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Joined: Nov 2002
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OP
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A couple of years ago I returned to the Piano after a 40 year hiatus. It's not that I wasn't playing music, I've been playing guitar (electric, steel string acoustic and classical) during most of the time...I ain't great, but I've developed an ear. I started with a local teacher here in Tucson (and along the way she somehow deduced that I could sing, so I got shanghi-ed into the local Scottish group as a vocalist) (and yes, not that it matters, I am half Scottish...but back to the main topic). Anyways I moved along quite well...tried a couple of beginner pieces (I've always loved Debussy so I tried an easy "Claire de Lune". It went well, and I abandoned it for the real deal (I thought, it's all black keys...what's so hard about that?). Got about a third of the way through it (until the lyrical middle section) and hit a dead end like a ton of bricks. Well, I did some more easier stuff (some of the Kabeleyvsky (sp?) childrens's pieces and the like) then tried a Chopin piece...Op 28 No 4...and again hit a dead end.
I got so frustrated I laid off the piano for a couple of years, and only recently have restarted again (this time with Satie's Gymnopedes Number 1). It is going slowly... I don't want to hit that damn wall again. My teacher is getting frustrated, I'm getting frustrated, and maybe I need some encouragement.
Any thoughts? Ideas? Encouragement? Thanks!
Bill Daniels Tucson, AZ
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Hmm, that Gymnopedie by Satie (a beautiful piece btw, unfortunately here in Germany know from a insurance company commercial: "Oh, you're playing that thing from the TV..." ) was one of my first pieces. Let me ask you a question: How do you learn? You see, it is a good idea to break a piece into sections (works best if the sections make sense musically) and learn both hands separately until you've really managed to play them perfectly. Then learn to play both hands together. Starting to learn with both hands at a time can really be frustrating. As an example: Start by learning the left hand chords, that are repeated for the first 16 measures. Then learn the right hand from measure 5 till 8. When you've learned these things perfectly, start playing both hands together. Move on in the same manner. This is the way I learn pieces and it works for me (I've managed to learn this piece in a few weeks). Maybe you could try if this way helps you learning. Frank
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Joined: Feb 2005
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Very few of us can hit the ground running, so to speak, in regards to playing piano. Frank gives some good advice. Learn the piece in sections and slowly bring the sections together.
Don't rush yourself; give yourself time to get to know the piece.
The more you keep at it the better you will get at it. All the music experience you already have can only help.
Good luck ...
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Joined: Jul 2001
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If your teacher is getting frustrated you might want to entertain the notion of looking around for another teacher.
"Hunger for growth will come to you in the form of a problem." -- unknown
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i feel the same as Bernard: get another teacher. your current teacher might not be right for you, otherwise, you'd make some progress already.
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Actually my teacher is fine...the problem is getting comfortable with what I'm trying to play. (fancy way of saying "motivation"). Any suggestions for kicking oneself in the rear?
Bill Daniels Tucson, AZ
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Give yourself some time to get back into the swing of it. I'm guessing that part of the frustration is stumbling through pieces that you used to play more easily in the "olden days."
Pick a few pieces that you are confident of playing fairly well, and concentrate on all the non-technical aspects of the pieces: tempo, dynamics, phrasing. Even the simplest piece needs to sound musical and I find it very rewarding and motivating to know that I have been successful in bringing out all a piece has to offer. At the same time, you'll be reacquainting yourself with piano in general.
You can't expect to take a long hiatus and simply pick up where you left off. If Clair de Lune (or Satie or whatever) is frustrating right now, put it aside as something to work on later, and take it down a notch. There's nothing more frustrating than working on pieces and having nothing you feel you can play well.
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it's a good idea to try something different. maybe play some Bach or Beethoven or some easier pieces to get your confidence back.
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Playing the piano is a never-ending process. There is always something that you want to play that is more difficult than what you're playing now, so it's tempting to always choose pieces at the edge of your ability level. And this probably holds especially true for people who play or use to play another instrument, because we look at sheet music and feel like we can understand it (and maybe we do) so we think we can play it (and often we can't!)
I think one of the best ways to avoid aggravation (in the short- and long-run) is to go back and forth between easy and difficult pieces, and if you're working on more than one piece at once (or several pieces) make sure some are easy and some are challenging. When you're feeling frustrated, play the easier pieces and remind yourself why you're playing in the first place, make some music and congratulate yourself on how good you sound.
When you hit a wall with a specific piece, try different practice methods (like those listed above) HS separate, HT, play very slow, break it up in smaller and smaller sections, play from the end to the beginning, drop some notes from one hand or the other. Approach it like a puzzle that you have to break apart before you can put it back together. And lastly, have your teacher be straight with you and let you know if maybe you need to put the piece away for a few months or a year.
There is enough great music in the world to keep us busy for several lifetimes, there's no reason to end our musical pursuits just because we can't conquer one piece at one point in time.
Started piano June 1999. Proud owner of a Yamaha C2
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Clair de Lune was one of the first pieces i started playing about half a year ago, after an 18 year haitus.
The middle section was easier for me to get through after splitting them up into the different voices. It took me a long time to get through it. It required a lot of patience because I had to play real slowly and keep my fingers and hand steady, so that i could play the top voice boldly, while playing the end of the arpeggio line (with the right hand) as lightly as possible, as a continuation of what the left hand did.
Months later, i'm still polishing it, and now i'm trying to bring the low quarter notes (the beginning of each arpeggio line) out more, to start bringing that low voice out as well.
It is like the unlayering of an onion. I found that as long as you can hear the voices, you can eventually play it. I just found i had to play real slowly and pay really close attention to what my fingers were doing, even micro-managing every finger on certain more delicate sections.
Good luck. I was really frustrated with that piece and almost put it down, but i'm glad i struggled through it.
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Thanks to everyone...I really need to get back to Mr Debussy...I'm in the process of getting a real piano (I currently own a Kurzweil SP-88, which sounds real good until I go to my teacher's place and play on her Steinway O), and am embarrassed at how much I've forgotten. But first things first...and I want to conquer Satie's Gymnopede Number 1 as well. I also need to go back to some of the earlier stuff I learned...
Bill Daniels Tucson, AZ
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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