Hi there,

Requested by other PW /ABF members I start this new topic.

My goal for 2012......again the two French Suites of J.S.Bach.
Also working on Sonates / Sonatines of Mozart, Haydn, Vanhal, Benda, Clementi.....and perhaps

purchasing a new DP.....thinking of the Kawai CS-serie or Yamaha CLP430WH...

What are your musical goals for 2012, I'm curious and will remember you in december 2012.

Best regards,
Johan B

Musical Goals for 2012

1. More reading every day. I've given up on ever having enough easier material to sight-read every day. Too often I've used that as an excuse to do no "new" reading at all, and I don't think the exercise books are a good substitute. This year I am going to read something new every day. Even if I cannot sight-read it, I will read it and try to play it to the best of my ability.

2. Work smarter. Even though I can recite the "Chunkers Bible" chapter and verse, I'm still guilty of biting off bits that are too big, or ignoring my own chunk-lines and continuing on to the next phrase too soon. It is so silly, because I know it just makes more work in the end. This year I resolve to never move on to the next "whatever" until I'm satisfied with my progress on the current chunk. I will not create artificial deadlines. I will take my time and let the learning take its own pace.

3. Minimum effort/relaxed playing/eliminating tension. I really have to get my teacher to focus on helping me with this, because I feel a little lost. I often catch myself with hunched shoulders or a rounded back, but she rarely comments on this - I need to ask her why. Perhaps she's just being polite/respectful with an adult. I have had some success in elimininating tension in scale and arp playing, but I'm not sure it has translated to my pieces.

4. Pieces - still waiting for assignment of my first Bach Invention. I'm convinced that lots of Bach is one avenue to improving technique, and the Inventions are the Bach gateway after AMB Notebook. Chopin Nocturne - still hoping to play one this year but won't be upset if I do other things first. I've found there is a ton of intermediate level repertoire that is well worth learning that I never heard of before. Chopin will still be there whenever I am ready.

5. Performance. Play in my second live recital next spring, and don't obsess over it. The world will go on if I make a boo boo. Make the quiet time happen to make some recordings for ABF recitals or Bars. There is a wealth of good advice to be gained from the players here.

Wow....Jim...that's ambitious......I will remember you.....

Johan B

Great topic, Johan! Thanks for starting it. My goals (some are "to-do's"):

Improve sight reading

Improve techniques

Learn more music theory that can translate into better playing

Play every day (even just 10 minutes), preferably 1 hour

Learn 5 pieces for my repertoire

Learn to play all scales in the circle of fifths (too ambitious?)

Thanks for starting this thread Johan.

My goals for 2012 are:

1. To be able to play in front of people (teacher,friends & family will do for now)
2. To discover where I want to take my piano playing (genre/style etc)
3. Above all, to still be enjoying learning and playing piano

I won't make too many goals as I'm too new to this to know realistic goals to set.
Like no.3 says above, I just aim to still be enjoying piano, taking lessons and enjoying it by the end of next year.

Happy new year to everyone btw.

Neil.

my 2012 goals:
1. Improve my reading; learn to read without relying on looking at my hands. this is my biggest weakness.
2. overall improvement in my playing, technique, dynamics, musicality.
3. learn more upbeat faster tempo pieces.
4. still trying to figure out what genre of music i would like concentrate on. currently i like just about everything i hear. leaning more toward jazz and blues but still love classical and some "new age".
5. would like to find a great teacher and start taking lesson (have not had lessons in about 5 years).
6. play in front of people more often (people other than my poor wife who knows every piece i play inside and out and constructively reminds me know when i play a wrong note).
gw

Well Neil,

enjoying to play piano is also my biggest goal.....

and I will remember all of us in 2012, just as I did this year...
reminder goals 2011

best regards,
Johan B

ok, here goes.

my musical goal for 2012 is to be able to improvise on jazz tunes. that should be doable, fingers crossed.

I had a miserable 2011 in which a series of infections in my hands prevented me from playing for long periods.

So my goals for 2012 include getting back in the habit of regular playing, at least an hour a day, and strengthening my HT rhythm.

ALso want to save money for A NORD Stage 2 because of its harpsichords...

Hello friends

Not sure if you have seen a lot of people coming back with the same unachieved goals from previous year

Combining the old and new goal on piano playing, I hope I will be able to make a nice self recording of 18 pieces of piano playing, just the short ones, and it doesn't matter if they are only the easy or the more difficult pieces, I want to make them sound nice. Every day practice doesn't seem a realistic goal for me, so I would not go for it

Good luck with your wishes and see you on the next Christmas review!

