Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Early practice

This time of year, in the summer, my sleeping habits are totally wild.
Yesterday morning, I got up at 3:30 am and spent one and a half hours on my acoustic piano.
Later on in the day, I have no peace in my mind to do that. Then I have to be out in the sun and work on different projects. Which are usually garden projects, like diggin a pond, or working the soil, fixing the roof, etc..
Other mornings, I may be up at 5:30 doing the same thing. No matter if it's a workday, weekend, or a holiday.
Makes me wonder if there are other people with the same crazy habits. I look around and I see that the neighbours are all still sleeping like "normal" people.

On hot summer days, I have this happen often; also before the most important concerts. I don't see anything abnormal in this.

I'm up at 5AM every day - start practicing around 6AM. It's a habit that I formed long ago - I am my most productive in the mornings.

Sam

I sleep at 7 in the morning, wake up between 3-5 pm usually, with exceptions, of course.
About half of the night, I'm practicing pieces with headphones on.

A lot of creatives, be it musicians or other artists, tend to stay up late and have a wild schedule. Mostly because they prefer the calm and silent nights, including me, than a busy day full of distractions.

guilty of getting up at ungodly times and going straight to the piano. However right now it is Winter and it's difficult facing the cold (yeah I know - the harsh Australian Winter )

+1.

Playing at night can be very enjoyable, but not nearly as productive IMHO.

You're lucky that your day full of distractions is not 'work distractions'. Enjoy the wild hours while you can. I would prefer to practice half the night, but that is outside the realm of possibilities with a day job.... and i'm sure I'm not in the minority here.

Jobs suck!

Being older, I get up every night to use the bathroom, generally between 1 and 2 am. I then sometimes go to the piano and practice for maybe an hour and then go back to bed (good thing for the digital). I find this time to productive, as I am in zombie mode and generally practice slower. After going back to bed I fall into a deep REM sleep with vivid dreaming. Maybe I should do this every night, but I do need to make sure I get enough sleep so I can go to work ;0

Oh, yes.....hahaha

Always wake up at 4 or 5 too and usually get up, but I am pretty hesitant to practice then. Although I live in a single-family, the neighborhood is pretty tight and I am afraid I might irritate my neighbors.

My body's energy level is highest in the mornings but my mind is slow to get going. I usually practice in the evening, when the mind is willing. I wish I had a better mind/body match.

I'm picturing a piano teacher cartoon... the teacher is on the phone, saying "I have a slot available Tuesdays from 2-3 AM. I've also got Thursday 4 AM open, if you'd prefer something later in the day."

I worked a second-shift schedule for many years, and I loved the peacefulness of my free time after work from midnight to ... I did find that if I stayed up past 4 AM, the morning waking-up reaction would interfere with falling asleep.

On weekdays I start practising anytime from 6:00am to 6:30am and finish around 6:50am to 7:15am then get to work. Usually I get around 40-50 minutes of practice. Because I have such limited practice time, I have no choice but to be really focus and specific on what to practice. If I am learning a new piece, I'd be practising specific bars/measures and learning notes and fingerings.

When I get home I practice for 40 minutes to an hour depending on how tired I am. This is usually my free practice time where I don't have strict practice aims. This is when I play through the pieces. If I'm too tired I'd skip evening practice.

On weekends it's usually in the morning, starting around an hour after I wake up to around late morning or noon, several sessions with short breaks in between. During the breaks I'd usually do household cleaning (like vacuuming, laundry, dusting etc.) or watch some YouTube videos to get some inspirations. Sometimes I'd practice a bit more in the afternoon and/or in the evening. On the weekends where I don't have a lesson, I'd practise all the pieces I am learning and have some free time to explore other new or old pieces. On the weekends where I do have a lesson, I'd be practising only the pieces I'm going to play for the lesson on Sunday.

After piano lesson on every other Sunday (which finishes at 12:00pm or 1:00pm depending on my lesson time), I get half a day free from piano. On public holidays, I get to play my violin.

When I was working, I had to get up at 5:20 am, out of the door at 6 am, to drive 60 km (37 miles) and be on time for work.
I had everything ready the night before, including the cereal mixed and ready in the micro, so that I only had to push the button on the way to the bathroom. After washing up and getting dressed, the breakfast was ready and had cooled down a bit.
After that, I usually played a few minutes on the piano and even on the guitar, to sustain me during the day at work. Funny thing, I couldn't do without that.
I tried to get up a bit earlier, but didn't manage that since I had such late night habits.