AVOID "Repertoire Museums" - This Will HALT Progress and Momentum

[@joshwrightpiano]

I hope this helps each of you in your piano studies...I've seen SO many students make this mistake, and I've made it MANY times in my life as well. Whenever I avoid it, my progress and momentum with building repertoire accelerates. Have a great week of practicing!

[@cristianpiano2170]

this week shall be a new beginning :) finally fixed my bad practice habits, now on to the bigger picture haha :)

[@DeanHorak]

Good to know. I've been wondering about this myself. My strategy/MO has been to get a piece under my hands well enough to get a decent recording completed. I then move on to my next challenge, often not playing the last piece anymore. I worry that I'll completely lose the piece, and the months it took to learn it. Its good to know that I should be able to bring it back within a few weeks. BTW, appreciate all the great tips - they've been a great help to me.

[@deniseeliza1]

I appreciated this video! My teacher always declares a piece "done" well before I'm able to play it at professional tempo but as soon as I'm able to play it smoothly and with artistry, and I have always been kind of worried about that. I'm glad to hear that it's okay for me to drop it and move along. Right now I'm working on Chopin's Mazurka Op 67 no 4 :-D

[@jbertucci]

Practice or your mom will kungpao... nevermind. Forgive me, I have no friends :D

[@MariaMaltseva]

Your videos are always excellent and your advice is sound. One gem I like particularly: "There are no levels in piano."

[@MM-wd6ud]

As a beginner adult student I know exactly what your talking about. I’m afraid to let go of what I worked so hard to achieve because I fear it I let go I’ll loose them.

[@cynthiacampbell7277]

This was very timely advice. Trying to maintain all of my favorite pieces plus trying to learn a few new ones every couple of months has begun to result in none of them being truly at a satisfactory level.

[@sirakjames5374]

so relieving to hear that old repertoire will naturally progress when brought back after some time!

[@joshwrightpiano]

sirak james it’s one of the amazing phenomenons about studying music!

[@TheMotherOfBambi]

Wow this advice hurt me 😂 *cue flashbacks to me yesterday playing all my favorite pieces from my repertoire just cause i love them instead of working on the beethoven sonata and chopin nocturne currently assigned to me* I’ll try to focus when i practice today

[@sirchoppy1810]

Poggers

[@donnagilligan2905]

Your professional input is so appreciated Josh. I started expanding my light classical compositions with other romantic music and then go back to them. It's amazing the difference

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad to hear that Donna! It is astounding how much difference time and letting a piece rest can make

[@Rombizio]

The tempo comment is also spot on. I let many pieces go with a slower tempo. Again, I started learning at age 40. Speed doesnt come naturally to me anymore.

[@yangshuo9925]

Keeping a repertoire museum is exactly my problem that slows me down and even wears off my passion! Thank you so much for pointing out and offerring the advice!

[@TheFlamingPiano]

Yeah I also like to learn many pieces, but I learn them by 2's or 3's with my teacher. Very useful tip though. I felt that too when I was self-learning and getting cocky

[@TheSIGHTREADINGProject]

Well said! I really needed this. I felt like a failure because of not managing to maintain pieces and ultimately loosing them. Great to hear that this is perfectly normal as I’ve certainly been getting in my own way. I’ve recently started a routine of play it, drop it, play it, drop it and it’s been so liberating. Like you say, it never takes as long to get into the groove of an old piece if you have to return to it anyway. Thanks Josh

[@tjbuege]

Josh, great video, thank you! This one really hits home for me. I was a piano performance major in college working on my junior recital when I made the decision to change my major away from music. Long story, but it was the right decision. Since then, I’ve continued to play these past 35 years as our church pianist, but mostly accompanying congregational singing with the occasional prelude or offertory. I would occasionally learn a new piece, but never really pushed myself. Now in my 50s, I have a renewed desire to achieve the level I was at in college and even take things farther. I recently fulfilled a life long dream and I purchased my first grand piano (1906 Mason & Hamlin AA). However, I find myself continually returning to the same pieces from 35 years ago, as if relearning them would make me feel like I’m back where things were in college. You have given me a lot to think about. I can see now that this is really about the journey and progressing in my ability. I don’t have anything to prove by continually working on those older pieces. Some will become my signature pieces, such as the Mozart Sonata in D Major K 311. In fact, as I’ve been working on bringing that one back, in some respects I feel I can play it better, and it actually has been relatively easy to relearn it. Again thank you for these videos. I watch everyone of them and there is usually something I can take away and apply to my practice.

