Hi all, I thought it would be nice to share some of our goals with our fellow pianists!

I'll start


I want to get to Grade 5/6 Standard by next year, seeing as Sunderland Uni said that they'll let me apply for Spanish & Music as a combined degree, I want to get my music abilities up!

So I suppose that will mean theory, which, I actually don't find too daunting, I just need more time to understand it I think.

I also want to look at different genre and look especially at the music of the great composers.




What about you all?

I want to get my grade 8 out of the way!
I also want to be able to play all the dilpoma pieces my teacher has set me!
My piano teacher wants me to learn a concerto, so i need to pick one first, and then learn it! She also wants to set me up with some other musicians to play in a piano trio or something, which would be great!

Jacob.

Prove that I can pass grade 5.

It's mainly myself that I want to prove it to, but my fear of exams has held me back thus far. I do want to do it though...

Me too!!

I have a problem with nerves, especially on piano. Everything I play seems to be barely held together and as soon as I lose concentration, or make a single mistake, it all falls apart. I'm determined though, that I'm going to work really hard and get Grade 5 next year.

At least, that's the plan. Whether or not I can actually pull it off...watch this space

I would like to work on consolidating what I know and broadening my range of pieces. I love all the Grade 6 pieces so I want to work on them but I also want to add in some favourites - mainly music from the 30s and 40s if my teacher will let me! I can't take Grade 6 yet even if I wanted to as I don't have the theory and I can't see myself taking the theory exam for at least a year. I would also like to find someone to learn some duets with as it sounds like fun and might also help with the dreaded performance nerves!

(My secret ambition is also to buy a real piano - I'm hoping to sneak it in without my OH noticing - both the piano in the living room and the hole in the bank account!!)

1. Buy a new one!

2. Learn two more Chopin etudes, a few more Bach Preludes and Fugues, a late sonata and the Op 126 Bagatelles by Beethoven, Busoni's Study in the form of variations, and two or three more Scarlatti sonatas ... and almost forgot - something by Ravel.

3. Get my damaged hand back to a fully functional state

4. Perform creditably in a "Ravel day" in April in the Netherlands and again in another themed recital later in the year

5. Get through the preliminary rounds and into the finals proper of a significant competition.

I'm the same. Nerves and playing the violin I can just about cope with, nerves and singing...well, I'm getting better but when I try to combine nerves and piano -

Same here... Hang on, let's be positive - we can do it!

Pass Grade 5 Practical (my 1st exam) in June and Grade 5 Theory in November.

I really need something to aim at for piano. I'm sort of wandering around aimlessly at the moment, playing bits and pieces.

I suppose a good aim would be to reconvince myself that I'm not a rubbish pianist (My self-confidence took a bit of a bashing last week when my music teacher told me that performance was clearly my weakest point musically. I've played the piano most of my life and worked at it REALLY hard for the last year and was starting to really feel as if i was getting somewhere with it. Until september, I'd never done any composition before, hadn't really learnt about music history, and hadn't done any theory since about 4 years ago when I took grade 5!)

according to my teacher:
Grade 3 in the spring, and 4 in the autumn, and then working on grade 5, for summer 2010.

Go for it, Miss Ross - you can do it! Try to get a bit of experience playing to a small audience (Matthew would be ideal), then widen it a bit to 3 or 4 people, and then try a festival. Performing is 90% confidence once you know the piece.

Mind you, I'm scared to try grade 8 myself because of old memories! I've done lots of playing for school and church since then, but mostly accompaniment, which is lots easier. Maybe we should try to encourage one another?


I have a feeling that your music teacher doesn't know very much about your performance abilities, Sarah. Try not to let one person's opinion unsettle you - it's not easy to get a distinction in grade 8 piano and you are not a rubbish pianist.

Why not talk to your piano teacher about doing something at a festival? My son was in a similar position to you, having done grade 8 in year 12. In the Autumn of year 13 he accompanied his youth group performance of "Oliver", which really stretched him, and in the Spring he did a 12 minute recital at a festival. You need to set up something to work towards if you want to keep improving.

