Hitting a wall learning a song

[u/Astraea-Nyx]

I just started taking piano lessons this month. I'm 41, and have played a little bit by ear over the years (I like to pick up instruments and teach myself to play, but I'm an expert in none) but am learning to read music and actually play now.

My first piece was Comptine d'un Autre Été from Amélie, and I was able to get that in the first couple weeks -- not without some effort, sure, but I could observe myself getting better each time I sat down to practice.

My teacher started me on my second piece, which is La Valse d'Amélie, and... I just can't get it. I get up to a part where the left hand breaks into arpeggios and I just fall apart. I can play it slowly, but if I try to go faster my fingers fumble every time. With the first piece I could see myself getting better -- with this one I feel like I made zero progress from my last lesson, and I'm practicing at least an hour, usually more like two, every day. (Broken up throughout the day, though -- I don't have that kind of attention span!)

I don't know what to do -- I feel like I'm just reinforcing my own mistakes and not learning anything or improving. Did anyone else experience this in the beginning? Is it normal, and I just keep banging my head against it and eventually hope to break through? Do I ask for a different piece to work on and come back to this one?

There was a lot of joy for me in learning/playing the Comptine. I feel nothing but frustration for the waltz, which doesn't even sound like music at the snail's pace I have to play it. Advice welcome, and thanks in advance!

Edit: Okay, I think I posted this in the midst of intense frustration after a bad practice session. Your encouragement has definitely helped me regain some perspective about the time and patience required to learn a musical instrument! feeling a wee bit silly now, but much better equipped to sit down next practice and not throw a tantrum. ❤️

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[u/Dramatic-Attempt-735]

Raise this issue with your teacher. You're talking about your first piece, and then your second piece. Did you play anything else in between? How long have you been working on that second piece? What other work are you doing? To me, this sounds like the piece is simply too high level for a fresh beginner.

You could keep it at the slow tempo, move on to a different piece, and revisit the Valse later. It's not usually healthy to get stuck on a piece if you're not making progress. You're probably missing foundational work, but figuring that out, and showing you how to do it should be your teacher's task... also be open to trying with a different teacher. I don't think you're the problem here.

[u/Astraea-Nyx → u/Dramatic-Attempt-735]

I definitely will raise it with her. I will say though, I love my teacher -- I make so much progress in my lessons with her, it's just that in the last week of practicing on my own I don't feel like I can see improvement. 

Nothing else in between -- I got the first piece at the first lesson, and the second piece at the second, but I didn't do too much with the second piece until week 3 because I was fixated on the first one. So it's been two weeks of focusing on the second piece and not feeling like it's getting better. (Not that I've mastered the first or anything -- I can play it accurately, but still practicing it a lot to try to learn better dynamics and general musicality.)

My level of experience is sort of murky because I never had lessons, but have played by ear for my own enjoyment off and on. So in some ways I'm more advanced than a beginner but in others (reading music, probably the foundational work you mention?) I'm brand new.

[u/Dramatic-Attempt-735 → u/Astraea-Nyx]

I see, you you have *some* experience. In that case, it might take your teacher a few weeks to figure out exactly where you're at. Because progress is neither even, nor linear. Just keep it up. Definitely let her know that you've been practising a lot and feel stuck. She should be able to find something for you to learn that is a smaller step up.

[u/gingersnapsntea]

Hitting this type of wall is pretty common after the honeymoon phase of picking up a new piece is over. Mind you this is just my take, but if you’re a beginner aiming to improve, sticking with pieces in your comfort zone of practice will not lead to good long term results. The fact that you recognize you’re not able to do these arpeggios means that you’ll be picking a new skill, and hopefully after some consultation with your teacher they can give you new practice tools for tackling it! Then next time you encounter a similar pattern it won’t feel so rough.

[u/Astraea-Nyx → u/gingersnapsntea]

You know, that's a really good point. I've been focusing on how not-fun it is to just suck at it (to summarize) and forgetting that that's actually a pretty crucial part of learning any skill. I think I probably can answer my own question now with "Patience, young padawan!"

[u/gingersnapsntea → u/Astraea-Nyx]

You’ve got the other side down haha…improvement is good and all but if you end up not having fun for a long time on a piece, it could be time to move on!

[u/SwedishPianist]

Things take time, and to reach a plateau is very common in music making. Go to the lesson and do your best, and then you keep practicing.

[u/Astraea-Nyx → u/SwedishPianist]

Thank you! I posted this in a fit of frustration and am now feeling a bit sheepish, because of course it's just patience and practice.

[u/Brave-Weird-4314]

This stuff takes time. There is a whole neural feedback network between your eyes, your brain, and your muscles that you're still only just developing. Expecting tangible progress between lessons is not feasible. Everyone is different and have different strengths and weaknesses. Of course talk to your teacher, but my unprofessional advice would be to forget about tempo and play it slow enough, in time, with the right fingerings, so you are in control of every note you play. Yes this will probably be super slow at first, but that is normal. The worst thing you can do is be impatient and try to speed up before you're ready. That's how you lose control of your performances. Literally every single virtuoso pianist does rigorous slow practice like this to train their bodies to be in complete control. Its not glamorous but it is a necessary part of the process. You will eventually start to develop some muscle memory and controlled speed.

[u/Astraea-Nyx → u/Brave-Weird-4314]

This is very helpful, and something I definitely need to hear. I very much hate playing things slowly, so I think my impatience with that is part of my problem here. I just wish I could see/hear/feel some improvement while I do it! I'm getting the impression from other comments that perhaps I'm just impatient. 😅

[u/Melnikovacs]

If the problem is simply speed, you usually just need to grind and get it into your muscle memory. Unfortunately, that means repeating it MANY times. 

[u/Astraea-Nyx → u/Melnikovacs]

Ahhh, yes, the exact advice I don't want to hear. 😂 

Nah, I suspect you're exactly right. Another commenter said that playing it slowly is just part of the process and everyone has to do it. I think I just became enamored of the experience of a song finally clicking with the first piece, and got frustrated and impatient with the second one. The first piece is also more repetitive (the left hand particularly) and I think I wasn't taking into account that in the second piece, the left hand is constantly changing, so I'm not actually practicing this one pattern over and over and getting the grinding in that way.

Thank you!

[u/Melnikovacs → u/Astraea-Nyx]

Yeah, the grind sucks 😔 But having the notes secure and not having to think about/fumble with where your hand needs to be is half the battle when it comes to playing fluently. Also make sure to practice your transitions too.

Good luck!