[@jewelmarkess]

I can relate too even though I was never at a professional level. I had piano lessons for 6 or 7 years when I was a kid, and I played a few of the same pieces on and off later on, took a few lessons in my late 20s and was working on different pieces, but then moved and couldn't continue. Trying to get back to it now and am torn between learning pieces I started to learn in my late 20s and actually getting back and improving my technique, but keep going back to the pieces I learned as a kid like Chopin's waltz in C sharp minor. I know I don't play it nearly as good as zillion recordings I can find, but listening to this video made me think that I should really concentrate on shortcomings in my technique and improve my ability, and then maybe I'll be able to play some of the old pieces better as well.

[@Puttecleo]

Oh my God, what an eye opener

[@joshwrightpiano]

Puttecleo glad you liked it!

[@panpiper1116]

This is so me. Is there a happy medium? I worked so hard on those pieces and they flee the fingers so easily!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Haha. Make 2-3 of your pieces your "signature" pieces, then let the rest go. You can warm up with your signature pieces each day, or a few times a week, but collecting vast amounts of these signature pieces can be detrimental to progress

[@TheSunshinedreamer1]

LOL so happy that we are really all in the exact same boats, just in different hulls of the boat, Friend.

[@panpiper1116]

@@joshwrightpiano It makes absolute sense. Thanks for all of your great videos- I'm enjoying working with the teachings very much and appreciate your efforts here.

[@howardlitson9796]

That's reason why I love young musician Josh wright. Demonstration skill reflect high level fingers dexterity technique of performance for presto and very fast tempo virtuoso work

[@dseabrook2]

WOW!! This is exactly what I’ve been doing!!! Thanks for calling me out on it!

[@joshwrightpiano]

David Seabrook Haha no problem...I’m calling out about 99% of pianists at some point in their studies :)

[@984francis]

One of the many reasons I like the ABRSM approach is it is necessary to keep moving. Get the exam pieces to a decent standard, pass the exam and move on. Also, the repertoire choices for each grade are quite imaginative and you have to do theory and ear training. It's not easy but nothing worth doing is. The thing is, if you do the work, you will keep moving forward. Oh, and I'm a member of a piano group and that keeps me on my feet to having something fresh for each meeting. Sometimes, if I am in the middle of a big stretch, I will dust off something from the past and get it to a new level for a meeting. It's great fun to discover how something that seemed difficult can now be taken to a new level.

[@tplayspiano]

I realize this is an older video but I’ve just found it so it’s new to me. As an adult still studying this is immensely helpful. Thank you.

[@mozartrn1]

I'm glad I'm not alone in the "struggle". Thanks for the advice and must say, a little like escaping a self-created prison 🙄

[@joshwrightpiano]

Diane Thanks Diane! Have a great week :)

[@ninjaraph]

Ouch hahaha. Thank you! I will trust your advice and move forward.

[@joshwrightpiano]

I hope it helps!

[@thegreenpianist7683]

Wow! You're posting videos like crazy! Reminds me of the old days of your channel haha Keep it up, Josh!

[@joshwrightpiano]

About to get crazier...I'm training two part-time assistants this coming week to help me with all of this stuff

[@ericspianoschool]

Yess!!!! Josh Wright scaling his piano empire for more and more value

[@betoreyes8167]

thanks Josh for confirming something I had always believed. I move on from one piece to next, once I have it memorized and can play it at a tempo I feel comfortable with and that allows me to pay attention to other details like: dynamics, phrasing, ornaments, etc. If that piece or pieces are going to be played at a recital, then I work with my teacher to bring them to performance level.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Beto Reyes awesome Beto! Thanks for your kindness

[@mafool14]

Do you recommend practicing repertoire pieces until they are perfect, or keep adding new pieces (and let go of current pieces) even if the current repertoire is not perfect?

