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How far are you prepared to take your studies, and to what level?

I will carry on learning until I have reached a reasonable standard and can sight read with ease. But even at an expert level, I have seen concert pianists talking through the music with the conductor and they discuss things and make little changes to suit one another. I don't think you ever stop learning.

Keep it up as long as you enjoy what you are doing! And if the joy goes away one day, make minor changes to your routines to re-ignite your interest. Alas, it is a never ending pursuit.

I don't do studies, per se. By the time I finished graduate school I'd have more than my lifetime's ration of studying.

I ask my music teacher to help me with whatever I'm currently pursuing, musically. Sometimes it's just a simple pointer that gets me over a small hurdle. Other times it's an ongoing process that takes several small steps with practice in between.

But no overarching goal (other than making the kinds of music that I'm into) and no curriculum or benchmarks. So in a sense, it may never be "enough" for me. At some point it might not make sense to do a lesson every week but I can't imagine any real end to my desire to gain more insight into my playing (and singing for that matter).

Enough is enough when you can't do any more. Personally, I can never do enough.

There was another thread that mentioned goal setting. My piano goals seem more modest than most. I understand that regulars on a piano forum tend to be enthusiasts, many with a burning passion.

Each person has their own priorities. I tend to be process oriented, so I don't aim for any particular level (eg: exams) or pieces. For me, the priority is to enjoy the journey, and learn some along the way.

Some seem much more interested in maximizing their abilities. For me, if I have twice as much fun and get half as far, so to speak, I'm willing to make that trade off.

I use the word hobbyist. Some people dislike the word, but it is accurate for me. Hobbies are supposed to be fun. There are many more important things than hobbies. These include: family, physical health, financial well being, friends. All these I put in front of my hobbies. Others may have such a burning desire and passion that they sacrifice one or more of those for their piano journey. I don't see a right or wrong in that, as long as it is a conscious choice.

I don't understand why I play piano. I just--have to?

I don't really have a final level I'm striving for. My musical aptitude is not so great, but I feel I do myself a disservice if I don't try my best. So I guess I'm going to get to whatever level that gets me to.

I have no intention of becoming anything but a piano hobbyist. I love learning what I can and I try my best and get the most out the experience. But I think I'm a little too old and past my prime to gear myself towards perfecting this instrument. I don't intend to go on competitions, but I may join another recital with the 5-10 year olds for fun. If I have an ultimate goal, it would be to learn as many techniques as I can so that I can get to a level where I'm satisfied with my skills and won't need a teacher. I know that's kind of a broad/bold statement...again I'm not planning to compete or become a concert pianist. Just wanna learn enough to cruise.

I set out from the beginning to write music. I easily come up with lyrics. I wish to write melodies.



They are discussing their interpretation of the music. It is one thing to copy perfectly. It is a whole different thing to play music.
Seiji Ozawa creates music out of Beethoven and other's. I have not seen another conductor that does anything but try to copy perfectly. Seiji is in a league of his own. Seiji gets it.
I also admit. I am not the greatest listener of Classical. What I have heard, I have heard.
The only other person I have heard in classical close to this is when I saw the movie about the pianist who went crazy. He would go to a night club where they had a piano. He would play it. What I heard in that movie out of him was impressive.
I enjoyed it.

I won't go into other Genre's of music. There are those that people really create music. I enjoy it. Some even extremely simple stuff. Some just didn't have the money for instruments. Weren't allowed an education in music. Yet, they created music that I consider great. It's because they had music in their hearts. They shared it. That's all that counts.



When you stop learning, you die.

As far as my lazy discipline can take me.

As far as I can...I assume my natural limitations will become an obstacle before I have reached the level I would want to get to... I would be very happy to be able to learn some advanced repertoire when I retire. But if not I'll settle on the ability to play few hundred Scarlatti sonatas

so long as it keeps giving me a legal high, I'll keep bashing those keys.

Presently, it appears that I will continue until I die. It is quite possible that a change in circumstances would require me to discontinue, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

It's making music that keeps me moving forward. If it wasn't piano, it would be some other instrument (and has been other instruments in the past). But the piano is so versatile and there is such a vast repertoire of music to play that I doubt I will ever exhaust the possibilities of the piano.

And there is so much to learn. It does keep me sharp and on my toes to learn new things.

Sam

I just go where my curiosity takes me.

So much of the fun is the learning part. I know sometimes I feel a big let down when I'm done with a piece. As much fun as it is being able to play it all the way through there was something nice about every day sitting down and taking on a new measure. And of course... no piece is ever really "finished".

I plan to take my piano studies as far as I possibly can, and to the highest level I can possibly achieve. 

After starting as an adult, I have been been playing for 14 years now (wow!) I have had a teacher almost constantly (except for a few 3-6 month stretches when my schedule has prevented me from having regular lessons).  I have recently been noticing more and more that I don't need a teacher for a lot of pieces that I want to play (especially Nevue and Einaudi pieces).  I've just had about 7 weeks of teacher-less-ness, and I worked up some pieces that I'd had on my "play in the future" list for a long time.

But working with a teacher makes it possible for me to tackle more challenging pieces that would take much longer, or not be do-able, on my own. And in the last few weeks, while I was without lessons, I set aside some more difficult pieces to come back to when I get back to my weekly lesson (starting next week, yay!)

I consider myself to be at an intermediate level right now, and there is a lot of music I like at this level. The times I've gone without lessons have shown me that I will always keep playing and can continue to progress and acquire new music on my own. But there is also a lot of music above my current level, and especially because of those times without lessons,  it's clear to me that working with a teacher is the best way to make sure that those pieces eventually come within my reach. 

As my Mom used to say: "I'll tell you when you've had enough!"

I'll never stop playing for so many reasons. It helps me direct my energy in a positive way and keeps my mind sharp. It also allows me to express my emotions in a way that is more than just a smile and a laugh.

Playing piano also helps me unwind late in the evening before bed.

I could go on and on but like the old TV commercial....

Pork chops and stuffing,....I'm stayin'!

Plowboy, your mom sounds like mine. She used to drill the phrase "Don't be so easily satisfied" into me. European old school tough.

That last part sounds really profound, but I wonder...

If not permanently "finished" then temporarily finished...

It would seem that on the surface of things that for any given player at a certain level of expertise at a given point in time there is probably only so much that can be done or accomplished with a certain piece of music - no matter how long or hard it is worked on - and so, given all this, the piece is finished.

Later, as one's abilities improve and skills increase and the same piece is again attempted, there probably will be more one can do with it - technically and interpretively - to "finish" it at a more sophisticated, better played and better sounding level - but here again there is a point beyond which very little or nothing can be done to finish it even more, and so it is "finished"...

And on it goes...but it is doubtful if this cycle can continue indefinitely, and so at some point it is finally finished.

Now, I am finished...

I don't know John... maybe it's just a character flaw, but I am never satisfied with my playing. I always know I can do better. Nothing ever really feels finished. Don't get me wrong...I like that feeling. It keeps me interested and gives me drive.