Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner how can i stop these thoughts

Andi thank everyone for their encouragement/advic, I appreciate it.

So true, zYe. Are you extremely familiar with Chopin's music, or would you like some recommendations?

I'm very familiar. I can play his Em,Bm,Cm,GM, and AM preludes and one posthumous waltz (E flat major). I am awaiting further instruction from my teacher regarding the next piece she recommends. I still have work to do on the g major prelude though. I can play the first few bars of the revolutionary etude but I stopped messing with that because it is far too advanced. I'm lookiing forward to learning so much more of his work though.

Are you leaning towards learning the complete preludes?

Eventually but they vary in difficulty. I'd say ill either learn emahor or raindrop next

<quote>but i want to study bach, scarlatti, hayden, beethoven, mozart, shubert, schumann, chopin, mendelson, liszt, rachmaninoff (the music of theirs that is in its maturity)! ... i understand there is a learning curve but i'm already at the point where i feel like there is no hope in ever even approaching the level of music id like to play.</quote>

I'm not sure why you are limiting yourself to the materials given by your teacher. In you spare time, you can still play all you want. If a piece is too difficult, change to the other pieces. That difficulty only means your level is not up there yet, but in the meantime, you can still get some benefits of sight reading on that piece. Playing piano is both hard work and enjoyment. Impatience goes nowhere.

Just my take on it, but I would forget about all this "how long does it take" stuff. You have a teacher, ask your teacher about all this. Don't fabricate an alternate universe stationed in the future and mired in the past. Try to learn how to enjoy everything about practicing and playing the piano. Stay in the present. Find pleasure in what you are doing and learning. Pay attention to what music is in front of you. Slow down. Quit grading yourself (you really have no reason to criticize yourself, and you are not qualified at only 3 years into "the life" to rate how you're doing). Stop ruminating on "I cudda been a contender" and learn to enjoy practicing, your lessons, the beauty of the whole scene of trying to play the piano. Stay in the present. You'll be happier about it, and probably learn more. Just suggestions. I hope you can workout a way to be happier about studying piano.

Virtually no one answered directly the question "how to stop these thoughts?" Meditation and Yoga are two concrete things a person can learn to do that will help with those thoughts.

The negative thoughts will come, however a person can choose to dwell on them or let them go. A preacher gave me this line "I may walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but I don't have to build a condo there." The original poster seems to have chosen to focus on their weaknesses.

There is also the Zen credo, chop wood, carry water. In the simplest deeds, a person can find peace and fulfillment. It is the mind, not the deed itself.

Comparisons are a tough thing, but after three years and playing those kinds of pieces, that is likely better than the vast majority of beginner pianists. If top 10%, or top 25%, or top 50%, isn't good enough to be happy, it has more to do with the person than the activity. If being in the top group, but not at the very top, makes a person feel inadequate, that is more about the person than about competency.

There was the line about hope. Hope for what? To be able to play the most difficult pieces that take most pianists a decade or more of dedication to master, if they can do it at all? That is a fine aspiration, but in three years? It doesn't happen that way for 99.999% of beginners. If a person dreams of being that one-in-a-million talent, or one-in-a-thousand, that is a fine dream, but no reason to be discouraged, or depressed. Again, it more about the person than the activity when these kinds of negative thoughts become the focus. That's why I suggest learning to meditate or taking up yoga. Both can be a way to clear the mind of these kinds of thoughts.

There was another very long thread on the beginner's forum about a person that has taken lessons for six years now with various teachers and felt that they were still at the level of a typical first year pianist. That person wanted to sell their piano and quit. The comparison won't likely bring much joy to the original poster, but it does give some perspective.

I can add a bit of my personal story. I play what I can. I find simple joy in the simple pieces that I tend to compose. Some others derisively call the instrument I play on a toy, and my kind of pieces "kindergarten" level. Fine. I still find joy in the activity of writing and playing.

Stopping the thoughts? OK - maybe you're short on serotonin -- "Serotonin ( /ˌsɛrəˈtoʊnɨn/) or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system (CNS) of animals including humans. It is popularly thought to be a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness."

Get checked out by a psychiatrist. Low serotonin may contribute to rumination and other troubles and can be treated by Rx.

I never claimed that I thought it would be reasonable to be very advanced in three years time. I just am worried about my speed of progressing. The projected rates Iset get reevaluated the more I learn. When I learn something my vision grows but what it reveals is there are many more stepping stones and complications than I previously realized thus lengthing the projected goal I had set for reaching a certain level. See the pattern? The knowledge I gain results in an exponentially growth of the path that remains uncharted.

Regardless what I have gathered from this thread is that I need to just keep practicing because this is just the nature of learning and progress. And I think I might be depressed and fleeting and anxious which I already suspected. You guys all said that my mentality is not rational so ill stick to that. I just have trouble not getting stuck in my normally negative mindset.



So. Once again I appreciate the discussion. I wish you all happy practicing!

When I taught, I would often see a 3 year hump. That is work, work, work, and then all of a sudden things would start falling into place.

I also find that the more I learn, the more there is to learn.

It is a life long ambition. Don't be discouraged.