[@joshwrightpiano]

@@MildSatire I agree with this Rachel. I feel that you should get each piece to a smooth state with artistry infused into it. If you want to get it to a professional tempo, it will take longer. If it is a stepping stone piece, you don't have to get it to a professional tempo, but make sure you are doing it artistic justice for your current abilities :)

[@johannesbekker1970]

@@joshwrightpiano Somebody said never polish a piece before a performance but make sure you have the technique perfect. What do you think ?

[@PeterHontaru]

Thank you Josh - I absolutely love hearing about things like this and how it relates to YOUR practice too. One of the pieces I plan on tackling next is, funnily enough, Clementi’s sonatina 36-3 so I will definitely keep your advice on the back of my head. I always found that as a beginner good enough is sometimes better than perfect and I would rather learn 3-4 pieces to a decent standard than “perfect” 1 within the same period.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad you enjoyed it Peter. Great thoughts! Have a good week my friend

[@donnagilligan2905]

The difference is wonderful as I now expand original arrangement's. Thank you so much.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad you liked it Donna :) Have a great day

[@hansmuller1846]

Same for me! I was also wondering if that is actually a good thing to do... In my case (and I think in many others too), it has to do with the selection you can "offer" (or have at your disposal) in situations where people want you to play something. The more you have to choose from, the better you can adapt to the piano/what those people even like/what level you are comfortable playing right now. That's probably just a silly excuse, but that was my motivation until now. Let's see if I can actually change it ;)

[@joshwrightpiano]

I just mentioned this briefly in the video, but I love having one or two signature pieces that you "have in the holster" that you can play at any time. There were many times during my wife's and my doctoral program where we were so busy preparing repertoire, that when a friend said "play me something" we would say...."uh...nothing's ready right now". And their response was priceless - "you're in your doctorate and you can't play me a single thing?!" From then on, I've always had a couple of pieces "in my back pocket" that I can play at a moment's notice that don't take a lot of upkeep work

[@hansmuller1846]

@@joshwrightpiano That's probably the better solution.. Although having just those few pieces always ready still claims a significant bit of a limitid daily practice time. Finding a good compromise will most likely take some time

[@andytinganyang4706]

Perfectionism really is an obstacle to progress. We are humans, meant to grow and learn, not machines stuck doing one job. Thank you Josh

[@kartikkrishnan6023]

I was actually recently just thinking about this actually, I’m glad you answered it. One reason why I wanted to “collect” a repertoire was so that every once and a while I could have the opportunity of rather than practicing, just sit back and play. What I noticed was that when playing old pieces I might not be thinking as critically as if I was just learning it and my playing all together becomes sloppier and it takes quite a lot of work to maintain old pieces which could be spent elsewhereThanks for finally sealing the deal that I should give up maintaining old music

[@haydn4ever]

From another adult pianist, THANK YOU!! I needed to hear that, because that's exactly what I've been doing, and that's exactly what happened! I hit a plateau, stopped progressing, didn't want to struggle with new pieces, wanted to get BETTER with the ones I was working on. Thought if I worked super hard and played them every day, I could progress to the correct speed or NO MISTAKES, or perfect even scales.....Your advice helped me realize that I am only SUPPOSED to get as good as my current level will allow me on that piece! TIME and continued experience with NEW and APPROPRIATE pieces will show the best and hopefully quickest improvement. I am an adult beginner.....well was....and at 3 -4 years was playing pieces I really shouldn't have been playing, but pieces I DREAMED of playing...Rachmaninoff Prelude Op 23 No 4. It's decent, but I couldn't get it to the level I wanted or felt in my heart! My fingers just wouldn't match my intentions!! I played Chopin Nocturnes Op 72 and Posthumous Op 21, et. Although for my "level" they actually came out decent, I've never been satisfied with them......but now I get it, thanks to you. Due to my dissatisfaction in my progress, I left piano in 2010....albeit occasionally playing ONLY old pieces. Just recently, now empty nesters, I decided to start piano again. I started working on new easier pieces for sight reading and technical purposes. I had forgotten the joy of playing appropriately "leveled" pieces and the joy of exploring new pieces! This was exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you!

