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Joined: Jun 2009
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Good points Jeff. By the way, here's a picture of Chopin's piano. ![[Linked Image]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/PianoOfChopinValldemossaMallorca.JPG)
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Do you play for anyone, or do you practice that much just for your own pleasure? I just wondered because sometimes I don't know why I'm working so hard but I keep wanting to get more skill, more technique, and more musical, but it's not easy for me to play in front of others, except very close family. My husband has said that I'm putting so much pressure on myself, but I think that's just the way I am when I want to learn anything. Having lessons helps me focus, too, and pushes me to work harder.
Performing in some capacity is important to me. I think most people find music intrinsically rewarding, but I don't feel complete until there's also the extrinsic goal of sharing it with other ears. It's a social urge. I am the other way around I prefer playing for other people not my closest family. My family already listens to me practice every day and is not very impressed by anything 
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Do you play for anyone, or do you practice that much just for your own pleasure? I just wondered because sometimes I don't know why I'm working so hard
I ask myself the same question quite often. I don't know why I work so hard either, except for my own satisfaction. Lord knows, I'm never going to make a living at it or anything close. Only my own family- a husband and a grown daughter still at home- hears me and I rarely get any kind of feedback. Awhile back I overheard my daughter tell her current boyfriend, that " no, she's not bad" in referece to my playing which chuffed me up no end even though it was said in the context of a whine about all the repetitious practice she has to hear. One gets one's strokes when one can.
Slow down and do it right. ![[Linked Image]](https://www.pianoworld.com/forumpicts/MOYD12/MOYD_789012.gif)
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Chopin loved his little Pleyel upright, and I like to think he would be happy to see you attempting his Etudes on yours--- happier than he would be to see you wait until you were deserving enough to have a go at them. His life story makes a good case for not waiting too long. With all due respect, Chopin liked the big Pleyel grands he leased better, though he had nothing at all against small upright (cottage) pianos or pianinos as he called them. He was utterly miserable with the rented, shot to heck instrument he first rented on Majorca and he'd probably have felt something lacking in an electric had he ever met one. My point being get the best instrument you can comfortably afford (there's nothing like financial anxiety to embitter your joy and ruin your concentration) and enjoy it with a clear conscience. Deserving doesn't come into it. A good upright is better than a poor grand. A serviceable piano of any sort is better than an poorly maintained, unreliable one. Just about any serviceable acoustic is better for your long run musicianship than an electric.
Slow down and do it right.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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HI, Frycek, When I was telling my husband recently that I really needed to get a better piano and trade in my 30-year-old console, he said, "It's not like you're a professional or anything, or make any money at it, or play for anyone." Other times, he's told people he enjoys hearing me play, though (a few times). We did buy a new Yamaha T-118, which was a huge upgrade from what I had. My young grandkids are interested, though, and I'm hoping to help them learn soon, and I have one brother who plays the clarinet who is interested in what I play. Otherwise, I play only for myself, which is the majority of the time. It does seem kind of crazy sometimes. Thanks for responding! It's interesting to know others work so hard and play for themselves. Kathy
" ![[Linked Image]](https://www.pianoworld.com/Uploads/files/Joplinbadgesmall.jpg) "
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HI, Teodor, Wow, you've been in a lot of recitals! That is wonderful. Maybe your family is just used to how well you play! Kathy
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I think any practice is better than no practice and daily practice of whatever duration is much more effective than sporadic practice. I'm afraid I'm one of those three or more hour a day serious amateurs. I didn't start out that way. I learned as a kid, practically lived on the bench as a teenager, then lived a piano deprived life from my 20's to my 40's. About fifteen years ago after my mother, in the process of redecorating her living room, finally relinquished my piano supposedly so that my daughter could take lessons - anyone else see the irony of that? The kid didn't take to it. The piano languished unplayed in my living room for years. Then my husband (the trumpet player) decided he wanted to learn to play and had it tuned. His interest waned after about a week, but I sat my very rusty self down the following October planning to make myself practice thirty minutes a day so I could play a few carols by Christmas. That was the innocent beginning of my readdiction. Soon I'd graduated to the hard stuff, Chopin and Bach and other reprobates. I tend to have two practice sessions, one very early in the morning (I keep milkman hours) before I go to work and I usually get in 1 1/2 - 2 hours spread out over about three hours. Then I have another session in the evening, usually after I've taken a bit of a nap (I get home around five) That would be another 1 - 2 hours spread over about three hours. I make myself a weekly schedule (schedule highly recommended) and try to adhere to it. That way I manage to keep my "repetoire" up and still work on new pieces. There are some pieces I work on every single day but for no more than 15 minutes at the time. Some I work on for 20 minutes a couple of times a weeks. I try to give new pieces and long pieces that I'm trying to polish get about 40 minutes every day.
So envious of the time you have available... I could do the same... if I got a divorce :-)
"...when you do practice properly, it seems to take no time at all. Just do it right five times or so, and then stop." -- JimF Working on: my aversion to practicing in front of my wife 1978 Vose & Sons spinet "Rufus" 1914 Huntington upright "Mabel" ![[Linked Image]](/ABF_Medals/4medals.jpg) XXIX-XXXII
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HI, Frycek,
When I was telling my husband recently that I really needed to get a better piano and trade in my 30-year-old console, he said, "It's not like you're a professional or anything, or make any money at it, or play for anyone." You might want to have him try that on for size the next time he wants a new whatchamajig for his favorite pastime... "You don't need a new [bandsaw, bike, boat, fill-in-the-blank] honey, it's just for you after all" :-) Glad to hear you got the piano in the end despite the comment!
