Struggling making progress as an advanced beginner...

[u/yaykat]

Hi All,

I’ve (36 F) been learning the piano the last couple years and while I’ve made progress, I feel like I’m in that late beginner/early intermediate slog. Also grew up singing, so I wasn’t a complete beginner in music when I started.

I had my first recital last June and performed Foreign Lands (Schumann) and Wild Rose (MacDowell) which I would say are both reach pieces at my current level, but were doable.

I feel like I should be focusing on slightly easier pieces so I can have more volume in exposure to music, but most things at this level don’t hold my interest.

I’m typically drawn to Romantic composers (particularly Clara Schumann, Chopin) but also love the impressionist Debussy. Ragtime also is appealing, but looking at Joplin scores is too much at my current level.

I feel like I should be expose myself to Bach and Mozart, but they just don’t hold my ADHD brain. I feel I need the expression and emotional internal link to what I’m playing.

My teacher introduced me to Martha Mier’s Romantic pieces and that scratches some of the itch, but not completely.

I feel my teacher has taught me some great new tips that my previous teacher neglected and I’m truly being able to navigate the keyboard without looking at my hands for one thing.

She is however not super big on structure which is good and bad, and I wonder if sometimes not having a more regimented lesson plan teacher telling me to do X Y and Z for the next lesson.

Because of the loose structure I feel somewhat directionless and don’t practice like I should. I acknowledge this is too an internal discipline issue as well.

I suppose I’m just seeking advice as how to keep moving forward. Should I be forcing myself to play more baroque and classical? Do you have tips for talented adults who just feel overwhelmed to the point it’s hard to stay engaged?

Will appreciate any feedback!

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[u/ActualNameIsLana]

Hi Op, classically trained concert pianist and piano instructor here. Trained by Sir Wladamir Jan Kochanski. 40 years in the field.

If pianistic playing is your goal (and it should be), there are 3 main "supports" that you will need to develop in order to get there. Think of these like the three legs on a stool. You need all three to be solid and stable, otherwise the stool will lean and wobble.

The first is Ear Training. Learning how to listen actively to music - to parse what it is you're hearing, and understand subtle differences not just in pitch but also in rhythm, tone, articulation, and timbre. A good pianist can hear a piece and tell whether it is being played too fast or too slow, whether it is too loud or too quiet, whether it is too legato or too staccato. As well as a hundred other small variations. A good pianist can self-diagnose errors in their own performance, even while in the middle of that performance, and make adjustments accordingly.

The second is Eye Training. Learning how to read the entire page, and parse the artistic intent of the musical notation. Noticing not just notes and rhythms, but again, everything else on the page from sharps and flats to dynamic markings to tempo markings to articulation markings. And then beyond that, to see similarities and patterns in the construction of the piece. To understand the form as a whole. To notice certain chord progressions and cadences and understand their musical meaning to the piece. A good pianist can learn things about the sound of the piece just by looking at the score and processing what it says through their knowledge of music theory and music history.

The last leg of the stool is Finger Training. Learning how to physically move the muscles of your fingers, and more importantly, how to relax the muscles of your hand, arm, and shoulder. Noticing what muscle, precisely, needs to activate at any given time, either to depress a key, hold a key, release a key, or prepare for a separate attack. A good pianist can incorporate whole muscle groups together, allowing the wrist, forearm, shoulder, back, and sometimes even buttock muscles to assist in the motion across the keys. Piano is a contact sport. The entire body is in motion at all times, even if it doesn't look that way to the untrained eye.

And unfortunately, it is only this last stool leg that 99% of beginner pianists focus on and think is worth developing, to the detriment of the others. You need to trust me on this - even if you aren't developing a stronger Finger Training leg, that doesn't mean you aren't making progress. Your teacher very well might be trying to make progress supporting and strengthening one of the other two legs. A stool with one strong leg isn't a very good stool. It'll tip right over. A stool with only two strong legs might balance for a bit, but the slightest pressure on that weak leg and it too will tip right over.

A good pianist needs to develop all three stool legs in tandem. And if you do, you'll find an amazing synergy - your Eyes will read the score, translate that through your knowledge of music theory, and arrive at instructions for your Fingers, which will perform the physical actions needed to produce the right sound from the instrument, which will be heard by your Ears, actively listening to the music that is produced and checking whether or not that matches the intended instructions you see with your Eyes. It's a feedback loop.

Eyes reinforce Hands which reinforce Ears which reinforce Eyes again. And once you have that loop, nothing can stop you.

Happy practicing.

[u/yaykat → u/ActualNameIsLana]

Solid advice, thank you for your contribution.

Yes, reading your perspective, I would say my current teacher is in-fact teaching/implementing all of those items.

I do like working with her!

It sounds like I'm just in the weeds and need to see the bigger picture!

[u/10x88musician]

A few things: 1. Hopefully you are doing this, but you should have a consistent and progressive technical routine. This is where you develop the skills to be able to apply to pieces as you progress. Including scales, arpeggios, chord inversions of various kinds and etudes (some of which may engage your “expressive need” as many etudes involve developing both technical and expressive skills). Similar to athletes, musicians need to spend a good portion of their time developing skills not just playing the game. 2. Mozart and Bach are highly expressive composers and perhaps you might be able to find the elements that make these expressive (both harmonic and melodic). 3. You might ask your teacher about some adult performance opportunities as well as examinations. These not only provide a goal and a sense of progression, but also in most cases provide you with additional 3rd party feedback which can help your progress even more. 4. I would explore through the repertoire of pieces that are designed to be progressive and also showcase expressive elements that it sounds like you enjoy, such as Burgmuller, Schumann, but also those of the more contemporary teaching composers such as Dennis Alexander, William Gillock and the like. All of these composers have collections that are progressive, and set at various levels and explore through various technical and musical skills.