2009 will be the first year I've had ambitions on piano, and my first ambition of the year will be to play a solo and possibly an accompaniment at the Leeds concert in January

I'm looking forward to sharing nerves with some of the contributors to this thread!

Most definitely.

I'm looking forward to hearing you play. I'm already beginning to get nervous about the upcoming concert though, I dreamed about it a couple of nights ago.

You ought to ask Daisy about her dreams prior to a concert



[she always comes up trumps though ]

grade 8 piano.

For some bizarre reason I found that extremely amusing

I want to make a good start on my diploma repertoire. And start working and pass grade 6 theory. and mayb even try to like back.

1.Grade 3 piano.
2.Stop procrastinating.
Bev.

I had a dream about the (lovely!) sbhoa! I'll tell you about it on f/b one day!



Thank you

I want to do my Grade 8 this time next year.
To do more accompanying
To be teaching piano full time

I'm not planning to do any piano exams next year because it will take me until the year after, I expect, to get my LTCL stuff up to performance standard.

I've only been working on it for a month or two, and am taking it nice and slowly because the intention this time is to memorise the works so I can concentrate instead on the interpretation. So far I have memorised only one page of 2 pieces - the Beethoven op2/3 and BWV 869 1&2. The Ireland piece is not memorised at all! (only started that one this week)

I suppose the goal for 2009 then will be to decide finally on the pieces and be able to play them (no matter how badly) without having to look at the score.

Best of luck with your plans, Pianists.

Mel

Grade 8 Liz! - Good luck!

Learn 2 more very ambitious pieces from the Grade 8 syllabus, even though I've had the exam

Maybe performance is your weakest point in the same way that the breaststroke is Michael Phelps's weakest swimming stroke??



p.s. Grade 8 Distinction = Rubbish pianist .... Does not compute !@£$%^*&(^&^%%^!!!

I hope to do Grade 5 at some point in 2009 - there, I've written it, so I've got to do it now!

I'd like to find out how to learn things in weeks rather than months.

Thanks tom

I think what gets to me the most about it, rather than it being my worst point, is the fact that, with the exception of theory, I'm a complete beginner at everything else, so to be told they're better is a bit of a kick in the teeth.

Go for it! I'm hoping that, having just taken grade 5 today, that I don't have to take it again in 2009 intend trying for grade 7

To play to more people to improve performance nerves! Also, try and get to grips with two Chopin etudes I am playing (op.10, no.1, op.25, no.12) - which I am beginning to think might never happen! - and make Bach sound plausibly well-played!

To continue on my quest to fall back in love with the piano (going quite well at the moment!)
To keep up my practise regime and audition for an excellent teacher in April without making a fool of myself (nerves again!)
To get my diploma level pieces up to scratch so I can really call them 'my repertoire', especially Aufschwung by Schumann and La plus que lente by Debussy.

Good luck everyone!

To find the time to practise... (my current 30 min doesn't quite count )

Well my ambitions are not as advanced as some...

I would like to play the scales for grade 2 well, it is only a fluke if I manage a scale well at the moment! To have the confidence to polish a piece off instead of being embarrassed about being on the same piece for many weeks and agreeing with my teacher to move onto the next one.

Don't be embarrassed about taking a few weeks over a piece! As you go on you will find that some take months....years.....

....and you only move on because if you play it one more time you will go nuts.

My ambitions for 2009 are to make more time for practising, and play as much as possible to an audience (even if it is just one person) to help with my confidence in playing. I plan to attempt some of the Grade 8 syllabus pieces and learn a few pieces by memory as it's so long since I took Grade 8 I'd like to confirm I'm still at that level, as well as picking and choosing pieces I feel I'm capable of mastering.
I'm concentrating a lot of my time to theory at the moment and hope to sit the Grade 8 exam at some point in 2010 which is realistic as I'm currently working on Grade 7.

I would also love to play duets with someone, anyone around Grade 7/8 standard in the Leeds area who may be interested?

Thanks mel2 ...

