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Lets stay motivated

193K views 1K replies 27 participants last post by  Jaro 
#1 ·
Hi,
I just want to add this thread so we can share our journey with learning our skills in piano.
I hope this will motivate us to practice and practice and practice consistently. I believe this is what sometimes is missing. So, stay tuned to this post thread and lets practice everyday, for as long you need or you can. Let's share our experience here. Let's commit here to practice and follow what we write here to do. Let's push ourselves a little bit... and share what we are doing right now. So,
to keep it short what is your plan for today to improve your skills? Share it with me/us and lets improve our skills DAILY :)
All the best,
 
#697 · (Edited)
I played an hour and a half.

It took me 20 minutes of playing to get into the zone of effortlessness. Then I could've quit there (but you don't want to stop at that point). You can quit a little while after you reach that good level of experiencing what your hands and fingers are doing (with strength and an awareness of the music in reserve), because at that point you've reached or slightly surpassed your last level.

So, I guess 40 minutes ever other day is enough for me to retain my level. Of course, if I practiced 3 times that long I would eventually eliminate the hesitations, which unintentionally change meanings in works.
 
#698 ·
20 minutes :) I still try pushing, I still have no certain time when I reach that zone if I ever did so far, I still need loads of hours of practice... but it doesn't stop me from having FUN playing. I guess that zone is when you feel your fingers/hands nicely warmed up, hard to describe that feeling, good feeling. For one week now I am practising in my conservatory where is quite cold, warming it up takes a bit, what is happening now, before I start my practice. For me Scales practice helps a lot, not Hanons, not arpeggios. Scales :) So, in about 10 minutes or so it will begin :) Do your part (whoever reads it) and PLAY and HAVE FUN! 1.5 hour, half an hour, more... HAVE FUN!
 
#699 · (Edited)
Still not there yet, but here it is Sonatina Op 36 no 1. Few more hours to fix some problems that you will spot there. Sorry for last part quality, camera battery change occurred and forgot to refocus, well... since it is not last time I record it: NO WORRIES :)

Till tomorrow :) Ready for some comments.



Ps. Had to change camera angle but honestly, my left hand 5th finger still is a bit stiff... working on it :).
 
#700 ·
Practice and practicing aren't helpful words. It's just playing. And if you think in terms of just playing you'll be freer to indulge in the mixing of scales and arpeggios, and most importantly, thereby to learn to express yourself uniquely. You won't feel so restricted.
 
#702 ·
Let's warm up a bit our hearts with some music: PLAY!
Me: short brake from Sonatina Op 36 no 1. For one week but meantime from my PM app: Minuet in G minor plus Sonatina Op 36 no 2. Smarter how to learn the piece? We will see :) Have FUN with your challenges :) ...and again: PLAY!
 
#707 ·
Brake day for me, or maybe... in the evening if everything will go smoothly, but YOU don't forget to bring a bit JOY to yourself and possibly others (if not now, this could be another step forward to do it in the future) PLAY! HAVE FUN!
 
#711 · (Edited)
I haven't played in two days (my car needed to be towed and repaired).
This will be interesting… If it hasn't been too long since you last played, something quite magical happens. Your fingers know what they're doing but your brain has to be reminded about the exact pressures and graspings and the individual (separate) fingers of the hand as they're making sounds. Not quite an out of body experience, but pleasant like that..

It's quite an unnatural activity for a human to make sounds with small complex movements and finger sequences (when they all have to be played quite precisely with the feedbacks). How is it done exactly?

Glenn Gould was asked about fingering and what he practiced in order to remember specific fingerings in the large works. He said he hadn't thought about fingering in decades and he feared that it would be as dangerous as asking a centipede how it walks - and then it wouldn't be able to walk. People would ask him how he did what he did and he would say "I don't know" and "I don't want to know". His friend said later that he was afraid he might lose facility if he worried too much about it. But he did worry.
 
#715 ·
Conservatory is the worst place to have your piano in. It is raining and it is SO LOUD that it is hard to hear your own thoughts. SO, I must wait with my time of JOY till it stops raining. But YOU! Well, you may have more comfortable environment for your piano. PLAY! Take advantage of that. Why wait? HAVE LOADS OF FUN!
 
#721 ·
Fighting with my old laptop that needs to come back to live: it is unfair fight but now finally came time to PLAY! Short today, but I need that FUN before this day ends. PLAY!
 
#723 ·
Had to work on my practice routine. Too much time wasted... Some practice done for today... next session in few hours :) You too have some FUN and PLAY! Me: I need to work on some clear goals (short term) to have even more FUN from playing.
 
#725 ·
Well, READY TO PLAY TODAY? Let's have some FUN as always and move a bit forward: PLAY!
Ps. I am after my first hour with scales, hanons and arpeggios :) FUN part left for the evening :)
 
#727 ·
She played more notes in one minute then I play in 15 minutes :) It is amazing what we can do with our hands... of course it needs loads of hours of practice and talent I guess. So, let's PLAY again today, get a bit closer to those who inspire us, though I am pretty sure that level of skills is beyond my range. It doesn't mean I can't enjoy the process. It doesn't mean to reach decent level and ENJOY much easier pieces... there is room for all of us. :) PLAY!
 
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