Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Playlist or New stuff? Which is best for the head?

Some of us will gravitate towards one or the other, or a proportion of both.
I've been doing a play list for the past couple of years if not more. My head is sick of ditto repeato ad-nauseum-o.
So I looked in one ot the easy to play children's books.
Except that they weren't.

No.2; Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young, Winter it's called, I love it and I'm doin' it to the best of my ability.
I'm getting there. But I noticed immediately, one thing.
Piano is fun again!

What d'ya think?

It doesn’t have to be either/or. With my own music I am unsatisfied unless I am constantly reaching out into new territory, but I still maintain a small repertoire of classical, jazz, ragtime and my compositions from earlier years. The same applies to listening, which I try to keep as eclectic as possible.

The head changes from day to day: some days it welcomes the challenge of new stuff, and days it might play scores below where I am. I give myself at least one day a week where I play whatever I want…and it is so refreshing to just have fun. For me, it’s important never to force it..I aren’t back at school, beginning of my career..piano was always supposed to be ‘fun’. I can’t let myself forget that.

When I retired I also dropped all but one of my senior living gigs. I was so burnt out from staff that didn't care that even thinking of my playlist turned my stomach. Then covid came along and even my last gig went by the wayside. Now I can't play any of those tunes. I'm finally revisiting only the ragtime (thanks to MOYD) but all the big band stuff still gives me the willies. So I'm not doing new rags yet, but it's only the ragtime that's keeping me on the bench and one of these days I'll get to new rags.

I guess that's not really an answer, but maybe, if I hadn't been so burnt out on the non-caring senior gigs I might still be playing the big band stuff.

It is what it is

"Which is best for the head?" Generally, new stuff. And not only when it comes to the piano. I think we generally do a bit too much more of the same and not enough new stuff.
Old stuff consolidates existing pathways that may not need very much more consolidation, new stuff creates new pathways.

Yes! New experiences, new music, scenery, house, wife. . .everything!
Maybe not the wife. . .

A new wife will certainly make sure that you have a lot of new experiences. But what is good for the brain might not be the best for domestic peace and wellbeing.

My wife (the Wise and Wonderful One) informs me that I swear more when playing new pieces . . .

I am just learning and building my repertoire. One day in the far future, I hope to have this problem @peterws :-)

I have to keep moving forward, or I lose interest. By the time I learn something well enough to record it or play it for friends, I am sick of it and ready to move on.

As far as SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed), 41 years and still fun!

Sam

I’ve bought a boogie woogie book to supplement the classical pieces I’m learning. It’s good fun and less intense than classical— came with downloadable audio files. There’s a drum track you can play along to which is something I’d never tried

Personally, I tend to sit on my laurels and enjoy what I've already learned, probably too much. But hey, I'm lazy. Every so often I'll hear something I just have to try. I'd say 80 to 90% old stuff. 10% new.

I think playing and interpreting new material that you've never heard before is the most exciting activity at the piano, and also the best for the brain, nothing compares to it.

I thrive on new material for sure...I enjoy nosing around with new stuff so much I have to watch out for abandoning older pieces by the truck load!

I don't worry about it. Looking at the overall picture, I see exploring new material as opportunities to practice sight reading ( good ), if I feel like trying to play along with some favourite music by ear ( good), if I want to sit and improvise to some lead sheets ( good), if I want to sit and play old material to strengthen my memory of them...good!

My rule of thumb is that the most important thing by far, is that you can't wait to get to the bench everyday. There is merit in almost everything you sit and choose to do...particularly if you're practising your listening skills and concentrating on making whatever you're playing sound musical.