Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum I'm no longer keeping track of my practice

That's it, I'm done with record-keeping! I just realized this yesterday.

I kept a log of my practice for 6 years, from 2014 to 2019, recording the time spent practicing in 15 or 30-minute chunks and the kind of practice - pieces, etudes, technique, duets, etc. It was not a very detailed log with all the things I did, the pieces and bars I learnt and so on, so it was not very time-consuming, but still, I suddenly felt that it was not necessary anymore.

It's not like I no longer need to practice, there's still a ton of things that I have to learn or improve, and I still can't just sit at the piano and play, but this year something has changed. In the last few months I haven't been practicing much to be honest, as I have a lot to do with a new project, which might even become my new job in a year or two (my language-teaching YouTube channel), but I'm still in love with the piano and have no intention to quit, it's just that I need to feel free to assign my time to the things that need it the most on that day, even if it means going a full week without practicing. I also kind of feel that I got somewhere after 8 years, that I don't need to challenge myself all the time and I can just enjoy the few things I can play. I feel at ease at the piano now, I don't look at my hands anymore, I can read easy things quite well, and I can be content with learning just 2 or 3 difficult pieces for an entire year, if I like it, or put them aside at any moment. If I don't play for a few days, everything is still there when I sit at the piano again (fingers crossed).

To make a long story short, yesterday I sat at the piano without starting the timer on my watch for the first time, and it felt good!!

Join the club! If I play every day, it becomes turgid. I lose concentration, and play badly. so i do similar to you. I make better progress that way, and it frees me up to do other stuff.

It sounds like you’re very happy where you’re at with piano. I have to play everyday. Well, I guess I don’t HAVE to , but I prefer to because I enjoy it so much. Keeping a log sounds a little extreme but I can see where that might work over a period of time to check progress.

Try not to stay away too long or your skills will start getting a bit rusty!

Yeah Sinophilia !
We all can become fixated with our ‘progress’ in getting THERE that we forget to enjoy just playing and getting there when we get there. When I came back to Piano a few years ago, I accumulated a list of around 200 pieces that I really had to play. I became very driven about how fast I was learning and how soon I would be able to play everything I wanted. I’ve let the frantic worry about doing it all go—- and it feels great

I’ll get wherever I’m going when I get there 😊 it doesn’t mean that I don’t have goals, but they are no longer ‘must dos’.

Occasionally I get a good idea late at night without the time to work through it, so I leave a brief note to remind me of it in the morning. I would probably forget it otherwise. I kept a playing diary some years ago to track what worked and what didn't in the overcoming of an injury. Aside from that I have never kept a log of any sort as I am too fond of spontaneity.

I really am, even if it sounds quite arrogant! And in truth there is not much I should be happy about

I'm still pretty strict about scheduling practice, but I wonder why I bother to log anything in my little practice notebook, as I can't remember the last time I went back and looked at it. "Hmm, I wonder what I practiced on Jul 19th, 2017?" ... Nope.

I believe the main point in keeping a journal is to send a message to one's own subconscious that practicing, and paying attention to the practice, is important. Doing so for a long time will make mindful practicing second nature.

Of course this can also be achieved without keeping a journal; the journal should simply make it somewhat easier.

Every day I say things like:

"Did I work on the Scarlatti today?"
"How long has it been since I practiced arpeggios?"
"I've been working on this for 30 minutes - time to move on."
"When do I need to have this duet ready?"

and so forth and so on. I can't make the most of my practice time without knowing what I have done and what I am currently doing.

Sam

I’m paying close attention to this because I’m still at the stage that everything I do is dictated by the method book. Storing up information for the day when I get to make a these decisions myself.

I'm sure you couldn't Sam, but being in college your goals are much more ambitious than mine, and you have deadlines, and tons of stuff to learn. But even if I'm no longer completing my practice spreadsheet, I still have my yearly goals. They will have to change, too, because I'm no longer counting the hours spent on this or that activity, but I still want to learn a few specific pieces every year. And now that I think about it, the ones that I wanted to learn in 2020 are mostly done! Apart from Bach

Good for you for doing what works best for you, sinophilia.

When I retired I thought wow, now I can really play a lot of piano. And in about a month it repulsed me None of my repertoire was working for me any more (which is to say, none of it made you want to dance ) so I, too, gave up on it. I played a little, but not much, for quite awhile. Gave up my least rewarding seniors gig. And then, gradually, I started playing more ragtime. I had kept some sort of a journal/log for most of 15 years. No mas. And my most recent ABF recital submission got more positive/detailed feedback than any of my previous ones. I wonder if there's a connection?

So maybe at some point I will find it useful to keep a log again. But for now - logless I'll be.

It's arrogant to be happy?
I'd say "satisfied" rather than "arrogant."

Schools over - I have graduated! But I am still practicing...

Sam

Keeping a log sounds dreadful, I turn to piano as an escape rather than a chore. I suppose I don't have any specific goals or timelines I'm trying to meet though, so for me it's hopefully more the journey than the destination.

Good on you, if something isn't working or contributing we mustn't be afraid to change our habits. Having kept a practice log since 2013, I have learned that if I practice a piece more I get better at it. I don't know if I could have found that out on my own 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Big mistake you need to keep notes. Sounds like your problem is you were keeping too detailed tracking and just need to keep more general notes. Those notes help when you start feeling your not making progress then you look at the notes and can see there is progress being made.

The further you go in music the smaller the leaps you make in progress and also the longer it takes to make a leap. So keeping notes lets you see that.

Yes, it is important that you can track progress but keeping notes is not the only way to accomplish that.

I'm a fanatic of notes making. I keep several logs and I make notes of almost everything I read, hear, do and think. It helps tremendously with analysis. I think without notes there will be a great mess in my head. I hope you've already started the log of your YouTube channel?


And I'm sure your passion for piano will return. It's normal to have rises and drops in it.

WARNING - By practicing for years and years you may end up learning something!