Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Post here your musically goals for 2021

I will PM you

Hey Johan! It's nice to see you back on the forum!

I have specific goals, related to deficiencies I've noticed in the last two years.

1. Improve on my jumps, particularly achieving soft, musical landings rather than the plane crashes I currently experience;

2. Eradicate my current inclination to walk or run my hands up and down the keyboard (I tend to use the most recently played finger to propel my hand toward the next note);

3. Replace my hand walking/running with hand gliding over the keyboard with my hands moving up and down the scales with arm movement rather than that running motion;

4. Learn scales. I've held off long enough. 5 years in, I'm ready. And, in need.

5. Get some more advanced sonatina's under my fingers. I'm about done with Clementi op 36, no.1. I want to move up to some more difficult sonatinas.

6. Do some Zoom (or similar) meetups with my PW colleagues (I now have internet! ).

I'm the tortoise, someone else can be the hare!

Goals - to survive the teacher I just hired to beat me into shape over the internet. First lesson in a couple days...

Always wanted to learn jazz piano. If I'm still with him at the end of a year, it will probably mean I've learned a million scales, chords, and arpeggios. And it'll be a minor miracle...

Oh boy. Seeing as how I am just beginning my piano journey I suppose my goal for 2021 is simply not to let it end.

I'm not too concerned about that happening. I've been approaching this moment with some enthusiasm for quite a few years, and now that all the pieces are in place I couldn't be happier.

I have the digital piano and some AX7 monitors arriving for it within the next several weeks, I have an interview with a prospective teacher on Monday, and I have realistic expectations about the long journey ahead.

Assuming I don't lose too many fingers in the coming months I expect I'll be posting my 2022 goals this time next year.

Wow, really? Not that I think you can't do it, on the contrary, but is a concerto really something that an amateur can tackle and learn something from? Because I want to try that too

It is funny how far I was from reaching my 2020 goals. It was a very difficult year and it seems that 2021 will be as well, but hopefully not as bad as 2020.

I will keep a more modest set of goals for this year:

1 - Learn and record 26 pieces (one every 2 weeks)
2 - Prepare a 40 min recital program, that I will probably never play but if I feel confident enough I might do a live stream on Youtube (scary thought, but I want to face my performance anxiety, eventually...)
3 - Learn a Rachmaninoff piece (I am crazy about Op.3 No.1, Elegie, and I think I can handle it now)
4 - Read more, preferable a bit every day (pieces and books)
5 - Dedicate more time to the violin, which I began learning a few months ago but I hardly ever practice (it is so hard...)

I'm setting classical piano aside for a while. I worked hard on it the last few years, up to and including a bit of RCM level 5 stuff, but I don't have any classical-related musical goals (e.g., exams, recitals, music school ... ); I only wanted to get the foundational technique from it, and I feel like I have enough of that, at least for now, knowing I can always revisit it as needed.

In the meantime, I've switched over to jazz and blues, which are what I really want to play. I've created my own curriculum that includes the same sort of things as classical - scales, technical exercises, tunes, etc. - but geared toward the jazz and blues genres.

My actual goals are to be able to play tunes and improvise solos, both alone and with small groups, and hopefully even have a chance to sit in on such groups. My wife and I are also writing some original blues and blues-rock tunes, and I've bought some recording equipment, so another goal is to record some music to share with friends and family via FB, etc.

I'm returning to the piano after many years. My aim is to work consistently, practicing every day that I am at home.

I'll attempt the 40 pieces a year challenge, hoping that this will help me improve. The 40 will include:
- 1 stretch piece (Henle 7). Beethoven's Pathétique
- 3-4 learning pieces (Henle 6). To include 2 Chopin Nocturnes
- at least 10 Baroque to Mozart pieces - my nemesis.
- I have a to-do list that includes Massenet's Meditation, all of Grieg op 12, several from Schumann op 68, at least 1 Mendelssohn, 1 Gade, 1 Debussy

Somehow I need to find the time and commitment to study some theory...

But my main goal is to ensure that my son, who has just started learning, keeps it up.

I really look forward to seeing how we have all done at the end of the year. May it be packed with piano delight for all.