[@ralfj.1740]

If I drop pieces of my repertoire I have the feeling that so much work was done for nothing ;)

[@Insig385]

hoooooooooly crap thank you SO MUCH for making a vid on this and beating us over the head with it over and over again. This is precisely the problem i'm stuck at! I find myself unwilling to let go of stuff i already learned, and so my practice session ends up being like 90% old stuff, and only 10% trying to learn something new. I get really upset if i don't practice an old piece for a while and ended up unhappy with how it sounds, and it just really brings me down. There's a piece that's far beyond my level, took 6 months to learn, and I kept beating my head against it for I don't know how long now, and i never feel like i'm improving. Now i wonder if i should just let it go and come back to it in a couple of years. I'm so terrified though, since it took me SO LONG and so much work to learn it, that letting it go just feels horrifying. (as reference, i'm an adult beginner for about a year). Geezus i needed this message beat into my head. SO THANK YOU. Wow.

[@agilesamus]

It's a very good point that if you shelve pieces temporarily, you can come back to them in the future, when you are more advanced, and play them BETTER! Thanks Josh!

[@kevinn6996]

THANK YOU FOR THIS ADVICE. I worked three months on this Chopin Waltz and finally finished it and didn't want to let it go since I invested so much of myself in it...I played it once everyday to maintain it so I didn't forget it. Now I have the validation I needed to move on with my life to bigger and better things. Thanks Dr. Wright!

[@arman2339]

This is really good advice. Never heard it before but seems so intuitively obvious at the same time. Thank you!

[@Rajivrocks-Ltd.]

To be honest, out of all your vids this has undoubtebly been the best advice I've gotten from you ever, even advice in general!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Rajivrocks Ltd. So glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much!

[@garthly]

This is me! Thanks, I will now feel it’s okay to let pieces go. What a relief!

[@dylandecker_music]

Great video Josh. For jazz players it is soooooo much easier to hold an hour long gig because most of the time we are just improvising!regardless this video has helped me alot

[@sarahward6428]

Phew, I feel better now, I was worried about dropping my exam pieces after spending months on them (that sounds a bit too grand as I'm only a beginner!) But I don't have enough time to keep them going and do the new stuff too. But when I go back to them they sound rubbish! Hopefully if I needed to resurrect them I could do and they should become a lot easier over time 😃 thanks Josh!

[@joshwrightpiano]

SarahW Chanteuse I think you’d be surprised how quickly they come back with some hard work (not just trying to play through them...mine sound like trash if I never practice them and just try to play through them on a whim haha, but with a bit of work, they come back very quickly)

[@sacrilegiousboi978]

Late comment but I agree with you on this. My teacher has a habit of making her students have lots of pieces on the go at any given time (2 studies, a party piece, a sonata, a concerto etc) and stresses that we need to learn to “juggle plates” as musicians and have lots of pieces ready to pull out of the bag, but as a result, many of her students show up to group lessons and can play through many things from start to finish but are very unpolished and sloppy because they haven’t been able to spend detailed and focused practice on any particular piece due to cramming so many in. I also feel that it stifles their progress in developing technique because they don’t spend enough time doing deliberate intense technical practice due to having to maintain and learn all these pieces. My teacher is very brainy and a fast learner and practices best under pressure with lots of things going on (she has ADHD) so this approach works for her, but she doesn’t realise it doesn’t work for most people and has a counterproductive effect. It took me a while to realise this and because she is an incredible teacher I was wondering why most of her students and myself were struggling to make decent progress and translate her teachings into our playing.

[@havardmj]

Thanks Josh! This is exactly what I've been doing, and I've been stuck for months now.

[@joshwrightpiano]

havardmj maybe take a look at the repertoire level you’re working on and how you’re practicing - if you’ve been stuck for months, it’s an indication that the piece is too hard or the practicing quality is suffering (utilizing creative and effective methods of practice)

[@havardmj]

@@joshwrightpiano Wow, thanks for the reply! I think you're right. I started playing Mozart's 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je maman", after around 1 year of playing. I feel like I'm only repeating the first 3 variations whenever I'm practicing. I can't really play any of them without messing up. Maybe it's time to move on.

[@zachsaw78]

You are such an amazing teacher! I don't know how I missed this one but this is so so useful! Thank you again Josh!

