I love this thread! I may come back and add more, but this:

Pallas I have a need for community

Yes! Iā€™ve posted before about finding a cello friendā€¦ unfortunately our schedules donā€™t link up often, although Iā€™m confident weā€™ll keep playing together, I would like a little more regular musical companionshipā€¦.

I would love to have another string player to play with. And Iā€™d love to have some friends who would come over and we could take turns playing for each otherā€¦.

I will keep searching, I really do want to develop a community of music friends.

    Oh, another one is more regularly record and share recordingsā€¦ I need to figure out a way to make this happen without it taking up a huge amount of time, because often my practice time on any given day can be quite restrictedā€¦

    Maybe recording can become a Sunday morning routineā€¦

    ranjit like @Pallas Iā€™m curious about this too.

    I started piano when I was 29 years old. After I had been playing piano for about 9 years, I decided to change my career. We would move from Japan to the U.S. and I would go back to school to get an MA and PhD (not related to music). I knew the time commitment of being a student and completely changing my career would be significant. But at some point ā€” I donā€™t remember if it was in the preparatory process or in the first few semesters of grad school, I was able to articulate for myself that I wanted piano to be a part of my daily life and I didnā€™t want to get to the end of grad school and find I hadnā€™t touched a piano for 7 years. So I figured out how to make that happen, and I have been playing piano ever since, through grad school, position 1 and moving and now position 2 etc.

    Somehow though, I donā€™t think thatā€™s what you mean @ranjit

    Are you thinking of making a change toward some professional piano pursuit, for example?

      I'm still in the process of updating my piano intentions for 2025.

      The classical oriented intentions are pretty straight forward.

      I'd really like to finish Piano Adventures level 5, as it would free up 15 minutes of practice time for either other piano things or other hobbies. I thought this one would be easy, but I started Unit 1 out of 6 Units back in September and I'm still on Unit 1. So this one may or may not happen.

      Also classical oriented is working through as much piano exam grade 4 repertoire and technical requirements that I can manage during the year.

      Pallas I have need for enjoyment. I love all kinds of music, but my favorite genre is arrangements of film scores for solo piano.

      I think that has become my new favorite music genre also. It used to be jazz and I still like jazz a lot. Unlike classical pieces, neither of those genres lend themselves to a straight forward learning progression because they're arrangements. I'm in the no-man's land of beyond 'easy piano' arrangements where I can only give something my best guess if I'll be able to play it. Working my way up through graded piano exam literature is one way I can prepare for some of the nicer arrangements (I have champagne taste with beer skills).

      Kaydia As far as wishes go... I will say that I am very excited about learning the piano right now, to the point where I've been neglecting my other hobbies. So I do wish to strike a better balance with my time in that regard.

      I can relate! I still have some weeds as tall as me in my backyard garden and half a bookcase of garden books that I haven't been reading.

            Pallas So. Much. Therapy. šŸ˜ It only took me 10 years to figure this stuff out. Hopefully, I start learning a little faster at some point. Probably not though. I think I'm stuck in the turtle lane.

            Kudos on your personal growth! And, for what it's worth, you're not alone in feeling like you're in the Turtle Lane.

              • Kaydia

              • Post #18
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              lilypad Gardening is something I've always wanted to really get into. Unfortunately, turns out I don't have a green thumb. So I learned to plant only maintenance-free perennial plants around my house. The only houseplants I don't accidentally kill off seem to be succulents.

              Thinking about this, though, I'm now wanting to give it another try, but keep it simple and make my piano-playing area more inviting with some greenery.

              I don't know where you are weather-wise, but hopefully you'll at least find the time to get some of that gardening reading in.

                  Since the beginning of my piano journey I have been trying to run, constantly worrying how little time I have left to learn. I want to stop worrying about time. (Well, actually, I want to stop worrying, period). This year I intend to be more patient. I want to learn properly how to walk, regardless of whether I will be able to run later, but at least I will know how to walk gracefully. I will use the 40 pieces challenge to learn to play as musically as I can as many beginner pieces as I can (and certainly all those that I skipped when I should have been learning them) and as many Czerny and co. exercises as I can bear, so as to build my technique, hoping it will gradually give me proper foundation to play the pieces I love.

                  Kaydia I am very excited about learning the piano right now, to the point where I've been neglecting my other hobbies. So I do wish to strike a better balance with my time in that regard.

                  Similar here. Semi-retirement has wreaked havoc in my time management, and I canā€™t seem to get to grips with it. But I need to, and I will.
                  All the best to you all for your whishes/dreams/plans for 2025 and beyond šŸ’—

                      • Kaydia

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                      Gooseberry Yep, semi-retirement is what did it to me as well. Hoping to fully retire by the end of the year. Meanwhile, my biggest time-sink is the infinite number of YouTube videos out there. In my defense, I'm mostly watching piano-related videos lately. But I hear the videos related to my other hobbies calling me. Help! šŸ˜‚

                          Pallas Thank you, knowing that I'm not alone in it means a lot! Best wishes to you too.

                            Kaydia I'm mostly watching piano-related videos lately. But I hear the videos related to my other hobbies calling me. Help! šŸ˜‚

                            Same šŸ˜‚

                              Kaydia ... to the point where I've been neglecting my other hobbies.

                              This rings so true.

                                Pallas My husband and I have devoted an entire floor of a 3-story house to our hobbies. One and a half floors, if I'm honest

                                So much room sounds lovely. I have must of my stuff crammed into my computer room. But it's just me so not so bad.

                                Pallas But piano has stepped to the front, and the other stuff is languishing. I refuse to feel guilty about that though. For everything there is a season.