So, to revise, I will be going back and playing Swan Lake without mistakes, ditto the next piece I like, no matter how long it takes!

Maybe teaching diploma.

My ambition for 2009 is to enjoy all my practice sessions and make everyone of them count!
I will be practising a couple of scales and arpeggios everyday!
I will also do some sight reading everyday even if it's 10 minutes!
I will keep practising once a week the pieces I really like, something I've never done until now as I've always felt I didn't have time when in fact it really doesn't take much time to keep them going
I will try to enjoy learning all new pieces and not get distraught and feel my heart sink if I notice a new piece has no fingering on it or seems too difficult. I've actually started feeling much more comfortable lately working the fingering myself so hopefully soon I won't even think about it!
I will continue developing my technique so I can translate more feelings into my playing and hopefully "banging away" on the piano will soon be a thing of the past and my teacher will never again be screaming "NOOOOOOOO" behind me whenever it happens !!!!

Fantastic piece! I performed it the other day in a festival, and got to play a fantastic grand piano!
Good luck with it!

Jacob.

Hi pianomonkey

I've just mentioned to you on another thread that I'm in Leeds, although I wouldn't say I'm a pianist exactly, having only started learning four months ago But I just thought I'd say that if you want, I could ask my piano teacher if he's got any other students at a similar level who would be interested in playing duets with you. If you find a duet partner but a convenient venue is a problem, you might like to know that a piano/room at the Yorkshire College of Music in Headingley can be hired by the hour.

Re playing to an audience, you might like to know that I'm organising a concert for all levels of player on Saturday 3rd January at the Yorkshire College of Music in Headingley. Lots of forum members are coming, including several pianists, many of whom have been to the previous concerts. If you're interested, have a look at the thread in the General Music forum where there's a link to a web page giving information - the thread is Leeds "Players for Pleasure" Concert . Only family and friends are invited as audience, so it's a very supportive atmosphere in which to perform. Do PM me if you've got any questions

Skylark, you and me should play a piano duet at Leeds Like one of the ones at the back of Piano Time 1 or something....

I will if you will !

I haven't got Piano Time but I could get it. I'm also trying to get a duet book which another forum member recommended but it's proving a bit elusive! We'll have to liaise Let me know what you've got in mind!

Buy a piano, I failed miserably in 2008.

I thought you were at least Grade 8 level! Your playing is wonderful - I'm sure you'll do very well in Grade 5, you put me to shame. I think you should certainly be doing Grade 7.

im going to sit grade 7 and also want to start learning grade 6 theory

I hope to pass Grade 6 for both practical and theory. Preferably with a merit. *GO GO GO!*

Then I will play a few more popular classics e.g. Raindrop Prelude, and then proceed to prepare for Grade 7.

I hope to stay with the same teacher too (and there are reasons why I am afraid that might not come true).

.. er ... decades!

I second that motion!

For me this year: pass Grade 8, play lots of Bach, consolidate technique, buy a better digital piano for late night practice and play longer works from memory before a public.

I hope not to have to repeat Grade 7!!

Trying to work towards Grade 8 would be nice but I don't want to open the book yet until I get my Gd7 results just in case I tempt fate!!

Elizabeth

My aims are:
- polish up the pieces I already know (I', taking Grade 5 in June
- start preparing Grade 6 piano (I've already 'read' some bars of a few of the pieces in the new 09-10 syllabus)
- try to prepare for Grade 6 theory (a daunting job, that is!)

Hmm... Memorise more of my pieces, and have the self discipline to stop "half learning" pieces and moving on before they are really known.

Grade 8 theory (yeh right, I said that last year...)

Get back to around G6 level which is where I was when I stopped learning 30 years ago. Because I've played more this year than for a long time I think I've progressed from being most comfortable at G3 level to G4, so I'm going in the right direction, but - onwards and upwards

Try and memorise more and not rely on sight reading. And, as Hils said, try not to move on when a piece is only half-learnt.

Try and do some theory and possibly, but not necessarily, take an exam.