[@Rombizio]

Exactly what is happening with me and I decided to break free by adding Fur Elise and Clair de Lune this year to my repertoire. Next is a Mozart piece and a boogie woogie one. Needs to keep moving right? But some pop songs I practice many times a week since it is what I play when friend and family are coming over.

[@cherryontop7092]

Thank you for such great advice, Josh 🙏Exactly what I needed to hear right now.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad you enjoyed it Cherry!

[@24starbuck]

Excellent advice thank you. I have 3 signature pieces and didn’t revisit older work because I thought I would have to completely relearn them. Last night I decided to give some a try - they are rusty but came back to me quickly! Your advice is amazing - spot on. I now feel I can have a few more pieces up my sleeve at short notice. This improves my confidence as I no longer embarrassed that I can only play 3 pieces at any one time 🎹.

[@AmatriceBand]

man i'm a jazz and latin player and this one advice has really changed my perspective. don't know whether it applies to my genre but maybe it will help me a lot

[@joshwrightpiano]

amatrice band I hope it helps :)

[@karldavid3127]

Thank you, Josh! I have been holding on to 20 piano pieces because I don't really want to leave them. I hope to progress a lot faster with your tip :).

[@linaatthepiano]

Yes I think it’s so important to move on to new pieces to grow. You can always go back to previous ones and relearn them quicker. I found that I play older pieces better because I’ve learned new things from new repertoire.

[@kozyshack12]

Your content is great. Notwithstanding that, I'm particularly impressed with your being so articulate (seemingly) straight through without any edits! Nice work. I've been working on the Beethoven Tempest, Les Adieux, and Moonlight Sonatas and there are certain points that cause me trouble every time I get to them. It has to do with the flow and transition between two points of knowledge, as I'm able to do it separately with no (or less) trouble. Brains are weird lol

[@jbertucci]

I absolutely related as a somewhat intermediate learning adult... thank you very much for this advice!!

[@joshwrightpiano]

jbertucci You’re welcome! All the best to you in your studies

[@jeffh5388]

Great advice Josh. Thank you very much. Certainly the boost I needed.

[@imaginepeacejy261]

Thanks Josh! Your suggests are very useful. I'm an adult student, and I'm a worker, so I don't have many free time to play piano. I'm studing piano from 5years, and now that I have studied beautiful pieces like the three movements of Beethoven' Moonlight Sonata, or others likes Chopin's Notturni or Raindrop, I don't want to lose them. Sometimes I feel myself frustrated , scared to lose what I have studied. But it's natural, I also want to go on, improve my skill, and studing something new. Then the past pieces will come back easily with a little of work on them. Your video will help me to look forward. Thank you.

[@Evacer]

Thanks for reaffirming my position. I always thought this was the best approach. There are so many combinations of notes and rhythms that if you don't move on to other songs, then you will never increase your ability to pick up new music more quickly, or develop your ear to as good as it can be. This came to me as an insight, but perhaps not so readily to others.

[@DirkdeZwijger]

This is super inspirational and eye-opening advice! I always felt bad for leaving my pieces and moving on to the next. I never pause and I only have a few pieces in my repertoire that keep changing every few months

[@h5mind373]

Great points, well taken. With our son, we've made sure to include plenty of regular performance gigs, even if it's just a few tunes on a public piano in the Metro. Knowing he will be playing the same venue every month (or less) means he has an incentive to learn new material. Luckily, we live in London where there are many places a young artist may perform. Last week it was the Victoria and Albert Museum to a lunch crowd of a couple hundred diners. The elegance of that museum really dictated classical music. The Metro lends itself more to jazz, boogie woogie or rock classics. Churches and charity groups will often welcome guest pianists (our son became the "designated pianist" for baptisms at a local church). So in addition to new songs, he also is exposed to new musical styles and genres. It has helped focus his rehearsal as well as keep practice fresh and exciting.

[@scottdotjazzman]

I know this is late, but THANK YOU. Something I've been struggling with a LOT over the years, and kept wondering why I wasn't improving those pieces. You've given me hope that I can bring my overall skill level up and not worry about my old repertoire.

