it is can work for ppp if he sets his own goals and reports when he's off the wagon. He could, in fact, simply report that he's off the wagon without going into what his particular goals were, and treat MOYD just like everyone else does. "I'm off the wagon today - I was just lazy " or "I'm off the wagon - work took a huge amount of time, but hope to be back on tomorrow." That would work, too, and he wouldn't have to explain, in order to be responsible to MOYD, that his personal wagon is 4 hours/day.

So I think, if ppp took the responsibility of doing the clarifying about his personal goals, and - for his sake as well as others - used MOYD as encouragement to get back on the wagon and not punishment for falling off (I'm with casinitaly on this - the encouragement is the thing), then the separate category wouldn't be necessary.

JMO, of course, and since I only lurk on this group, it's worth about what you paid for it

Cathy

jotur, that makes sense.

Pianostudent88 - thanks for coming back with a different perspective. (and wow, playing a clavicord? what fun. In my MOYD book, that counts (and I guess therefore...it counts )


Jotur/Cathy - that was a very thoughtful and logical post. I really like the way you laid everything out so thoughtfully.

Personally I think this could work very well, and at the same time keep things simple and not create confusion on the fundamental premis of MOYD which is simply to get to the keypboard.

PPP - are you still with us - does this work for you?
It seems like a very good option to me.
Let us know.

I was out of the country on vacation last week. Just had my first practice session since returning. It felt great (both the vacation and the practice session).

My husband had surgery last week and was in the hospital for two days. So I had two days when the only practice I did was playing through a couple of pieces from memory for a total of about five minutes at the end of each day. He is doing very well, and should make a speedy recovery. He hopes to be back to skiing before the snow is gone!

Glad your husband is going to make a speedy recovery! That's wonderful.

As for only getting in 5 minutes - hey, you got to the piano (at what must have been a stressful time!) I hope those 5 minutes added a smile to your day.

Yeah, everything is good. I haven't had a chance to get onto PW in a few days, but I seem to be back on track, or "on the wagon" as MOYD lingo would have it.

Welcome back "on the wagon"

SwissMS,
I'm glad your husband is home and mending...that kind of worry is tough. I'm impressed you got the 5 minutes in...good for you.

Hi Casinitaly, I missed March 5-12 ( except 9 and 11, where I squeezed in a bit of practice on the hotel piano) and will miss March 17-21. Both are work trips. I have been "practicing" fingering of the minuet I'm working on away from the piano, and reading the Charles Cooke book about effective practice, just to keep my head on the piano...

MaryAnn - great idea to do some brain work on the fingering when you can't actually get to the piano!

I almost missed yesterday - I had a super long day and came within inches of just not playing, I was pooped. However, I decided I would just run through my scales or something...and ended up playing for about half an hour.

My husband made a quick recovery, so we went on a ski trip Tuesday through Friday. I was unable to practice piano Wednesday or Thursday. We are going again next week for the same Tue-Fri so I will miss those same two days. The skiing was great, and now my legs are happy that I am back on the piano bench!

Great to hear your hubby is doing so well!!!!

Hello. I need to be excused today for illness. Hope to be back at the keyboard tomorrow. Too queasy today to focus on a score, alas.

Well I have been slow but surely getting the hand of this four hour thing. Certain days give me trouble (specifically Sundays and Friday) - so I still have to think out a good strategy to work in an extra two hours, but I am confident I can figure something out. Also, I have been completely neglecting my practice log - this is something I hope to remedy starting tommorow.

DISCLAIMER: I have set my own daily challenge, for personal reasons, which is quite different than the standard MOYD objective. The MOYD objective still is and always will be to simply get to the piano once a day, every day for as little as 5-10 minutes or as much as you like. I have self-imposed a fixed amount of time per day as a personal goal. No one in MOYD is obliged to be at their piano for any specific amount of time.

Thumper49, hope you feel better soon!
PPP - good luck with your strategy!

I've had a head cold all week and have really been doing the minimum.

So far no missed days this year, but some days were late night last minute practice sessions due to too much happening during the day.

Will be learning the next part of Für Elise tomorrow! Can't wait!

polyphasicpianist - your disclaimer made mrsmile - great spirit! Thanks.

I know how it goes to neglect the practice log. It took me two days to catch up after this weekend.

I'm pretty sure that if 4 hours a day is a possibility for you you'll figure out a way to do it. And if it doesn't turn out to be a possibility I'm pretty sure you'll know why, and what your priorities have to be at this stage that make it not possible, and you'll have a plan for practicing as efficiently as you can to get what you can from the time you have. Seems to be the way you work.

Cathy

I just realized that this MOYD thing has become a part of my life, so much so that I don't even think about it anymore. When I started, there were some days when it would take a lot of effort to sit down at the piano and start practicing, and the only reason I did it was because of MOYD. Now it's more like eating dinner; it's just something that I do everyday -- often looking forward to it, almost always enjoying it, and never considering skipping it.

SIGN ME UP!

...I do this anyway. Have been for almost a couple years, aside from when I am out of the house for travel or extended periods of the day for biz. I'd say I played piano about 97% of the days in the year, usually over 2 hours a day.

ok Rust you're in! Welcome to MOYD.

Hi Casinitaly, I will need to be excused from 3/29 until 4/8. Taking a trip to sunny Florida (from sunny and hot upstate New York) to see family.

Done! Have a safe trip, and fun with the family.

It is for me too - the only reason I've been close to missing this week is that I've got a head cold and have zero energy . Usually playing is one of the highlights of my day. This week it is a matter of determination