Sakari - I hope 2012 is a better year for you - both in terms of health and music!

My goals for this year:

1. Continue to work on eliminating tension.
2. Improve my reading abilities to be able to move more quickly through simple pieces and more accurately through harder ones.
3. Perform in all the ABF recitals
4. Participate in the Piano Bar at least 5 times.
5. Perform in at least one live recital (I hope 2, but we'll see)
6. Improve my concentration so that when I play for friends at home I don't flub so much!
7. Play duets with someone other than my teacher.
8. Make some steps into the very interesting world of improvisation.

I think that's enough for now

I also plan to work on a 3rd year of playing everyday except when away from home. (or sick).

Good luck to all of us on reaching our goals!

My goals:

Learn all the Piano Adventures pieces up to tempo in levels 3A and 3B.

Participate in ABF recitals and bars.

That isn't the whole of what I'm doing with piano. For example, I've joined the MOYD 2012, and I've started to work on sight-reading, and I'm learning the minor scales, and I'd like to learn some pieces from memory, and of course I simply continue to learn new pieces. But those are the two goals I'm putting a stake in the ground to be tested on come 12/26/12.

OH MY GOD... i need to stay in this thread all year haha. you guys should listen to this man...

A new year.....a new opportunity

JB

YESSSSSSSSS YOU DO MEAN A NEW DAY RIGHT??

My goal for 2012 is to get to play out, either at a coffee shop that has a piano ( there are a couple within a few miles of where I live ) or maybe at a retirement home.

For a frame of reference, I've been playing about two weeks. I don't have specifics at this point.

My goals are:

500 hours of playing time minimum.
Find a teacher I like working with.
Discover my strengths and weaknesses and alter practice routines accordingly.
Finish Alfred beginner book two, playing it musically and in time.
Find a number of songs that I like playing and learn them well.

Here are my goals for 2012. I tried to think of measurable yardsticks so I have something to judge against at the end of the year.

1. Practice a minimum of 2 hours a day unless I am away from home or sick.
2. Improve relaxation.
3. Learn to focus better and decrease errors.
4. Do all of the quarterly recitals on ABF.
5. Complete level 4 ABRSM exam.
6. Develop and maintain a playable repetoire of 10 pieces.
7. Improve my sight reading to ABRSM grade 3.

Thanks for the kind thought, Casinitaly!

Good thread!
My goal as I've just started few weeks ago is:
- play 0.5-1 hour per day
- enjoy playing
- carefully follow what my teacher suggests
- print a lot of sheets I'd like to play sometime and hang it over to teacher for evaluation what we can do with them...

Generally speaking, I'd like to have at least 200 training hours played during 2012 and still enjoying the piano more than in 2011.

ChrisG,

Performance.....mmmm....fine ambitious goal....good luck...

JB

Enjoying is the biggest goal in my view...

Best regards,
JohanB

1. Get all the way through Alfred's book 1 (Gilligan's Island)
2. Walking in Memphis
3. Ave Maria

Way too ambitious, I'm sure.

Ave Maria is not very difficult.....you will succeed in a year

Good luck,

Johan B

Ok, I give I'm not used to publicly announcing my goals.

But this year I'd like to up my average/day playing time again. Two years ago I wanted to average an hour/day and did ~ .98, so that was pretty good. Last year I wanted to actually make 1 hr/day, and I've done that, and maybe a little over. So now I'd like to average 1+/day.

I'm a gradualist

Cathy

Chris G -

And I'm with everyone that just has goals for improvement, too - this is such a great hobby And I think the more relaxed/less tenseness spills over into everything else in life - what a good thing that is! For me, for sure.

Cathy

Complete Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor

Wow...heavy...Chopin too difficult fo me...perhaps in 2018

We will know it in december 2012.

Best regards,
Johan B

A great hobby..indeed. Once I started out as an organist and played many years in a church. That was a kind of job with many obligations. Now I play only classics just for fun and ability for relaxing. Sometimes I play all kind of music with colleagues at parties at the school where I work. But this unpretentious....

Best regards,
Johan B

I'm a beginner on Alfred Book 1 for 2 months. Close to finishing it now. My goals for 2012:

- finish Alfred Book 2 and half way through Book 3
- be able to accompany simple kids songs by ear

Are they realistic?