Staying interested in an instrument.

[Owen Lol]

I'm the first person in my family to start playing an instrument. I started playing Piano in January, but recently I've kinda just stopped practicing. I have a practice lesson tomorrow and I'm screwed.. Just the stuff I have to learn is so frustrating and hard to remember. Anyone here play the piano wanna pass on some motivation to stay with it? I don't want to quit but I feel a lack of motivation to practice..

[MaCruz]

I think at a certain age you tend to lose interest of what you used to love. My sister and her friend felt the same when they played piano during their teens. Go with your heart. If this is something you don't want to continue, then don't force yourself.

[Owen Lol]

I don't want to quit.. But practicing is brutal for me.. And I don't do any sports or after school activities so my parents would hold it over my head big time that I quit.

[JJ]

Owen, we need to brighten up your mood somehow, I swear every thread you start has a sad face to it.

::drives up to his crib to take him to a strip club::

::Yes, he's 21, Mr. Bouncer - ::slips him a 20::

[Sussudio]

Are you rocking out with your brother yet? Don't worry, it takes a LOT of patience and effort to get good at a musical instrument...piano was my first instrument too and is a great first instrument at that, but it took me a while to build up some skills.

What have you been playing recently?

[Owen Lol]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Are you rocking out with your brother yet? Don't worry, it takes a LOT of patience and effort to get good at a musical instrument...piano was my first instrument too and is a great first instrument at that, but it took me a while to build up some skills.

What have you been playing recently?

Just what you'd expect a 3 month old player to be playing.. Those songs in the books with drawings and designs like a first grade classroom

[Sussudio]

Well you're like anyone else getting started at an instrument...it's not uncommon to be frustrated, trust me you keep at it those startup books will be a complete joke to you before you know it. It's good to master the basics before moving on to the bigger and better stuff...I used to love bringing in music to my piano teacher and learn how to play it.

[Sagacious Koreo]

Dude, piano players get the ladies, man.

I was like that when I was younger too. At first, I had a lack of motivation as well. I realized that later on that playing the more boring and mundane stuff really expands your repertoire to be able to play the stuff that actually interests you. I've developed an ear for music as time went on and now I can play most anything I hear. It's fun as time goes on. If the enjoyment of music is in you then you'll learn to love it as you develop the skills.

If anything it'll also give you bonus points with the ladies. And if you can sing and play at the same time then your "get the woman" status automatically increases 5 fold.

[quirkmanly]

I'm a left handed 41 year old who has been attempting to self-teach myself guitar for a year or so now. It's hard going and at times miserably frustrating, but in the low moments when I need inspiration I throw a tune on that encapsulates every reason for me trying to learn the fecking thing and it pumps me back up. You have to drive through the apathy and the low moments, because the real rewards of learning an instrument lie just beyond that.

Be inspired.

[Owen Lol]

If I sang one word I would remain an innocent virgin for many years, if not my life. So I would say singing is out of the equation.

[Sagacious Koreo]

You know, I'd also suggest watching video of other great pianists...that inspired me quite a bit. I loved watching masters doing what they do best. It made me want to be just as good. Guys like Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk did it for me.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by Sagacious Koreo

You know, I'd also suggest watching video of other great pianists...that inspired me quite a bit. I loved watching masters doing what they do best. It made me want to be just as good. Guys like Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk did it for me.

This.

Watching Jimmy Page in The Yardbirds never fails to drive me on.

[Sagacious Koreo]

You know, I look at Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and say, "Well, I figure if a blind guy can do it..."

That's gotta count for something.

[GLaDOS]

Look, I know it's hard to play an instrument. I play both the piano and the guitar (quite frankly, I think playing the guitar is easier but that's just me), and at first they're really tough to play. You just have to let your musical interests grow in order to get more hooked on an instrument. I like classic rock, so I stick with my guitar and piano (Most bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen have piano in some, if not most of their songs).

I hope this helps, Owen.

