Hello everyone, I am a new user on this forum and I will try to explain my story as concisely as possible: I started studying the piano at the age of 8 as a private student; over the years I passed the Theory and Solfeggio exams, 5th level piano (lower completion), Music History, Complementary Harmony, and 8th level piano (middle completion), and due to a family misfortune at the age of 23 I had to stop, even selling my piano (SO MUCH REGRET!!!!). Now at the age of 46, I would like to start again, certainly without claiming to finish my studies given my age and current job; it has been 23 years since I last touched a piano and by pure chance I found myself now in the house of some friends and putting my hands on the keyboard, I was ASTONISHED!!! My hands and my brain mechanically still remembered many passages of a Beethoven sonata that I had performed for my 8th level exam, but unfortunately, with sadness, I no longer had that elasticity from back then and additionally the stiffness in my wrists; is it normal that when losing practice one has to push harder with the arm? I am asking for your advice: where can I start again to resume training? Will I ever be able to regain the elasticity in my hands as before?
Hi, I would also like to start again... I am 42 years old and as a private student I had reached the lower completion... I have been stopped for 15 years now.... I wouldn't know how to start again because the agility I had is just a memory.....
I think the best thing is to pick up the studies one has already done. Perhaps starting with a Bach suite and some Cramer studies. The first of the 60 is almost an exercise. Finding relaxation even with a bit of inequality, without attacking the keyboard. Playing relaxed on the bottom of the key and eliminating tension. Gradually, the coordination of small and large muscles will transform into energy. Speed and security come from the good management of micro-movements and the collaboration between small and large muscles. It takes some time, but in my opinion, and not just mine, this is the way. At the beginning, one shouldn't expect too much, believing that laborious "training" will lead to a good result. Furthermore, everything, even a study or an exercise, must be accompanied by the musical aspect, which must never be neglected.
Hi everyone, I am a new user on this forum and I will try to explain my story as briefly as possible: I started studying the piano at the age of 8 as a private student; over the years I passed the Theory and Solfeggio exams, 5th grade piano (lower completion), Music History, Complementary Harmony, and 8th grade piano (middle completion), and due to a family misfortune at the age of 23 I had to stop, even selling my piano (SO MUCH REGRET!!!!) Now at the age of 46 I would have liked to start again, certainly without claiming to finish my studies given my age and current job; it has been 23 years since I last touched a piano and by pure chance I found myself now in the house of friends and putting my hands on the keyboard I was STUNNED!!! My hands and my brain mechanically still remembered many passages of a Beethoven sonata that I had performed for the 8th grade exam, but unfortunately, with sadness, I no longer had that elasticity from back then and additionally the stiffness of the wrists, but is it normal that when losing practice one has to strain more to push with the arm?. I ask you for your advice: where can I start again to resume training? Will I ever be able to regain the elasticity in my hands as before?
Thank you
I would say absolutely yes, the work done you will find it again completely... And you will filter it through your way of feeling music now... You probably won't like it anymore and therefore you will sweat to obtain interpretive versions that are certainly more sophisticated than back then. Time changes us even if we detach ourselves from our habits.
I fully agree with Paolo on what needs to be done, happy studying!
You were right!!!! About 2 months have passed and I must say that with the Cramer and Clementi studies (studies already completed back then) I have returned to how I was in the past; I really missed the practice! I practice a couple of hours a day with technique exercises (Pischna, Cramer, and Clementi studies, then I add Beethoven's Sonata No. 21 op.53, Debussy's Children's Corner, and Martucci's scherzo). I would say that I am satisfied regarding stiffness, and by exerting effort with the arm, it no longer happens to me; I really lacked practice, and now having more fluidity, the hand and arm relax naturally. I have a doubt! I am studying on a YAMAHA Arius IDP 144 digital piano, obviously with weighted keys, and reading on this forum I found one of your articles that spoke about key weighting.... very interesting! I tried the method with 5 and 2 cent coins as I saw on this forum to verify the weight of this keyboard, but the key actually drops at 75g, whereas on an acoustic piano it should drop at a maximum weight of 55g....... (or am I wrong?) my question is: not having an acoustic piano available, am I studying on an excessively hard keyboard? I have no idea now if the key of a piano with a mechanical action is always lighter than that of a digital one
I am only now reading your last post. At your level, this excessive downward weight falsifies the entire dynamics of the instrument and your technical performance which "adapts" to these excessive weights. The acoustic piano, if well maintained, has values indeed around 50 gr.
