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I've been fustrated lately because I've been too tired/lazy when I get home from work to put in good practice time. I work a long day and have a long commute. So, I want to see if I can practice over my lunch hour. I usually take 45 minutes and mostly go on the Internet for sites like Piano World.

So, I bought a cheap, used keyboard. I shopped around a lot because I don't want to spend too much on an experiment that might not pan out. Turns out, the really cheap keyboards don't have weighted keys and that won't work. I'll also have to get a stand and a pair of headphones, and maybe a piano stool. We'll see how it goes.

howa bout getting a ear training+rhythmic training software instead? In fact, counting and subdividing different rhythm with the metronome can be quite helpful with your rhythmic ability.

For rhythm you can do stuff like


-table of time. 4 bars of whole notes, half notes, half note triplet, quarter notes, quarter note triplet eight notes, and then 2 bars of each and so on.

-tap/sing groups of 8th notes.. i.e groups of 4 eight notes starting on 1, & of 1.. 2.. etc. eventually you will be crossing barlines in the middle.

-polyrhythm.. constant dotted quarter notes dotted quarter notes on 3/4, constant half notes on 3/4..etc

etcetra: Great idea, but I probably wouldn't do it. That sounds too much like work, and I'd probably find an excuse to avoid it. I can do some ear training (and boy, do I need it), but I want to put in a half an hour at the office, and I've got to make some music during that time if I'm really going to do it!

I think it's neat idea, jjo. If I actually got a regular lunch (I'm in a small office and usually don't bother with lunch or I just wolf lunch down at my desk) I would love to spend my lunchtime at a keyboard!

I'm living in france for 4 months and I brought this: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyRig49.html It has semi weighted keys, it's cheap and low weight. But you need a computer. I use a mac with garageband or logic. It's better then nothing...Works well for working out fingerings and learning solos, not much good for practicing touch ,voicings etc.

I've played piano all my life, and only recently purchased an electronic keyboard for gigging. So, I wouldn't be happy without weighted keys. I shopped around a bit and found an old Casio for sale for $200.00 If it's in descent shape, it will be a good purchase.

you can learn a lot by just studying scores

Experiment delayed. The great deal on a keyboard I found turned out to be too good. I got an email that the keyboard needs fixing and is not for sale. I will get a keyboard, but reports on whether on can practice consistently at the office will have to wait.

I have many of these printouts at my workplace. I sit in a quiet room and play these rhythms with my fingers on an imaginary keyboard.

The keyboard has arrived. It cost more than I wanted to spend. Now we'll see if it gets used.

Here's the first update. I've been so busy at work time to regularly practice has not happened yet. However, this week my band had a gig and normally I go right from work to the gig, with no time to practice any of the tunes. With the keyboard at work, I got a chance to play through most of our set list the the day before and day of the gig. This is a huge boost for me because I'm trying to play more and more from memory, which is critical in jazz. But if I show up at a gig without running through tunes at least once, I'll forget the changes to tunes even though I know them well. Those warmups were a great comfort.

So, no verdict on whether I'll really do some serious practicing over lunch, but the keyboard was quite useful this week.

I have a similar problem. I think piano is 90% mental so if you are able to visualise you can go through your repertoire in your head. You do not really have to cart a keyboard around.

I always do this on long train journeys. I memorise the score and count the time. I also visualise the pages of scores and also visualise the fingerings on keys. I bring the score too and use it to analyse the structure of the music which I "see" in my mind's eye. I also press my fingers over an imaginary keyboard which happens to be a briefcase.

As a result I find I can sit down at the piano and play with more sureness and confidence next time. I know the music and have simply to follow a road map in my brain.

Don't be too quick to discard the idea. If the keys are the right size and shape, practice with radically wrong touch is a good thing, provided that you also practice on a good piano. I have a $50 Craig's list keyboard and a concert grand. I find that practice on both makes it easier to adapt to whatever pianos I encounter elsewhere.

JohnSprung: You could be right. However, I'm 56 and I've played piano most of my life. 4 years ago I had to buy my first electronic keyboard so I could gig with a band, and all I wanted was a keyboard that best duplicated a real piano. Perhaps it's too late to teach this old dog new tricks, but when I play non-weighted keyboards, they just don't feel right.

Right now, it's getting late on a Friday and I'm hoping to sneak in some practice!

I wish I could practice at work ! but not during the lunch time
( we could argue that it relaxes the other employees and makes them more effective )

I've thought about doing this in the past when I had my own office where I could close the door and getting a cheap digital piano for lunch practice. While it would be great, the fact is it looks unprofessional in the office and phone calls still come in needing to be answered and coworkers come in with questions, so my lunch time in the office wouldn't be an uninterrupted block of time.

What I ended up doing was getting a little battery powered casio and headed out to a nearby park, where I would be alone and uninterrupted, with my iPod and I used the time for transcribing solos and things off of recordings. It worked out pretty well. But the others are right, you can do some mental excercises like going through tunes and visualizing your playing or working on your ear training with CDs and a bunch of other things that don't require a keyboard and still get a lot of benefit from the time.

Now in my new job I just work through lunch and get home a little earlier.

Daniel

Don't think the outdoor option would work here in Chicago for very many months!

So far, the first week or two with the keyboard I've been too busy for regular practice, but I have used it the day or two before gigs. I'm also finding that I can get a half hour in sometimes at the end of the day before catching the train home (5:30 to 6:00). The advantage is that I have more energy than. I get home after 7:00, eat dinner right away. So practicing starts around 8:00, and I'm lacking in energy and ambition by that time.

I payed $20 for 540 chord ear training MP3's from here:
http://shazware.com/ChordTrainer/

With it I've been getting better and better at identifying all the notes of any chord. So I can get ear training absolutely anywhere I go.