Good to be here. I'd try to remember to get back here to respond but just now made it.
Let me know how the jazz improv goes for you.
I seem to never have time to work on that, busy trying to work up some of pieces to the tempo that's marked and that takes a lot of practice.

I always find it good to set goals, I seem to be more focused if I have a goal. The difficulty has been in the past making them achievable, so this year I am only setting goals which to me seem highly achievable, barring a zombie apocalypse, etc, etc

1. Prepare and sit AMEB Level 4 Theory exam
2. Sit AMEB Grade 7 exam in the June/July sitting
3. Actively work on improving my sight reading; read daily and read longer pieces

Here are my goals for 2021:
1. Learn the 3rd movement of Moonlight sonata on the piano and on the electric guitar.
2. Well, I guess that will be enough to keep me occupied every single day of the year (at least!)

OK, I will also make an album, with piano and guitars (and virtual instruments).
I know it is rather a thing of the past, but it still sounds cool

No idea of what it will be for now. But I will participate in the RPM challenge in February to get at least some kind of draft, and I will see what will come out!

The Czerny is proving to be tougher than I thought. So if I can finish one every two weeks I would end up at #30.

I’d like to be able to learn pieces quicker and improve sight reading

I’d like to learn more pieces by Bartok.

Improve sight reading and improv.

Learn to play for teacher without getting such performance anxiety.

I just got my first piano a couple of weeks ago. I'm in my mid-50s with zero innate musical talent although listening to music has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I'm using Faber's Adult All In One to get started, and I have an interview with a local teacher next weekend who uses the Faber series among others. I assume she'll ask me about my goals playing the piano. The best answer I can give her is a blank stare.

With most of the interests or hobbies I've undertaken in my life, my primary goal has been "don't suck" until a couple of years ago. For the most part, that mantra has worked well with the exception of the electric bass (hopefully that's the last time I'll have to address trying to play that instrument) and computer games. In a twisted way I enjoy being terrible at computer/video games...it shows my connection with the real world.

My true passion is bird and wildlife photography. Although I'm still pretty new with only a couple years' experience, I've never had a hobby or interest that's given me as much pleasure as chasing birds with a camera, which isn't as easy as it may appear. I mention this because I went into the hobby with no expectations, no experience, and no standards to judge myself. I wasn't chasing a handicap like I did in golf, or a certain score like I did in archery. I was just learning and experiencing. I've spent the last couple of years learning about my gear, the subjects, and what it takes to get a good shot. I have a lot of reasons for wanting to learn the piano, but one of them is to create a little balance between chasing birds and doing something else with my free time..."Mike, it's 40 degrees and pouring down rain, there are no good pictures to be had out here." "Yeah, but what else am I going to do on a Saturday morning?"

I want to learn what I'm capable of learning about the instrument and music in general. What makes it tick, what makes me tick, what it is about certain songs or composers that I like or don't like. Why do I love Beethoven's and Haydn's symphonies while I'm ambivalent toward Mozart? Likewise I can listen to Satie, Debussy, and Bill Evans for long periods while Chopin and Liszt just sound like a wall of notes at this point of my listening and playing. I'm sure that's blasphemy around here, but my ears and tastes aren't that sophisticated at this point to fully appreciate them.

The bottom line is I want to enjoy myself. I don't mean having FUN like drinking beer and skipping stones across a lake; I mean enjoying the learning and discovery, even on days that playing or reading is a complete grind -- like somehow shooting a nice (for me) 76 or 77 when my golf swing deserted me or somehow getting a nice light-catch in a bird's eye even on a cloudy day. I know a lot but not all of my many personal limitations. I'm sure the piano will reveal more. I just want to enjoy the ride, no matter how bumpy it might be.

2022's goals will be different, I'm sure. "I hope to play Mary Had a Little Lamb more fluently." We'll see.

Continue my way through Melodious Masterpieces book 2, then starting Masterwork Classics 7. Also getting my RCM technical exercises to match where I am in repertoire, LOL.

One month to go!

I missed posting my goal early this year, but I had one. Is it too late to share?

Aside from working on my technique, sight-reading and not missing practice days, I set up to learn the whole Schumann's Kinderszenen in 2021. Unfortunately, as of now it seems I'll fall short slightly.

Looking forward to 2022's goals!