[@cristianpiano2170]

wow i had to hear this! I've known for a while I should drop 3 of the pieces I have been "dusting" for about a year now haha I'll stick to two now. Idk why I just can't let go of the pieces I've worked on over the years... I think I'll just take this advice to the fullest. thank you so much

[@joshwrightpiano]

It's so tempting to hold on, because they are so enjoyable to play. Again, if something really inspires you to warm up with, by all means, keep it. But if it's not providing any sort of growth, it's better to move on then revisit it. Ironically, pieces that have had a season to "rest" come back stronger when you bring them back

[@cristianpiano2170]

@@joshwrightpiano thanks for your reply. I did notice when I came back to Rach Prelude in G minor after a year of completely not playing or thinking about it, It got so much better once I brought it back. I play it much more relaxed, rhythmically more accurate and got it a bit faster :) Thinking of brining back Polonaise in f # minor back after 2 years of not playing it :D I'm sure it will be great this time around since I have improved significantly in the passed two years :)

[@yvmpianist]

Thank you Josh for this advice! I was making this mistake for the last couple of years. Being a professional pianist, after graduating I felt I really needed to keep some of those key pieces in my hands in order to have some “ready repertoire” if needed. Yet I realised that the whole process of keeping these pieces alive was doing precisely the opposite, sucking the life both from the music and from me as I couldn’t find anything “inspiring” anymore in these pieces. So finally, I gave up on this silly quest, got out of the familiarity comfort zone and decided to learn some completely new programmes. As a result, I finally feel like I am growing as a musician again! Thanks for your advice which I think is really relevant both for professionals and amateurs.

[@tomgnau]

Wow. I needed to hear this. One of my worst faults is going back to the same pieces over and over and over, instead of just moving on.

[@persuadersonic]

What you say is right. But we all have to beat the fear to lose what we learned.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Think of each piece as a building block in your overall arsenal of piano skills. While we each have signature pieces we love and play over and over, students often limit themselves because EVERY piece becomes their signature piece, and they don’t get to explore the vast amount of wonderful repertoire available to us. Good luck in your studies!

[@williambriggs341]

Hi Josh, I have watched a number of your You Tube piano instructions and find them very helpful. I did purchase the lesson on Chopin’s waltz in a minor which I learned a great deal from. I have been taking piano lessons since I retired from teaching in 2010. My teacher was a young masters graduate in piano, but never considered teaching. She was an outstanding performer, but began teaching me using difficult pieces from Chopin and Mozart which best I could do was to learn the notes. Then a year ago I found a teacher who had just retired as the director of piano pedagogy at a large university. She was appalled that I couldn’t count and had not been taught any of the skills which would prepare me to play such pieces. I am in my 70’s and have a grand Kauai piano and want to learn to play less difficult pieces well. My teacher is helping to guide me in that direction, but I think after this next 10 week session with her, I might prefer taking lessons from your courses on line at my own pace. How do I begin to investigate how I might do that on my own using the courses you have prepared on line? I would very much like to figure out how I might proceed. Thank you for your inspirational sessions that I have watched only briefly. Sandy B

[@Pianorockstar_]

For me as a 10 year piano student may of this year, my signature peace would be a whole new world. Of course a big fan of Josh wright & Alan menken.

[@kevink8965]

Sheridan, WY!! That's where my family is from. My parents went to high school and married there.

[@leona7522]

So true.Thank you!!

[@joshwrightpiano]

L A glad you enjoyed it :)

[@leona7522]

I completely support your experience and recommendation. The Unconscious ‘works’ on these pieces when we're NOT directly studying them. How else could the great masters have retained their prodigious repertoire. Alfred Brendels ability to perform the 32 Beethoven Sonatas over a week for example. And I remember him saying in a book that he wasnt blessed with a great memory.(!!!)

[@janemedina4414]

I so appreciate your wisdom. Thank you!

[@vettejakes]

Thanks for the helpful tips! I’m going to REALLY give this a try

[@joshwrightpiano]

yvette Smith Glad to hear it Yvette! Wishing you all the best in your studies.

[@jinolim64]

okay, i'm totally guilty of this, every session i try to play each of the pieces that i've memorized, i'm just too scared to end up forgetting them again.