                                I hear what you're saying. I'm fine with some sitting idle for now (like sewing). But some hobbies, such as drawing, can languish to the point where one needs to relearn their skills. Those are the ones that are calling the loudest.

                                    Pallas I DO feel guilty. But I'm TRYING not to, because guilt doesn't solve anything

                                    That's right! Guilt doesn't solve anything. So stop feeling guilty! Easier said than done, I know.

                                    The most recent hobby I picked up (other than piano) was painting with watercolors. I started that late last summer. The last piece I did was a page of doodles to practice various techniques. My profile picture shows part of that page. I'm hoping that as I see it when I'm online here, it will inspire me to get back to it. I'm sure it will. Annnny moment now. šŸ˜

                                    Now, to get back on topic... > Pallas Got some dreams?

                                    I may have mentioned this in the Alfred's thread, that I would love to one day be able to take piano lessons. I'm fine with self-learning for now. But eventually, I'd love to have a teacher. So I'll be dreaming about/ hoping that I can make that happen this year.

                                        @Kaydia I definitely recommend piano lessons. Sometimes it takes a while to find a teacher whoā€™s a good fit, but having a piano teacher is great, not just for piano learning and progress but also to have someone to share the piano journey with. I have now been playing piano for 25 years (yikes), but I still take lessons. I should sit down sometime and try to figure out how many years of lessons Iā€™ve had, because there were times when I had to stop for various reasons. But I have gained so much from lessons, Iā€™ll probably continue them forever, if I can.

                                        ETA: I just did a back of the napkin calculation šŸ˜… and subtracting all the times when I was without a teacher (when we moved, or the teacher moved, or I took a break from lessons for professional reasons)ā€¦ I think I have had 20 years of lessons so far. Wow.

                                          On the topic of hobbiesā€¦

                                          I used to do Aikido (a Japanese martial art). When I started piano, I had been doing aikido for probably 7+ years. I had a black belt, I sometimes taught classes, and I met my husband through aikido, so we generally went to practice together etc.

                                          After I started learning piano, at some point, I started to notice that as we would be leaving the house to go to the dojo, what I really wanted to do was stay home and practice the piano. I worked full time (then as now) and so time is always limited. Eventually, I was skipping more and more aikido practices for piano, and I decided to ā€œtake a breakā€ from aikido. I never went to practice again after that.

                                          I still work full time, so my free time is limited by that. Over the years, there have been other things Iā€™d like to do, and other instruments Iā€™d like to learn, but in the end, I always decide that piano takes priority and I realize I canā€™t pursue more than one hobby. Iā€™m ok with that. The only thing Iā€™ve managed to do with any consistency besides piano is make time for exercise, but I didnā€™t see that as a hobby so much as a health maintenance thing.

                                          For those of you who are retired, Iā€™ll let you all decide whether or how you can have more than one hobby.

                                          But for those of us not retired, then there are many more restrictions on our time, and I think itā€™s ok to just pick one hobby.

                                          Or if you can make it work with your schedule, have more than one hobby and be ok with possibly slower progress but more activities.

                                          I think your heart tells you how you want to be spending your time. Mine did, and does.

                                            Josephine I think my dream for this year is to be able to say nice and positive things to myself more often.

                                            This is a lovely idea! I should do it too, not just to myself but about myself when I talk to others.

                                            I have a tendency to criticize my piano playing too much when I play for other people.

                                            We had guests over on Christmas Eve and I played for them (four pieces, my three recital pieces from November and a newer piece Iā€™m hoping to perform in February. After I finished, one of the people, who knew that I started piano as an adult, asked how long Iā€™ve been playing. I said something like ā€œan embarrassingly long time.ā€ This comment comes from whatā€™s in my head, which is, ā€œgiven how long Iā€™ve been playing, I should be better by now.ā€

                                            My friend responded kindly, ā€œthere was nothing embarrassing about how you played for us just now.ā€ I remember thinking what a gracious come-back that was!

                                            So hereā€™s another thing to strive for: 1) to not criticize my piano playing out loud to other people, and 2) to compliment my piano playing to myself. I think itā€™s fine, important even, to be able to articulate areas for improvement etc., but I think we should all be complimenting ourselves, our piano playing, a lot more.

                                                ShiroKuro

                                                That's a good idea! I didn't think of that, but I have the same habit. I will try to do that as well.

                                                  Pallas and @Josephine have you heard of the Buddhist idea of ā€œmonkey mindā€? I donā€™t know that itā€™s the same as your hamsters, but probably close.

                                                  I always use that expression (about myself) when talking with my piano teacher about how (or why) I have trouble staining focused and concentrating while performing or trying to record.

                                                    ShiroKuro I definitely recommend piano lessons. Sometimes it takes a while to find a teacher whoā€™s a good fit, but having a piano teacher is great, not just for piano learning and progress but also to have someone to share the piano journey with.

                                                    I've gotten a taste for the benefit of a teacher from pairing my method books with the guy from Let's Play Piano Methods on YouTube. His channel is awesome, but like he has said himself, he can only show us so much in a video format, plus we're missing out on personal feedback. Even so, his videos are really enhancing my self-learning lessons for now.

                                                    ShiroKuro ETA: I just did a back of the napkin calculation šŸ˜… and subtracting all the times when I was without a teacher (when we moved, or the teacher moved, or I took a break from lessons for professional reasons)ā€¦ I think I have had 20 years of lessons so far. Wow.

                                                    Wow, indeed! That's great!

                                                        Kaydia The only houseplants I don't accidentally kill off seem to be succulents.

                                                        I once killed 17 house plants (with help from my cat at the time, who liked to dump them onto the floor). Almost the same story with container plants. A plant has to be in the ground to have a chance with me.