If you have had a teacher, how many years have you taken lessons? At what point, assuming you reached that point, did you decide to stop lessons? Was it a decision you made or did your teacher stop teaching, move, etc? Do you miss those lessons? Who do you go to if you have a question on a piece of music if you don't have a teacher to consult with?

I have been diagnosed with CIDP, an autoimmune disease which attacks my nerve endings. Because of this, I have lost about 50-70% feeling from my elbows to my fingertips and my knees to my toes. I am now on a treatment (IVIg) that seems to be bringing some feeling back but the neurologist says it may be 6 months before we see the full impact of these infusions.

In the meantime, I've pretty much lost interest in playing the piano because I'm getting so frustrated with my fingers not cooperating. My right foot isn't cooperating with the pedal either - especially on the 100 year old piano (which is in the house.....I think the pedal is higher than the pedal on my Kawai).

My quandary - do I continue with my lessons (I've been taking lessons for 5 years -started with the very basic child-level classes) in spite of the fact that I'm not playing much? Do I continue with lessons in spite of my body parts not responding as I'd like them to? Do I put my lessons on hold for a term and hope I don't totally lose interest in piano playing? The kicker is I actually have 2 teachers......one is every fortnight who I've been with since the beginning (classical/theory) and the 2nd teacher is a zoom class on IMPROV once a month (which I really want to learn).

Just looking for opinions and if you've been in a similar situation. I know I need to make my own decision - but I'd love your input.

Thanks!

    KrisR
    KrisR, I just sent you a PM. But I wanted to add that there are other things you can do even if your body won't cooperate. Sometimes when I've had to back off of playing/practising, I do other things to get my piano fix. Watching piano youtube channels. Reading piano literature (some of which inspire me to get back into playing again). Taking lessons in a related skill (e.g., ear training). Consider the latter, for instance: there are in person lessons or software such as Earmaster Pro that can help you develop your relative pitch, recognize different chords, etc. Not sure if your current teacher(s) could do that for you, but imagine doing something that would absolutely help you as a musician should you resume it some day, without taxing your hands/arms in the slightest.

      KrisR I had 8 years of lessons as a child and 8 more as a young adult. I stopped taking lessons after my second child was born to free up time and energy to devote to my family. If I have a question about something I'm working on I consult the internet. When this happens it's usually technique and I can find videos that address what I'm trying to learn. I would definitely benefit from more lessons and I intend to take lessons again when I retire, which will be within the next few years.

      Bummer about CIDP! I hope your treatment works! I know someone who was able to get her autoimmune disorder into remission by changing her diet. She was able to get off of her medications for the disorder. Something to consider if you haven't already.

      Regarding continuing lessons: I don't feel like I can give you advice other than to suggest some questions to ask yourself. Do you feel like you are getting any benefit from lessons? Are lessons helping maintain whatever interest you still have in playing, and is that something you want? Do lessons present a hardship for you beyond what you're going through?

      I wish you the best of health and finding peace with whatever you decide about your lessons!

          2 years ago I had a minor accident that caused back pain. I was not able to move around easily. Fortunately I have an office chair at home with wheels so I can get to my keyboard for practice. For 2 weeks the office chair was my wheelchair at home & piano chair.

          I still have some back pain but not enough to stop me from playing. When I’m not on the piano keyboard, I’d be on the computer keyboard using a notation program to arrange music for other instruments into piano pieces. Even giving up playing for a while due to a medical issue or injury, I don’t have to give up music completely. I’d save my arrangements for a later date when I recovered enough to play them. While many lot students are not at the level of arranging music, I do it regularly.

          At the moment I’m away from home to celebrate someone’s 100th birthday. I still connect with my teacher through Zoom.

          It’s much easier for people to restart piano even after many years away than a total beginner trying piano the first time. After years of playing, I can learn intermediate pieces easily on my own and I download sheet music regularly. Many beginners feel they need a teacher to guide them. During the last Christmas break I learned holidays tunes on my own. Not having a teacher or lessons wouldn’t stop me from playing. Over the years I acquired enough repertoire books to keep on playing for a while. Not having a teacher to guide you and not playing altogether are different matters.