[@sevildogan1807]

glad youre uploading frequently again! thank you for your dedication

[@volen5868]

If you wanted just one certain piece to be your signature piece would it be ok to work on it everyday? for example my dream piece for a while has been Chopins 3rd Ballade and I feel like once I’m at the level that I can play it it’ll be hard for me to let it go. I would still obviously work and learn on new pieces

[@PeterHontaru]

Volen Ivanov my understanding is that signature pieces are the exception here. Chopin’s third ballade (or any other ballade) is definitely the dream piece of many classical pianists so you should maybe work on it for as long as you want it to be fresh but don’t neglect new repertoire.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Volen Ivanov yes :)

[@moveuself]

hi Josh I'm in my 50s and even if I've played a piece for months or even a year, if I haven't played it in a few months I forget how to play it so I end up not having much of a repetoire

[@joshwrightpiano]

moveuself that’s okay! When you get ready for a recital or concert, you can dedicate a few months to reworking them and getting them back into shape :)

[@bobbideemusiclessons3701]

Right now im on a mission for the next year to learn some more popular classical pieces ei. Moonlight sonata. Growing up in lessons I always wanted to learn some pieces no one else was playing. The pieces I learn now are pieces I can see myself performing somewhere while adding short 2 to 3 page stepping stone pieces

[@vesnavesna8008]

This was the reason for me to put more effort into music theory and learning sight reading. Now if I forgot few note from older peace I can quickly check in sheets.

[@IvelinaDobreva]

Your advices are priceless! Thank you!!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Ivelina Dobreva Thank you Ivelina. Have a great week

[@dougnickerson]

Great. It’s a great feeling to revisit a piece that you used to play and realize the playing is coming easier because you’ve been developing your facility and your interpretative skills in the interim . Okay, so it’s an experience I don’t have that often but still true . . . 😀

[@Aalii6]

This sounds like great advice, thank you!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad you enjoyed it Ali!

[@lucylessly3701]

Thats right, it has not to be perfect. Since I let go at the point where I cant go any further, the feeling, when I come back severeal months later and hear how I approved by that time, is fantastic.

[@purpleowl2075]

I completely agree and your technique gets better, so holding onto old pieces is putting someone at a disadvantage, because they're also keeping their less technically advanced, old muscle memory

[@TommyOswinWilliams]

Reminds me of a piece of advice someone gave me once. When you sit down at the piano to practice, resist the urge to give yourself a mini-concert of all the pieces (and bit of pieces) you already know. That won’t stretch you and you see limited progress.

[@teemunordlund6281]

Thank you for this, I'm yet another adult piano learner falling for this constantly...

[@joshwrightpiano]

Teemu Nordlund You’re welcome Teemu! Have a great week

[@flyingpenandpaper6119]

Hey, Josh, great video. How long is your repertoire, if you don't mind answering?

[@joshwrightpiano]

That's a good question, haha, because my repertoire expands a lot due to my teaching. My personal repertoire may be around 30-40 hours, with maybe another 10-20 with pieces I've taught so many times that they're under my fingers and I could prepare them quickly. These are really rough estimates. My repertoire is quite small compared to many of my colleagues and friends. I tend to obsess over things for very long periods of time, and I've also dedicated a heavy amount of my life to making these tutorials and teaching privately rather than just performing. Not an excuse, just the honest reality :)

[@flyingpenandpaper6119]

@@joshwrightpiano Of course-and we do really appreciate the time you take to make these tutorials. 40 hours of solid music is a staggering amount nonetheless. I was quite happy with my repertoire of 2 hours, and honestly there's only about 10 hours' worth of music that I dream of playing. Amazing :)

[@dawntaylor-moate5490]

I love this. What a great idea. I've started a file of pieces I'll be sure to implement this idea. Thank you Josh.

[@gabsasso700]

That's a good advice. Recently I'm having the opposite problem: I can't stay too much time on a single piece, and I sometimes risks to leave some pieces incomplete.

[@mikelehan621]

Very good ideas. I have been doing that, I just got busy and started working on just 4 pieces and I’m making much better progress.

[@haydenchow6997]

Thanks for the tips Josh

[@joeguthriePIANO]

Excellent advice Josh thanks!