"...when you do practice properly, it seems to take no time at all. Just do it right five times or so, and then stop." -- JimF Working on: my aversion to practicing in front of my wife 1978 Vose & Sons spinet "Rufus" 1914 Huntington upright "Mabel" XXIX-XXXII
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So envious of the time you have available... I could do the same... if I got a divorce :-) Happily married for thirty years, I do my thing, he does his. That's the secret.
Slow down and do it right.
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Thanks, 1RC,
I wonder if I'll ever get to that point. It would be nice to feel more confident to play in front of others and share music.
Kathy That's the catch-22 of it, where will you get the confidence from? After spending many years playing mostly on my own, with maybe an average of 3 'performances' per year, it seemed to me that being able to perform was yet another skill to be developed. On my own it's more like a personal exploration; if there's hestations, mistakes or everything doesn't quite fit together that's fine because I can sort of patch it into the ideal in my head. Having one chance to make this ideal actually come across (more or less) brings me to a higher level of focus. Learning how to get over mistakes was a big part of it, which was learned by making them and surviving. That whole notion of gracefully recovering from mistakes also seems to come from making A LOT of mistakes (experiencing that it doesn't have to stop the music makes them seem far less significant). Maybe not to the family members who've already the piece a thousand times in pieces, hahah! but even just having some company over can be a chance to put the piano to use. Even a worst case scenario is just the chance to see that the worst case scenario won't kill you. heh.
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HAHA! I know--and that was after he traded in his motorcycle and bought a new one! I'm glad I got one, too!!! Kathy
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HI, IRC, You have a really good way of looking at it! I think you're right--it is another skill to be developed because it's different from playing for yourself because it takes so much more concentration when you have more distractions. I've been really working on concentrating more on the music (being less distracted) when playing for my teacher, and my playing just in front of her has improved, so maybe there's hope! I told her I have to stop saying, "Oops!" every time I make a mistake, though! I need to work on playing through the mistakes! Yes, I think it's a good idea to realize that it won't kill me! I think that I'm feeling a little more confident with my pieces and that will help, too. My teacher chose pieces that were pretty difficult for me, so I never felt that I could play them that well, but I think I'm finally catching up to the pieces. YAY! Thanks so much for your help! Kathy
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My husband gently and lovingly did the simple math. If practice one hour a day everyday of the year, I’ll be at the young age of 64 to get to the 10,000 hour mark ïŠ
Playing since May 2011
Alfred Adult Book 2;
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It seems like forever when you look at it that way if you're just starting. That's funny your husband figured it out. It would be neat if you (or anyone) could document your 10,000 hours and did youtube videos to show progress and then when you are at the young age of 64, you could play and video your pieces and see how far you came after 10,000 hours. I roughly just figured that I probably have around 4000 hours so far from the past and now, but it's hard to remember how much I practiced when I was a kid and young adult, and I'm sure it wasn't careful practicing. Kathy
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Treating your lessons as performances is a great idea Kathy! A former teacher used to call it apologizing when we'd say oops or make a face, in a way announcing it. He'd say something like "quit apologizing for your mistakes and get on with the music!", hahah.
If I can offer one more suggestion, it would be that if you decide to prepare some music to perform for whatever occasion to choose pieces you've learned a while ago. They will be easier to play than the newer challenge pieces, your fingers will fall back into place after some review, it'll feel more secure and more likely give an enjoyable, confidence-building outcome. It was always much smoother sailing when I dusted off older pieces than feeling like a tightrope walk with the challenge pieces.
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Thanks, 1RC! Yes, I love the suggestions! That's funny--I'll have to quit apologizing for my mistakes! I'm going to try that! I will keep that in mind to play something that I've learned awhile ago. I'm sure it helps build confidence to play better, and so that sounds like a very good idea! Thanks so much! It is all very helpful! Kathy
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My husband gently and lovingly did the simple math. If practice one hour a day everyday of the year, I’ll be at the young age of 64 to get to the 10,000 hour mark ïŠ
You'll be 64 either way, with or without the piano knowledge.  Personally, I understand the 10,000 hour theory, but I don't think learning is quite that linear. Some people have natural abilities and can pick up on things easier. Some things take a while to fully get a good grasp on the skills. I believe that playing piano as a concept isn't all that hard. The fundamentals are basic. Application of the knowledge is where the hours of practice come in. And some of those things are easier than others. I prefer to think in 6 month and year long goals. If you can see progress, that's all that matters.
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It all depends on the person, the latent ability and the quality of the practice and training. I'm pretty sure I've got the 10,000 hours, or close to it and I'm far from an expert, but I can pretty much play the pieces I want to play after my fashion.
Slow down and do it right.
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I think that the 10,000 hour rule is horribly misleading.
Practice consciously and you'll be awarded over time. If you expect to be expert after 10,000 hours...you may be disappointed. You can't measure expertise on a personal level. There are pieces I have played that I feel like an expert on simply because I have an intimate connection to them and I play them with a very articulate dynamic sensibility. That's expertise enough for me, even if they may not be the "best" interpretations according to music examination standards (although some have gained strong recognition).
You are an expert at what you do well, according to your own effort put into something. Perhaps you may not be "advanced" according to society, but everything is relative. Keep working at what you are good at and you will be rewarded.
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I think that the 10,000 hour rule is horribly misleading. In what way?
Every day we are afforded a new chance. The problem with life is not that you run out of chances. In the end, what you run out of are days.
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