            KrisR i a sorry to hear about this, it sounds very stressful but I hope your treatment continues to help!!

            I’m in transit right now so when I get home, I can write more about my lessons, but briefly…
            I started piano as an adult, I’ve now been playing for 26 years (yes, I’m getting old! 😅
            I have been taking lessons off and on (more on than off) pretty much the whole time. I currently have a teacher who I love… the way we work together, he’s almost more of a coach. I practice daily (when I’m not traveling) so my situation is different than yours but I wills think that having a teacher should be fine as long as you’re both on the same page about what you can do outside of lesson times and how you will spend your lesson times.

            Separate from that, has your doc given you any piano related recs?

              Thank you all for your responses. I'm just out of bed (in Australia) and headed toward the pool but will read and respond later today.

              KrisR Are you enjoying piano lessons? What are you aiming to get out of taking lessons? If you don't take lessons, do you have something to be working on as a long-term piano playing project? Are you enjoying playing piano? What are your goals for piano playing? Music in general? Life?

              I haven't been in a similar situation, and sorry to hear about your medical problem, but tend to have a rather analytical approach to problem solving, so I start with a lot of questions. In fact, my first step is usually to come up with a good list of questions. You don't always need to form explicit answers.

                  I'm so sorry about your health problems. I had lessons as a child from 8-16, and then lessons here and there for specific things (a difficult piece, or to improve my ergonomics). Piano hasn't always consistently been a part of my life. I also have some health issues (not related to my hands) and when I'm very fatigued I sometimes don't practice for weeks or even months at a time. But when I have more energy, I usually go back to it. The first few days are a bit rough but then my brain remembers what it used to know and it comes back.

                  If you're frustrated and no longer enjoying the process, I would suggest a break for now. Taking a break is never a permanent decision and you can go back when you're ready. I really hope your treatments are effective.

                  rogerch Thank you for your response. I printed out everyone's responses yesterday and took them to a cafe with me to really dig into myself on what I was thinking. And probably more importantly - what I was FEELING. I found the questions that you would ask yourself very beneficial. What is the benefit I am gaining from lessons? Are these lessons maintaining my interest? Is there hardship associated with continuing lessons?

                  The answers for me to your questions were YES. Yes.....I still get benefit. Yes, they help maintain my piano interest. And surprisingly, YES there IS hardship associated with lessons, but those hardships are worth overcoming or dealing with in order to keep my passion for piano alive.

                  My entire adult life (I'm 65) I have wanted to play the piano. I had lessons for about 6 months as a child. When we used to visit my Aunt (when I was a teenager), you would find me in the basement, playing her piano. I 'babysat' a piano for 6 months for another Aunt when she left her husband (I was about 40 at the time) and had a handful of lessons. I would say one of my biggest unmet desires in life was to play the piano. When I got the opportunity to get a piano about 5 years ago, I started lessons and haven't looked back.

                  So, I will continue to take lessons. Thanks for helping me figure this out.

                    thepianoplayer416 Thank you. I'll give my office chair a try today - great idea.

                    Your last sentence....."not having a teacher to guide you and not playing altogether are different matters." So true. I do think my teachers will help get me through this stage. They are both very supportive and non-judgmental. They know my truest desire is to play - whether I hit the correct keys or not. And who knows....perhaps finger 4 & 5 on my left hand will regain feeling and come back to the piano playing party. A woman can hope!

                    Cheers

                      TLH21 Another analytical person! As with the other responses, I really connected with your questions. They made me dig a little deeper - past my frustration level - to really get to the heart of my question and situation. I thank you for that.

                      What I came away from your post with is to look at my goal for lessons. What I found as an answer is that not only will I continue my lessons with both teachers - but I will also work to shift my focus from trying to play pieces perfectly (not that I ever do but that is my nature and previous goal) to playing primarily for enjoyment. Pull out some old pieces that I loved and polish them up. Try to work on the IMPROV lessons with abandon instead of judgement. And if my fingers don't want to come to the party, that's just the way it is. It might be a long term situation or it might not be. All I can do is play TODAY. It's time to put my mindfulness practice to work.

                      Thank you.