[@imeldamusical]

This is JUST what I needed to hear! Thank you so much!

[@pastichemusic3568]

Wow I have been doing this for 2 years I have been playing these following in the same order twice a day: 1.Chopin Nocturne Op9 No2 2.Ave Maria - Bach/Gounod (with rh melody) 3.Spring Waltz 4.Canon in D 5.River Flows in You - Yiruma 6.Fur elise(all 3 movements) 7.Solfeggieto - C.P.E Bach 8.Rondo Alla Turca - Mozart 9.Flight of the Bumblebee (arr. Rachmaninoff) 10.Rachmaninoff Prelude Op 3 No 2 11.Liszt Paganini Etude no 3 (La Campanella) 12.Hungarian Rhapsody 2 - Liszt 13.Rachmaninoff Etude Tableaux op 39 No 6 With new pieces occasionally thank you for the advice I started learning Peer Gynt now

[@AndresRiverosOrellana1916]

great pieces of advices right here for self-taught students like me, I´ll keep them in mind!!

[@margaritakrupina6750]

Great advice Josh! Love your videos!

[@aydnofastro-action1788]

That last bit, I’ve been waiting to hear confirmation of: general progress flowing into old pieces. Thanks. I am “one of those people” ha ha

[@joshwrightpiano]

Aydn of Astro-Action you’re welcome. Have a great day

[@paradiso76]

Excellent advice. I also thought I should've kept all the pieces i learned, but it's not compatible with progressing. Thanks for this great video!

[@karnwis140]

Wow, right on point for me. Just finished same pieces over again. What a coincidence!

[@itsjustnopinionok]

Im glad i found you

[@joshwrightpiano]

Steven SteveO glad you’re here Steven!

[@diegogarciamartin940]

I had the completely opposite issue, my teachers were always sooo pushy about going to the next thing as soon as I could play my current piece... I always felt I was in the middle of "I can kind of play these pieces which I'm forgetting, and half play these which I'm learning". It got rather awkward as I felt I had nothing to show after years of learning... I could explain about how the piece I was learning was so advanced, bu could not really sit down and play many things

[@03Venture]

Great advise, much appreciated. But what if you are a non-musician senior with not that many good years to look forward to?

[@hoangopiano]

Thank you. This is exactly what I needed!

[@PoeticJusticeSC]

Sounds like similar advice to what you gave for learning a new piece. Practice a measure or two until you get it, then LEAVE IT and learn the next measure or two until you have it. Only then should you put them together. No starting from the first measure every time you try to play/learn a new piece has really helped me. Likewise this video makes me relieved to know that dropping pieces after you've mastered them (to your current level) is normal and good practice. I was concerned that I couldn't play very many of my previous pieces. Now I feel happier knowing I can move on to new material.

[@blabla5268]

Hey Josh, it‘s funny how I recognised myself in this. I usually use one or two pieces at the beginning of my practice session as a warm-up. Do you feel like I should drop this as well?

[@joshwrightpiano]

It depends on what purpose they serve. If they're used to "get the mental juices flowing" then keep them. If they're just mindless repetitions for no apparent reason, you can drop them. Murray Perahia told us in a Q&A that he always warms up with Bach to get in a spiritual state

[@blabla5268]

Josh Wright Thank you so much for your quick answer. I usually use them more to combine a technic exercise with a piece I know to other warm-up exercises i.e. scales or arpeggios. Writing this right now made me realise that I should probably drop this habit. Thank you very much, again :)

[@elizaneja]

i have the exact opposite problem, i forget my piece already like a month or two after i play it, im always amazed how my teacher can remeber pieces that she played when she was 12.

[@VeigarEUW]

This is exactly my problem at the moment, I won't ignore your advice

[@elroySF]

Wow, it honestly never occurred to me that I could just let a hard-earned piece go and move on! It seems silly now that I really think about it, because that obviously doesn't scale at all. LOL. OK, I'm going to take a deep breath and walk away from my past repertoire. Thanks for posting! As always, great content.

[@熊鞋子]

Thank you for posting this video, it really knocked some sense into me.

[@juliu45]

I love your videos. As an adult intermediate player, it is hard to "shelf" the old pieces hahaha thank you for this great advice!!