# How do I make my piano playing less boring?



## tomhh

Hi all. I play piano.Sometimes I think the music I play doesn't have interesting sound,though 
I play the song with correct notes,rthythm,good dynamics and articulation. Does anyone can help me?
Thanks a lot.


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## Krummhorn

What are the names of the pieces you are learning at the moment?


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## tomhh

Recently, I play Schumann- album for the young op 68(for example,no.1 melody,no.4 chorale,no.9 folk song and no.14 and no.26...).
Thanks.


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## PetrB

Other than "Playing all the notes in the right order," (and the right tempo,) there are tens of thousands of nuanced things one can bring out of an instrument and the piece itself. 
Phrasing / dynamic contouring / the touch, i.e. 'tone' you produce -- and more, in infinite shades of degrees. Each of those is a matter of something 'technical' (which can be learned) in how you play piano (or any instrument.)

Many of those elements are somewhat to extremely subtle, and to learn them more consciously takes -- (_Ta-Da!!!_) -- working with a good teacher. What it takes to explain them and learn them is nigh to impossible to communicate other than in person, while teacher and student are at the instrument.

_If you are working with a teacher and these other elements of music and how to render them are not being taught, it is time to look for a better teacher._

I would prefer to guess you are not studying with a teacher... if that is true, get thyself a teacher, and _pronto._

ADD; P.s. I thought to mention, like the post below, that you are a beginner. The older you are when you begin, the more likely it is that you already have an idea of 'what good /what sounds good' is, and it takes some time, combined faith in practicing and practicing, before you get closer to "sounding good." I still hope you are working with a good teacher


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## Animato

Piano playing in beginner status is not very satifying, I know. You have got such a big instrument and you play only some tiny keys in the middle of the broad keyboard. But playing piano pieces by Schumann is a good beginning. I would like to encourage you to proceed. Besides playing pieces by J.S.Bach in order to train your fingers (and your brain) choose “soundful” pieces by Schubert, Schumann in order to get your sound-satisfaction. This will keep you practicing the piano until you are able to play the real big pieces by Chopin and Rachmaninov.


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## musicrom

I agree with what PetrB said. Once you know the "correct notes, rhythm, good dynamics, and articulation," you can begin to experiment with the other, more subtle aspects of playing piano.

I watched a video yesterday that kind of touches upon these more subtle aspects, and I figured I'd post it. It's an interview with master pianist Daniil Trifonov, and I think the part starting around 4:30. I'd encourage you to listen to the whole thing though if you have time. You can see how there are multiple ways to interpret a piece even after having the key aspects down which can make a huge difference. Of course, it takes a long time to develop this skill, but it's a way to get deeper into the music.






(Also, perhaps, if you're bored with the pieces you're playing, you might want to move on to more challenging repertoire, or music that you like more. I'm not anywhere near a professional pianist - I just play it for fun, having a couple years of instruction - but the few Schumann pieces I did play did not interest me very much, but there's plenty of other great music out there if it's just a matter of taste)


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## PetrB

musicrom said:


> I agree with what PetrB said. Once you know the "correct notes, rhythm, good dynamics, and articulation," you can begin to experiment with the other, more subtle aspects of playing piano.


Maybe I was not clear, getting music out of the piano should be part and parcel of learning it from the first note you play, the first simple piece you learn.

_One does not learn all the basic techniques and then later "add expression."

Expression *is* technique._ If you are not learning it all together from the first lesson -- um -- switch teachers.


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## Volve

Listen to PetrB, the right teacher can change your life to a certain degree. When I started playing, I had a decent enough notion of expression and dynamics, but my finger technique was awful. I simply could not play legatto, I had no clue of what to do with the pedals, I had terrble fingering, my hand basically skipped around the keyboard trying to find the right place to land. This was one year ago. Then I changed teachers.

This new teacher has managed to get me to study proper technique, which I never though I would do, she discusses interpretation to a great lenght with me, we explore sonorities for hours, she helps me discover my weaknesses and my strenghts, and then we work to turn those weaknesses into strenghts, and most importantly, without knowing it, she reminded me of why I decided to spend bloody 12 daily hours on the piano. 

A lot comes from the student, if we don't do our part, there's nothing the teacher can do, but if you're dedicated and you know where you're going, but you're stuck with a bad teacher, you ain't going nowhere. Teachers make or breake your game. 

Long live the good teachers!


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## Jaws

tomhh said:


> Hi all. I play piano.Sometimes I think the music I play doesn't have interesting sound,though
> I play the song with correct notes,rthythm,good dynamics and articulation. Does anyone can help me?
> Thanks a lot.


By interesting sound do you mean that it doesn't sound like it does on a CD or at a recital? It won't sound like this for about 20 years. You may have got mislead by thinking that some pieces are easy to play and that therefore you should be able to make them sound like a concert pianist. Music playing doesn't work like this.

You have to start from the idea that all music was written to be played by concert pianists as that is how you usually hear it.
Even pieces that don't have many notes are still the same level of difficult to play well. Playing well is what makes something sound interesting. So what you need to do is to forget what you think it should sound like based on what you have heard and just do the best that you can at the level that you have got to.


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## appoggiatura

I second *PetrB*

Playing the right thing is not enough. There is a difference between sound and SOUND. You have to explore all the dimensions. You can do that even if you are a beginner! Try to focus even more on the nuances, the toucher. Never be satisfied. 
You need also a teacher who tries to get the very best out of your skills! I'm gonna be a bit severe maybe, but if you play the Schumann Melody op. 68 no. 1 like this (I don't say you do, just to give an example  ) 



 then OF COURSE playing the piano is boring!  
Listening to it is very boring too. Instead, try get that extra dimension.

I recorded a little fragment of how I would practise this piece musically....
I sightread this piece once before recording the little video, so it's kind of my first encounter with this piece. Sorry for my plenty of mistakes. I'm NOT saying I'm doing everything okay. I'm not saying everything I do is accurate. But just to offer some musical ideas...  It's good to experiment. I encourage you to do it even more!






Practising like this CAN'T be boring, even if it's not advanced-pro-virtuoso-bumblebee stuff.

(By the way I wrote an article about it some months ago on my blog. Make practising the piano less boring.)

Hope it helps...  Good luck!


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