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Hello All,

How realistic is it if you have a piece that is at the stage where you can play the notes ( at a slow speed in order to play them properly ) and you have a few bits and pieces memorized, to be able to perfect ( note - wise and musically ) and memorize to play for an event in 4 1/2 weeks?
This piece has been VERY difficult for me to learn even though I have been consistently practicing it 3 - 4 hours on the days I practice. I have been making some progress but I am not sure it is enough.

It is the only piece I am working on right now so I don't want to spend my time working on it when there is a good possibility it will not be done in time for the event. I would rather try to work on something that I will be able to finish instead of coming up to the event and not having anything to play or worse yet not having it ready ( my biggest piano nightmare! ;-) )

I know it is hard to give an opinion without posting a recording - but I didn't want to put you through that!! :-D )

I would appreciate your thoughts!

It's hard to say much without knowing more about what kind of piece you're talking about. But even without knowing more, I'd say that it sounds way too iffy. First of all it seems extremely uncertain that you'd be able to finish learning the piece within the time -- but even if you did, the available time wouldn't be enough for you to be secure about it.

I think it's a good general rule that in order for a piece to be ready for any kind of "event," you need to already 'have it' at least a month in advance, if not more. And if it's a piece that's been giving you the kind of trouble like what you said, it needs to be even more in advance.

I say do something else -- preferably something that you learned in the past, not starting on something new.

People's abilities vary from person to person.

She gave us enough to go on to narrow it down better than that.

Happily, pianogirl, I disagree with MarkC!

4 1/2 weeks is a TON of time. Do not disregard the amount of work your brain can do when it is asleep. Every time you sleep, your brain re-wires. Practice. Sleep. Practice. Sleep. 4 1/2 weeks? That's more than 28 sleep/wake cycles. If you can play it slowly, then play it slowly every few days to drill the fingering. Don't play it fast on those days... Play it slowly! On the other days, play it up to speed, or close to speed(s). On the other, other days, play it any way you want!

Trust me. If you can keep nerves out of it, you're good.

Plus, you probably play better than you think you do.

I do agree with MarkC, though, that more details would be... fun. Share them if you want to. IMO, you're good to go!

BTW, You have to give up your idea of playing "perfectly." Ask Rubenstein and Horowitz and Borge. Play it WELL!!!

It is already "ready." (Faith is a curious thing...)

--Andy

P.S.~~ I love it when I get to agree with BDB!

CB: I guess you're more OK than I am about taking big risks with things like this. Look: She's been working hard on it, and much of it still hasn't been coming. You don't think that means it would at least be very risky that she could have it securely in 4 1/2 more weeks?

I don't believe in spinning the dice so much for things like this.

As others have said, it is very difficult to give you advice without even knowing which piece you are talking about, how long it is etc., but if you really fear you won't be able to finish it by the deadline (although your fears might be unjustified, we don't know...), maybe you should try (as you yourself suggest) something that you feel more comfortable with and that you think you will be able to perform 100% (or close to it...) for the event.

I agree with what everyone has said. You might be able to do it and you might not but having a due date is a great motivator. Why not try? You might surprise yourself!

MRKC: Let's talk about her in the third person! She thinks she can work up another piece "perfectly" in 4 1/2 weeks? Given the amount of info we have at the time, I would say, "Play to your strengths! You already say you have a few bits memorized note-wise AND musically, perfectly. That's wonderful! Keep going! How many bits? What's the piece?"

MRKC, in addition, who said anything about BIG RISKS? It's an EVENT. Is that a big risk? Especially since she plays better than she thinks she does? Oh, wait... We don't have information!

MRKC, "spinning the dice?" 4 1/2 weeks is a TON of time!

MRKC, plus, she's from Texas, right PG?

Pianogirl, BDB was the one who gave the advice as such: "Those who know your mistakes don't need to be reminded. Those who don't know, don't have to have it pointed out to them." Or some such phrasing. BDB?

Pianogirl, PHRASING.

Do good!

--Andy

Because success is of great value, not to mention comfort with the performing experience. Failure and discomfort are worth avoiding to the extent we can. I'm very surprised that there's so much opinion on the other side. To each their own but I think it's very ill-advised.


CB: I disagree with just about everything you said.
Everything.

If you don't play it well at this event what are the consequences?

A risk/reward analysis might help determine which direction to take.

I do not believe in having everything "securely." We do disagree!!!

I believe in playing something I know as though I am playing it for the FIRST time, EVERY time. Just because I know it, does not mean that it is secure. It might be firm, though. (Slowly every few days, pianogirl, to solidify the fingering. Let your brain do the rest! (PUN: rest. )) And, because I know it, and, because I am playing it for the first time for the hundredth time, and, because I am listening as I play, it means there will undoubtedly be a surprise to me. That's what I love about making music and making meaning.

Wow, KeysAngler--

You're good!

MarkC, even about PHRASING?

FEELINGS.

--------------------

To CB and the others who think she should just go ahead:

I think you are downplaying (actually probably ignoring) this part of the 1st post:

"This piece has been VERY difficult for me to learn even though I have been consistently practicing it 3 - 4 hours on the days I practice. I have been making some progress but I am not sure it is enough."

Have y'all really considered that? Does that really sound to you like enough to advise the person to go ahead? If it does, so be it. But I think it's very poor advice.

So....Txpianogirl, there you are. You've got both sides here. Take your pick.

When in that position in the past, it has never worked out for me. It was a hard lesson to learn that only those pieces that I have well under my fingers will come out ok, and by ok I mean playing well, as compared to avoiding to not crash and burn.

Mark is right...a less than satisfying to me performance (or a disaster, or anything in between) hurts inwardly in a way that damages one's ability to play well w/o fear the next time. At least that is how it has been for me, so I now have a rule---whenever possible, I only play to my strengths.

First of all, how long have you been working on it? What type of an event is it? You paint a very incomplete and kind of bleak picture. Without knowing more though, I can say that a deadline is a very strong motivator but you have to have the spare time to make use of it. It may be a good idea to have a backup piece.

That's a huge part of where I'm coming from. I don't look at an event like this as just a single thing; it's part of a process, part of our journey of making music and performing. I put a very high value on doing our best to ensure "success experiences," even if it means we're restricting ourselves sometimes, because of exactly what you're saying. It enables us best to build on each experience for the next ones. The "hurt" of a single failure is bad in itself and worth avoiding, but the worst thing about it isn't the hurt or the failure itself but how it affects our "journey."

People might say (and I bet they will!) that it needn't affect the journey. But it does, at least some -- and the main thing is that SUCCESS not only feels good but is a positive thing that only helps you build for the next times. I put a great premium on that.

Which ultimately makes one a better player, IMO.