@ShiroKuro said:
@AndyD said:
the discipline to play each through daily
For whatever reason, daily practice and consistency (like returning to daily practice if I miss a day) is the one thing I’m really, really good at.
If fitting real-time lessons into your schedule is challenging, perhaps you could start with something like that?
@kluurs are/were you a member of Tonebase?
I was listening to a podcast with one of the top personal trainers in the country. It was interesting that when he was asked where he focused with a first time client - and his answer was schedule. That is if a person can't keep a schedule for working out, it would fail. So, that's where he started and focused a lot of his energy. They spoke for almost 3 hours - and consistency came up time and again. At one point, the interviewer asked what was the best time of day to realize the most gains - and the trainer side stepped and said, "whatever time of the day the person can consistently focus their time."
For me, that's typically late in the day. I went a few years when I don't think I played 10 hours on the piano in the entire year - as work and ancillary activities of life took up all my time.
Now that I'm retired I can be a bit more consistent. I still have no talent for music - can't sight read, memorize or count effectively, fumble over notes, and terrified of public performance - but I'm still hacking away at the poor piano and enjoying every moment more than ever.
I joked with Mik a long while back, that if I dedicated myself to playing several hours a day and with proper instruction, I might rise from a bad player to mediocre - but such a lofty goal is unlikely. Doesn't matter - hopefully, in my next life, I jump in line for musical talent as soon as the doors open.
