I wanna start playin the piano again

Within the millisecond that it took to load up the video images, I knew it was going to be David Sides.

EDIT: Have to post "Apologize," man.

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Damn, makes me wish I paid attention and not have given up when my parents forced me to take piano lessons growing up. I couldn't help I liked sports too much. It's not too late to learn again is it?!

 

Once you start practicing though, it's really tedious and boring unless you really love it. You can't just look at the result, but you must love the process.

I never the desire to play back in grade school, but was really forced to learn for a while because I had "talent". That is, I learn faster than a normal kid, when he practices 2 hours a day and I practice 1 hour a day... at least that's what I tell my teacher and parents. Really I just practice like half an hour and only 2-3 days a week.

So although for a while I was actually quite good at the Piano, I never really cared about it. So it ended up being a waste of time and money. You really need dedication for things like this.

 

My practice habits were never great, which is kind of sad considering how much potential I had. I still took lessons all through my growing up years and got up to a high level, but most of those years my practice habits were like the ones meh described above. I still got away with it and made decent progress, and there wasn't really anyone advanced in my own studio for me to "compete" with... and I didn't go to formal competitions... maybe that's why I didn't do more, and spent a lot more time on things I was a lot worse at.

Now, I've realized how special this is and I truly do like playing, so one of the reasons I'm back in college is to study piano. I practice more than that now, but it's still not great... hardly the hours a day they tell you to. I am hoping I can finally change that this year. Something about going in there by yourself that's so boring. If I'm playing with an ensemble, I can keep rehearsing for hours and it feels good, and I'm not even wanting to quit.

 

I was roommates with a concert pianist for 2 years in college. That guy seriously practiced for 6 hours a day and constantly beat himself up for not practicing enough. He used to break into the music building after it was closed and practice until 5 in the morning because he liked having the whole building to himself without people coming in and bothering him. He got about 2 hours of sleep a day.

Last I heard, he had had a nervous breakdown and had been in and out of drug rehab numerous times.

 

the world is full of great talents that lack discipline...

talent + discipline = genius

 

ima_drummer2k: there you see why I'm glad I'm not a performance major. Such pressure they put themselves under, probably because of the subculture there and the competition for any kind of paying gig/position. They are also vulnerable to repetitive stress injuries. I'm an Education major, which means I can still do/use my percussion, no one looks down on me picking up other skills in my spare time (jazz, choral, whatever) because they understand that variety is good, and I may still get a good piano gig from time to time, who knows.

I got in a good hour or so this morning; maybe this thread inspired me (or the fact that it was my scheduled practice time). I think, if I can get up, I do better in the mornings and get less bored. I don't think hours and hours a day really does much more for you, though. Better to have concentrated practice that really focuses, then quick run-throughs at other times during the day to reinforce what you worked on.

 

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I practiced 6 1/2 hours a day in college. For a time I was the first one at the school in the morning when the cleaning ladies arrived to unlock the building. I'd practice in between classes. I'd go home around 4 or 5 after my last class and come back around 11 and practice until they closed the building at 1 AM. If you add in the time I spent in ensembles every day, I was playing for 8+ hours a day.

I'm doing around 5 right now. From 10AM - 5PM with an hour break at lunch and miscellaneous smaller breaks that add up. I play 50 minutes out of the hour. Honestly, I'd play more but I don't want to piss off my neighbors when they get home from work.

 

Um....OK, I just watched that first video. Question: Was that supposed to be good? The guy just plays the same 3 chords over and over again. Are the other videos that lame?

 

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This video was the one that got me wanting to learn. I bought a keyboard and book to learn how to play, but end up quitting acouple of weeks later. Now my piano is just rotting away in my closet.

Still, I admire people who can plays this instrumental real well, especially the one that can play music by just listening to the original song.

 

Oh, David Sides is one of my favorite pianist. I dig his version of "how do I breathe" by Mario. He's a piano beast.

 

Nope - you're right. It was very, very unimpressive.

I can play the Maple Leaf Rag (this isn't me though):

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Nice Rollin, no offense, but that guy is weak. You need to see some real pianists. Check out this video all the way through (past the interview bits).

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Watch that left hand at the 3:39 mark. Crazy.

 

Ya know, I should setup the camcorder on me playing the piano before I return it to BetterThanI.

 

I don't know what's more crazy. His piano skills or his looks. He looks like a nerd/pedophile/serial murderer all morphed into 1.

 

LOL! Get out of my brain!

 

True that the initial video wasn't that great, but it might be inspiring to those who aren't at as high of a level but still want to make music that people like. (Actually sometimes it's easier; people don't always want the hard/classical stuff.) The last one posted showed a lot more ability; I think my left hand would lock up if I tried that.

 

He's from Montana. That pretty much says it all.