I have been kicking this one around for a number of years and am trying to gear myself up to do it Dec 2010, but my big worry is that working full time and with two kids I simply just don't have the time to do the practice required to even get to a pass mark. I consider myself lucky to fit in 1.5 hours practice on a good day, and some days fall well short of that or none at all! Am I being totally unrealistic. How many of you managed to pass the Dip ABRSM with FT job and kids with what I consider to be a minimal amount of daily practice.

Its such a huge comittment I almost think it is better not to try and just enjoy playing duets, trios and easier pieces, and not have the stress and anxiety! However, I have set myself a target to get this dip before my next big milestone (and its a bit like running the London Marathon, its just one of those things I am driving myself to do)

Anyway my planned program which is note learnt, but not yet polished is:

Scarlatti K308 & 309
Mozart K570
Howard Blake Chaconne & Toccatina
Messiaen No 2 & No4 from, Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus

Any words of wisdom and advice much appreciated

Pianocrazy

A while back there was a thread about doing a diploma while working - you may find some inspiration there:

http://www.abrsm.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=32051

Hope this link works - if not, search for "Diplomas and working".

Hey pianocrazy,

I'm in a similar position to yourself, in that I work FT (and teach music PT), and I am planning on attempting the DipABRSM in the next year or two. But unlike you, I'm not juggling children into the equation too, which must put an unbearable strain on your practice schedule. I'm amazed you manage to squeeze in 1.5 hours practice on ANY day!

On a more positive note, your programme looks really interesting. I like the unexpected inclusion of two twentieth century works - Blake and Messiaen. I'm also toying with this idea, of using an early work with a more contemporary one, to show something of the enormous variety of styles which music has produced in the last 100 years

Good luck,

denmark

I musically 'meditate' at work or at any time I can find in these days
Close your eyes, then mentally picture yourself playing the piece completely. If you dont memorize it, then scan the score, put it within reach like in google's doc; then read and play it mentally at your break time.
So far it works well for me.

Thanks for your comments Denmark77. Its taken me ages to get into the Messiaen but I am getting there with it.

JD - musical meditation at work is an interesting idea, I might just try that and see if it helps.
I saw a TV program a while back about lucid dreaming - if I could get that to work I could practice all night - unfortunately I havn't yet mastered the art of it..., but imagne what 7 hours of daily practice could do for my playing!


pianocrazy

I totally agree that mental practice can work wonders!

I also work full time so actual practice time has to be focussed, but I find i can usually cut down time by thnking what i have to do i.e. technical difficulties throughout the day.

mental practise it sounds funny and crazy when you say it like that, but, to be honest, i do that too when im at school in boring classes.
and, about your ft job and kids and only 1.5hrs practise a day at the most...well, im not sure, but, i reckon you'd do fine with that if you seriously practise your peices for the next year. too much practise sometimes gives you a bad effect.

I did the diploma last spring while working FT and have two young kids so it's possible. About one third of the program was new material, the rest was older stuff I had played many times so maybe that helped. On the other hand, I actually played the new stuff a little better...it was fresher and I enjoyed practicing the new pieces more.

Have you been playing a long time? Are you stretching to play at the diploma level or have you been at that level and just trying to pull together a program?

The practice away from the piano thing really does work. I find that once immersed in a new piece, a lot of practice can occur either consciously or subconsciously away from the piano. The recording of vers la flamme that I flagged on this site a week or so ago largely resulted from practice away from the piano - I took the score with me on trips, etc.

I'm now trying to put together an LRSM program while working plus I'm working on a PhD in my spare time. So, I hope all this is possible. I have an almost ruthless degree of focus...not necessarily that great for home life. I can sort of get away with it as a dad (being a mom is another level of commitment with the kids).

Maybe just chip away at it....get one piece in pretty good shape and play it in public a couple of times mixed with other easier things you know you can play well. Work through each piece in the program this way and a year or two from now you'll suddenly realize you are ready.

BTW, if I'm not traveling, I usually get in about 5-7 hours/wk of practice which is not enough but it is what it is. Quality and focus are more important than quantity. I do almost all of it early in the morning before work. Traveling can mean not touching the piano for days.

It just occurred to me that my characterization of father/mother roles sounded sexist...didn't mean it that way.
My wife gets the kids ready and drives them to school which creates my window of practice time in early morning. It could just as easily be my role to get them ready and drive them, but in my household that's not the case. I spend good quality time w/the kids on weekends and evenings so it works ok. I find travel to be the real enemy of piano and family relationships.

One other quick thought - in most pieces there are often only a few sections (maybe only a few measures here and there) that cause real problems and represent the critical path to finishing the piece. Focus on those sections...

Just a useless comment... I LOVE the Mozart and Messiaen pieces that you are considering! It sounds like a fantastic programme if you do decide to go for it.