I was wondering what other players do about their piano practise when they ae away from home and a piano? Friends of mine who play smaller instruments take them with them but of course you can't take a piano!
I have my grade exam and a competition about 3 weeks after I return from a 2 week vacation. I don't want to go for the 2 weeks without practising so close to those events. Any suggstions? What do others do. Do you take a complete break when away?

a break is good, i overpractised my Grade 1 Clarinet and only got a pass, so a break will do you good but when you get back make a routine daily practise, warm up doing scales and arpeggios then pieces then back to scales if you want

This depends on where you are going.

Last time I went to visit my parents in a big international city for 3 weeks, I managed to hire a practice room 3 times a week for 2 hours per session. I did my practice in the morning, sort of the hours before friends and family would ask to meet you.

You can also find out if there are colleges or universities in the town you are visiting. You might be able to rent rehersal rooms their local music students use. Some local churches will also rent out their piano for practice.

I won't practice everyday whilst on holiday but if you have a performance so soon after your break a little bit of practice might make you feel more comfortable and relax.

I took my grade 7 piano exam recently. Before the exam, I had periods when I had to attend postgraduate courses for a whole week and there were no access to a piano. In the end I took some aural CDs and theory books did those in the evening in stead of practical.

Good luck!

Not very helpful, but a lad at our school says he practises on the table if he can't get to a piano and wants to try a tricky bit

If i'm on a short holiday, i find i miss piano but don't practise..most of the time, if the hotel has a piano, i ask to have a go and they say 'yes'. When i was in China last year for a month and i half without piano, my cousin lent me his keyboard which wasnt ideal but better than nothing...and my auntie who is a teacher took me to her school when there was no-one there and let me play on the baby grand!

I agree, when I come back off holiday I can play even better so just give it a rest for a week or two.

i record my pieces bring the music draw a keyboard on paper and do virtual practice!

I'm fortunate to have a time share in Malta in a hotel with a lovely grand piano. For me, a holday without a piano is no holiday at all - it's torture!!

LOl I took my flute overseas during the summer.

Hmmm as for piano, sometimes I can resist nipping in one of the shops and play a few tunes on the piano.

Don't go that long without pratice. It's very bad for your fingers.

But if you can't get access to a piano, try what Elmo suggested. It helps!

Well, the longest I have been away from a piano since I was 4 years old is for 6 days, and I almost went insane. So, I can't really help, but there are ways to practise even without it, even listening to the song and trying to visualize the notes on the page can be helpful.

thats what i do!! i hate not being able to practice, even when I'm at school i sit and play on the table!! the first thing i always do when i come home from holiday is to go to the piano!!!!
rachel
my 50th post!! yay!!!

I know this is weird but i developed a bad habit last year with a month without piano in China...we used to go out to dinner a lot with random people and i subconsciously always played on the table whilst waiting for food...my parents thought it looked embarrassing and weird...

How odd? When I go on holiday I leave my instrument at home with aboslutely no worries! I like my holiday to be a relaxing time- that means no work or practise at all! Obviously Im not as dedicated as the rest of you! My bad.

That's what I was going to say! I mean, I know that I need to learn my scales and polish up for an audition, but IF I know exactly how much time I have either side of my holiday it's a welcome break!

I took a little keyboard last time but wouldn't have done if we hadn't been taking the car - it was odd using what was essentially a toy and running out of keys but it probably helped.

A chap once suggested that I find a local piano shop and go in and "try out the pianos" - he said that shop owners appreciated having their pianos played (even if there was no sale at the end of it) - sadly I haven't the confidence to do something like that.

Has anyone tried one of those roll-up keyboards - that might be worth a try if it's better than a table or a hand drawn paper keyboard...

http://www.dansdata.com/rup.htm

might be a bit pricey for ocasional use ??

When i was doing my grade 1 exam i didn't need to think about my music because i had practised well beforehand. Sometimes though when i go on holiday i take my electric keyboard.