[toef]

I started taking piano lessons when I was 5, but it wasn't my idea. My parents signed my brother up for lessons, and he didn't want to go. Since the lessons were already paid for, they sent me instead.

I've played ever since (20 years now), but stopped taking lessons after senior year in high school.

My advice is to take it seriously, or don't do it at all.

If you quit now, you can find something else to do with your time.

If you half-ass it for a few years, you'll look back and think "wow, I could've been pretty good by now, but instead I just wasted my time, the teacher's time, and my parents' money".

For a while, I was really into it. By middle school/early high school, I started to lose interest in it. Playing the piano wasn't something cool kids did. And whenever a piano was nearby, my friends would always try to get me to play random songs, as if I was some monkey to entertain them.

Looking back on it now though, I'm glad I stuck with it. But I'm a bit mad at myself for not really putting in as much effort as I could have.

I'm by no means bad at piano. But sometimes I wonder how much better I could be right now, if I really dedicated myself to it when I was younger.

It's not like I spent my time doing more productive things... I would mostly skip out on practicing just to go play video games, or watch TV.

~~~

So my advice is this: think about what you're doing. Do you really want to play the piano? Are you just doing it because it seemed like something different (since nobody else in your family played an instrument)? Are you just doing it to make someone else happy (your parents, whoever)?

Learning to play an instrument well is one of the most satisfying things you can do.

Over the years I've learned a number of other instruments (guitar, bass guitar, drums, trumpet), but nothing, in my opinion, can come close to what a piano is capable of.

If you stick with it, experiment with different types of music. Maybe change your piano teacher, if they're not inspiring you. For a few years, I had a fairly boring teacher, and I'm sure that contributed to my waning interest in lessons.

Find music you want to learn to play, take it to your teacher, and have them work with you on learning it. If it's beyond your ability, your teacher should still be able to work with you to simplify it for your current ability.

I spent years being trained as a classical pianist, but it wasn't until I started playing what I wanted that I got really into it.

Jazz is great, if you want to experiment.

Read up on the foundations of rock music, and you can do some cool stuff with a piano, and simple chord progressions.

Learn some of the popular songs on the radio right now, and your friends will probably be amazed. To this day I still work out a few of the current songs on the radio, just to have at my disposal whenever I'm near a piano, and want to get a laugh out of people (right now my go-to songs are a classical sounding version of Empire State of Mind by Jay Z/Alicia Keys, and a solo version of Paparazzi by Lady Gaga... in a few months, I'll learn some new ones).

If you need any more advice, or have questions about piano or sheet music, or whatever, just shoot me a PM.

[BStecke]

Well . . . for one, why are you doing it in the first place?

[jw]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i61cL8RVvVQ

[Lord_Stewie]

Owen I wish I could play the piano. You are lucky, I only know how to guitars. And its not a great experience.

[JonD7]

I wish I could play the piano... but I am so weak, I can barely lift my arms up anymore, haven't played guitar for over a year now... I miss it terribly.

Keep your chin up Owen, I felt really frustrated when I started playing guitar but I stuck it out and it made me soooo happy I did.

[jono_0101]

you need to figure out why you dont enjoy it, is it that you enjoy playing the piano but dont like the books youre using? are you interested in playing music in general, just not the piano? you want to avoid your parents holding it over you that you quit? just be honest with yourself about why you dont enjoy it and dont worry about anyone else, and then youll know what to do

if you enjoy playing the piano, then you either have to find a book that seems more interesting or more the type of music you want to play, or just plow through it until you get good enough to play what you really want to play, maybe you would like a different instrument, the piano isnt for everyone, i quit piano and learned the trumpet when i was younger, it was a lot more fun to me, and like a lot of people, you could give the guitar a chance (good way to get the ladies too), if you just dont want your parents holding it over you like you said, find something else that you would rather do as an extra curricular activity: some other instrument, a sport, some kind of hobby, and then bring that to them and say "this is what id rather do" i think your parents would be cool as long as you have "something" that you are interested in doing that isnt just hanging out and watching tv or something