Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with my annoying piano habits. I'm started piano later than almost everyone I know (being 17 and only in grade 8 piano ) and I have had this silly habit of repeating myself in my pieces all the time. Even if I have played the pice 50 times that day I still can't play a piece through without pausing or repeating myself or even making really dumb errors. I don't know how to fix this problem and I fear that I will be unable to persue piano beyone this grade if I don't fix it. I was told that it could be because I don't read far enough ahead in my music wich is very possible. How far ahead must you read on average and how can I improbe my sightreading skills. But most importatnly how do I stop this stupid habit?

Please Help
Faith

hey,

dont worry about being young lol, (in fact im quite offended that you think being 17 and 'only' doing grade 8 is a bad thing!) cos im 18 and just about to take my grade 8 after over a year of preparation.

anyway...

dont worry about repeating yourself in practice, if you do it in ur actaul exam then u have a problem! personally i dont read ahead of myself when playing, i read the bar and notes that i am playing, but after playing for rather the same pieces for rather a long time then i already know what is coming up.

a tip for sight reading is to think of the piece as a piece of music that uve never played before, and u might actually enjoy! ive always had a problem with sight reading but now i just sit down and play anything,(even my little sisters grade 5 stuff) as well as pop music, just to get used to playing notes. try practising linear music (lots of notes in sequence) as well as chordal as there is a massive difference!

hope this helps! good luck in the exam!

You could try spending more time practising SLOWLY.
Keep at a speed at which you don't make any mistakes and only speed up gradually.
Work on small sections at a time.

QUOTE (Faith @ Jan 10 2005, 12:11 AM)

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with my annoying piano habits. I'm started piano later than almost everyone I know (being 17 and only in grade 8 piano ) and I have had this silly habit of repeating myself in my pieces all the time. Even if I have played the pice 50 times that day I still can't play a piece through without pausing or repeating myself or even making really dumb errors. I don't know how to fix this problem and I fear that I will be unable to persue piano beyone this grade if I don't fix it. I was told that it could be because I don't read far enough ahead in my music wich is very possible. How far ahead must you read on average and how can I improbe my sightreading skills. But most importatnly how do I stop this stupid habit? Please Help Faith

I'm 17 and still on grade 6... But you need to know the piece well to be able to look ahead I think. When you are learning a piece do you jump straight in or work on each part separately, then stick them together?

im a bit offended as well if you think grade 8 at 17 isnt good. im only grade6

Thank you Invisible 1986 I'll give your advice a try. I can't really tell whether or not I do repeat myself when I perform although I suspect that I do. Usually in front of people I just get tunnel vision and my brain just blanks out when I have to perform...wretched anxiety!
And as a reply to Subatomic_star I do drill parts of my piece as well as play through.

Thank you for the advice...I really hope it works

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 10 2005, 06:25 PM)

im a bit offended as well if you think grade 8 at 17 isnt good. im only grade6

snap.

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 11 2005, 11:56 AM)

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 10 2005, 06:25 PM) im a bit offended as well if you think grade 8 at 17 isnt good. im only grade6 snap.

lets start yet another club Helen! the we're only grade 6 club

Oh no, I can't join it *creates her own private club *

Also offended, failed my grade 8 first time roun, passed when 20

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 11 2005, 09:42 PM)

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 11 2005, 11:56 AM) QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 10 2005, 06:25 PM) im a bit offended as well if you think grade 8 at 17 isnt good. im only grade6 snap. lets start yet another club Helen! the we're only grade 6 club

Wahey! Sticking up for the feelings of 17 year olds all around the world stuck on grade 6.

yay go us!

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 14 2005, 01:32 PM)

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 11 2005, 09:42 PM) QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 11 2005, 11:56 AM) QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 10 2005, 06:25 PM) im a bit offended as well if you think grade 8 at 17 isnt good. im only grade6 snap. lets start yet another club Helen! the we're only grade 6 club Wahey! Sticking up for the feelings of 17 year olds all around the world stuck on grade 6.

can i join although i'm not 17 i'm only 13 but i never been on an online club dude thing .. please please. im a grade 6 pianist.

QUOTE (Faith @ Jan 10 2005, 12:11 AM)

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with my annoying piano habits. I'm started piano later than almost everyone I know (being 17 and only in grade 8 piano ) and I have had this silly habit of repeating myself in my pieces all the time. Even if I have played the pice 50 times that day I still can't play a piece through without pausing or repeating myself or even making really dumb errors. I don't know how to fix this problem and I fear that I will be unable to persue piano beyone this grade if I don't fix it. I was told that it could be because I don't read far enough ahead in my music wich is very possible. How far ahead must you read on average and how can I improbe my sightreading skills. But most importatnly how do I stop this stupid habit? Please Help Faith

I don't really understand your statement here....What do you mean you keep repeating yourself? Is it that you repeat without thinking or you practice by repeating? It's not a good way to practice by repeating like that. You have to mark and practice the parts you keep making mistakes. Keep doing it until you can do it perfectly at least 5 times in a row (I heard in Russian way you have to play the 5 times exactly the same: the accents, the dynamics, the feeling, etc.). Gr 8 at 17 isn't too bad after all, especially if you're not planning a full career in music