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I wonder if this has happened to anyone - I've been working on learning two pieces for a few weeks now one is Fur Elise the other is Chopin's Waltz in a minor - they've both been coming along ok.

Today during my practice session, for some reason nothing worked, it seemed as if I'd never seen the music before and I ended up walking away from it - I guess it's a case of "overdoing" - wonder if I should take a day away from it and go back to it on Saturday.

Thanks and I look forward to reading your posts.

Happens to me all the time. Sometimes I'll just put those pieces away and practice some scales or go over old memorized ones just to remind myself that I can play something!!!
And sometimes I'll take a day off.....like today after my discouraging lesson.....

I have good days and bad days, but they don't seem to be related to how much I've practiced. As a working mom with two youngish kids, I just don't have enough time to overpractice, as much as I might like to!

But I think Sandy's suggestion of taking some time off, or playing something else for a day or two, is an excellent one. I know that I usually have more than just two pieces I'm working on. I probably don't progress as fast on any one piece as I could otherwise, but I like the variety.

it happens to everyone, i guess. if nothing seems working at the practice, then it's time to take a break because it would be useless to keep going or quite possibly you're going in a wrong way. that's what i do: walking away and coming back later when i am in the mood...

Yup. I agree with the others. You might want to give yourself a bit of a break from those pieces. It amazes me how much that can help sometimes (with plateaus, too).

Thanks for all your good advice and it helps to have company - guess I'll take the day off and come back to it tomorrow.

TK - plateaus - this is something that I'd never given any thought. If I have reached a plateau, wouldn't that be great - it would show that I'm might finally be getting somewhere, I think.

Musdan: Don't worry about it. Trust me...this happens to everybody. We all have our good days and our bad days.

I recently had been practicing all week for about an hour just about every day (for me this is more than usual) and by the time I got to my piano lesson on Saturday I was STILL making silly mistakes (or so I thought in my mind). I was surprised at how much BETTER I play at home than at my practice lessons. I felt so stupid because at some parts of the piece it was as if I hadn't seen the piece before! I like...blanked out! ughgh! I hate when that happens.

But, to my surprise my teacher said that he could tell that I had been practicing more. So, who knows?? Maybe we're a little TOO hard on ourselves sometimes?

Just know that this type of stuff happens to everyone.

Hi,

Funny that you wrote "Maybe we're a little TOO hard on ourselves sometimes."

My teacher said the same thing too me during a lesson, so, my guess is that you are so right. Thanks for your support and advice.

You're welcome!

The other thing that happens is you practice something so much you don't hear the music anymore. Eventually, the music gets stale like old crackers, and you end up frustrated. The best thing, as others have said, is to put away the music for a bit and try something else.

I have many pieces I have worked on (I mean destroyed) over the years. I go back and work on them again, and eventually finish them up.

The other thing too is to just enjoy the music you have finished off. Remember music is to be enjoyed even by those who are studying. You need to enjoy the fruits of your labor once in a while.

John

John,

You "hit the nail on the head" there are times I don't hear the music and that's when I say to myself "enough already" and go to to something else or take a short break.

It's taken some time, but every once in a while I like to give myself a pat on the back and remember where I was when I first sat down at the piano 4 1/2-5 years ago and what I have accomplished so far -warts and all.