improve my piano playing

I know that I’m a good piano player, but I still have a LOT of room for improvement.
I’m going to start taking lessons again, and see where it goes from there.

I think this is becoming a habit. Pracice went well again yesterday. I feel like I’ve achieved even though it’s only the second day.

So, I did my first session yesterday. I set a timer for 30 minutes and got going practicing the Debussy. I started with a run through which just got slower and slower until I gave up a page before the end. I went back to the start and worked on page one. The timer went off before I knew it.

I had a cup of tea and a cig then considered the second half of my session. I found an old study book, set the timer for another 30 minutes and began practicing scales and arpeggios. C maj/A min and G maj/E min. I then worked on a study which was much easier for me than the Debussy and gave me some confidence.

I got antsy after 20 minutes and checked the timer regularly but persevered.

At the end I felt brilliant, like I had accomplished something. I plan to do the same tomorrow.

The piece I have chosen to learn is Clair de Lune- Moonlight by Debussy. It’s currently 6 pages of hell but I’m about to turn it into a beautifully flowing slice of luxurious sound.

I have been playing piano since I was 6…a long time. I play other instruments much better and hate that I can’t get the same enjoyment and satisfaction from my piano playing.

Short-term, I’m giving myself one month to improve. I mostly need to work on fluidity and technique so will practice scales, studies and one piece of music for 1 hour every single day.

I’m determined. In fact, I might go away and start right now.

I can finally play the Tarentelle at the right tempo and with acceptable fluidity.

I need to fix a more regular routine to practice – I have so much time but I’m only playing every other day right now. I think one or two hours every day should get me up to a good level by the end of August.

I want to be able to play Joplin’s “Solace” before my next birthday, and play all the songs my mother used to play when we were small before I’m a grandmother. That’s many years away, but I thought I could give my grandchildren the memories I couldn’t give my children, of Foster and Joplin and the lilt of “Tenting Tonight” coming up the stairs at bedtime.

Since putting this thing to do, I’ve really worked at it, I play reasonably proficiently now , I learned to read music and moved into playing concertina too.

I actually used to play, however I haven’t practiced regularly for years. I can still beat out a few of the songs I knew by heart – the ones that drove my family and friends mad – but I’d like to be able to play everything again.

I’ve been playing for 12 years but I only had 2 years of lessons with I was little. Much of what I do is self taught. As I am called on to play so frequently…I really need to improve my skills. Specifically transposing, fingering and time signatures. It would be really nice to learn better improv arranging as well.

I need to just take some lessons. It would be totally worth it.