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I wish my parents had pushed me to practice piano. They subjected me to lessons for almost 2 years, and I didn't mind (although the 30 minute drive each way to

I wish my parents had pushed me to practice piano. They subjected me to lessons for almost 2 years, and I didn't mind (although the 30 minute drive each way to the teacher's house sucked.) However, between lessons instead of practicing I would just fck off and improvise and try to teach myself popular songs instead of actually practicing, and I'm not talking about hours each day either, maybe more like a few minutes. Which meant it was all a collossal waste of time and money. Parents sometimes need to push their kids.

beardyw 4y ago
Same story here. The piano teacher refused to teach me in the end. That said, as a result I can busk a bit, and have come to realise that physical tasks to be done in a repeatable way are outside my ability. So the world has not lost a great pianist.
bigmealbigmeal 4y ago
"I would just fck off and improvise and try to teach myself popular songs instead of actually practicing" I did the exact same thing, except now I'm a skilled keyboardist (and multi-instrumentalist) who gets paid for gigs. I still spend most of my time fucking around and improvising. Every bit of theory I discovered through fucking around and just exploring freely. I never do scales: I just pick a key and start improvising. If my parents had pushed me to 'actually practice', I would have rebelled and quit altogether. They did for a couple of years. And I did quit. Fortunately, I found my way back to it, on my own terms, because I simply loved playing instruments -- but I loved doing it on my own terms, not someone else's. The frank truth is that some people really like playing instruments, and some are just 'meh' about it. Those who have a tendency to enjoy playing an instrument just need to have access to one -- and then they'll find their way. On the other hand, if a child is 'meh' about an instrument, is it really worth punishing and forcing them through all of it? What's the goddamn point? Isn't life to be enjoyed? Is it really just a series of skills to stoically master?
deleted 4y ago
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nasmorn 4y ago
Our daughters both play instruments and they only get to choose each semester how much teaching they want to do or if they want to play in orchestras or ensembles. But once they choose so they cannot stop practicing for their ensemble concert. Interestingly while there is a lot of friction involved to get them to practice at times they are always very proud and happy for their performance and want to do it again. The most draconian measure we apply is not letting them use electronic media.

beardyw 4y ago

Same story here. The piano teacher refused to teach me in the end. That said, as a result I can busk a bit, and have come to realise that physical tasks to be done in a repeatable way are outside my ability. So the world has not lost a great pianist.

bigmealbigmeal 4y ago

"I would just fck off and improvise and try to teach myself popular songs instead of actually practicing" I did the exact same thing, except now I'm a skilled keyboardist (and multi-instrumentalist) who gets paid for gigs. I still spend most of my time fucking around and improvising. Every bit of theory I discovered through fucking around and just exploring freely. I never do scales: I just pick a key and start improvising. If my parents had pushed me to 'actually practice', I would have rebelled and quit altogether. They did for a couple of years. And I did quit. Fortunately, I found my way back to it, on my own terms, because I simply loved playing instruments -- but I loved doing it on my own terms, not someone else's. The frank truth is that some people really like playing instruments, and some are just 'meh' about it. Those who have a tendency to enjoy playing an instrument just need to have access to one -- and then they'll find their way. On the other hand, if a child is 'meh' about an instrument, is it really worth punishing and forcing them through all of it? What's the goddamn point? Isn't life to be enjoyed? Is it really just a series of skills to stoically master?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

nasmorn 4y ago

Our daughters both play instruments and they only get to choose each semester how much teaching they want to do or if they want to play in orchestras or ensembles. But once they choose so they cannot stop practicing for their ensemble concert. Interestingly while there is a lot of friction involved to get them to practice at times they are always very proud and happy for their performance and want to do it again. The most draconian measure we apply is not letting them use electronic media.