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I've been playing Rondo alla turca for 3 months, and it is still far away from good level.

I did everything. Hands seperate millions of time, slow practice... Even at moderate tempo i make many mistakes...

Ironic thing is that i've played many faster and harder pieces (right now im playing schubert impromptu op.90 no.2 and i have no problems at all...)

The piano music of Mozart is some of the more difficult music to play well.

If you have been putting in as much time and effort on this movement as you say, then I suggest you not "drop" it, but "put it aside" for the time being. Sometimes excessive work trying to get something right which just isn't going right is counterproductive. Leaving it alone for a month or more and coming back to it later might be a good move at the moment.

Regards,

I vote that you put the Rondo in the closet for a few weeks and then try again.

thanks for advice.

Does "puting it in the closet" means no playing at all? Or just no practice? I beleive that in one month i would forget a lot...

Anyway, i am defenetly not going to practice it... its too frustrating...

Are you working by yourself or with a teacher! Without a teacher your practice methods and solutions to specitc problems for this piece may not be the best.

GreenRain;

I can relate to your struggles with that particular piece....I spent a great deal of time on it myself. Altough I finally reached a moderate level of proficiency at it, I rarely play it mistake free.....

Tha advice of taking a break from it is sound...maybe not for weeks, but certainly several days. One can build up kind of a mental block with certain pieces..."alla turca" may be a major jump for you from a technical standpoint. I have set several aside and come back to them several days or even several WEEKS late. The improvement in technique through steady practice during that time helped me deal with the technical challenges of the piece when I finally picked it up again...

I remember your performance of Chopin's #7 that you posted a while back. You've got a nice touch. Just keep at it and be patient, and it'll all fall into place.

i would drop the piece now and go back to it later. i have dropped a lot of pieces in past few years because some pieces just took me too long time and i was making little or no progress on those.

Pianoloverus: Im working by myself, however teacher gave me this piece to play it over summer, and she marked all important things, which technique i have to use, how i have to practice it....

kentm:

thanks for you answer too...

Sometimes i just feel so frustrated...Like today... i played through my repertoire and i played badly...i totally screwed up timing in moonlight and fur elise, i made lots of mistake in mozart fantasia and in bach invention... It's just so hard to keep pieces in shape, practice new one and going to school at the same time...

Sorry for off topic...

This brings up a related topic, how long is long that a piece should be dropped or put aside ?

My current teacher told me his students in the university will prepare year end audition/exam pieces for the whole year which is their main focus besides some other materials they may need to learn. So by comparison, is 3 months in this case for the OP really taking too long ?

Which brings up another aspect, is the problem due purely to technique that you can't play through the entire piece without tiring or playing wrong notes since you didn't elaborate what you mean by mistake, so I assume you mean playing wrong notes. Your teacher should be able to tell.

My teacher assess my ability to play a piece in two major aspects. How quickly I can get the notes learned im my hands and he is patient with me. Next he will encourage me to play through entire piece as soon as I can manage and assess if my hands tire out at the end. If so, he concentrates on the causes and devices some technical exercises for me to practise. If this is not going any where only then he will suggest me to drop or put it aside.

Have a good discussion with a good and patient teacher is invaluable at least in my case.

But if you're not making good progress now, assuming you're presently taking lessons again, why not ask her for help?

Let it rest for a while. You may be pleasantly surprised when you come back to it.

Sometimes putting a piece aside is very good medicine, I've done it myself numerous times. Just out of curiousity, what sections are giving you trouble? This was a favorite piece of mine as a kid and played well into adult years, if there are specific areas you need help with just let us know.

I was working on a piece over the summer with similar frustrations. Much more demanding than I had expected it to be, and I considered "dropping it" several times, but I kept at it. While all the notes were there, it's almost like I wasn't comfortable playing it.

Though it wasn't a planned break, I moved at the end of the summer, and didn't touch a keyboard for over a month. By the time my piano finally got here, I sat down and I was impressed myself at how much my comfort level had improved when I tried playing the piece the first couple times.

A break might prove beneficial. Good luck!

Daniel

Many Mozart sonatas are quite difficult to play cleanly and with a light touch. What parts of the rondo are you having difficulty with?

I would work on improving your technique: try Hanon, exercises 20 and on.

The great pieces you will probably revisit many times in your life, each time being a bit better or able to add more to it. Don't expect to do it all the first time! Take the break and return to it with a refreshed mind (and better technique ).

Thanks for so many posts!

I talked with my teacher today, and she agreed that i should drop it.

I had most problems on the last part of the piece and it A-major section. But mistakes were also in other parts of piece

I will rather work on some bach's preludes and beethoven's pathetique