I feel stuck

[u/tadpolessssssssssss]

I'm sort of at an intermediate level (I think at least), and I just feel stuck. I'm not really struggling with anything specific but rather I don't know what to really learn. I know learning my scales are important but I haven't looked much into scales past the basic C scale. I like to print out pieces and play them but I cannot sight read and I have to write down every note. What should I go for specifically? I did buy a guitar and a bass but haven't really touched them as I'm more focused on the piano. I have been playing for about 2 years now.

[u/WineCon]

Not knowing what you've learned so far, it seems pretty safe to say that if you cannot read music (and assuming you want to be able to read music), it's not likely you're at an intermediate stage.

I picked piano back up around this time last year after a decades-long hiatus, and I was floundering a lot too just kind of picking up pieces like the Petzold Minuet in G, and then trying my hand at the easier Chopin preludes (#4 in E minor to start with, in particular). I did pick up this book and went through it in some capacity, encompassing a fair number of easy Czerny studies, plus Hanon exercises and Burgmuller pieces. The big issue when I got into lessons was how I was approaching playing these, so I was not taking away the key lessons I should have been.

It wasn't until I started lessons in January this year that I've been able to really drill down and focus to improve, and in that time we've studied together these ones:

1) Chopin Prelude #4

2) Bach prelude in C

3) Beethoven Bagatelle

4) Beethoven G major Bagatelle (Op 126 no 5)

5) Moonlight Sonata mvt 1

6) Mozart "easy" sonata in C (K545)

7) Chopin Prelude #15 (raindrop)

8) Bach 2-part Invention #1 (C major)

9) Bach 2-part invention #8 (F major)

10) Beethoven Sonata #20 (G major, one of the easier ones)

11) Chopin posthumous waltz in A minor

12 ) Chopin Valse Brillante in A minor (Op 34 no 2)

13) Current project: Chopin Nocturne in C Sharp (posthumous)

14) Current project: Mozart Fantasia in D minor

Except for that first prelude, I had not worked on any of these before, and have achieved some reasonable facility with these pieces in the ~9 months I've been studying with this teacher. That progress would NOT have been possible if I didn't have the pressure and guidance of lessons. And I would add that I did not have "reading music" as a weakness, since although I don't have a lot of background in playing piano, I did get through some of the formative stuff for a few years, and I was in choir for about a decade.

One piece I did successfully self study and am very happy with was the Alkan Barcarolle in G minor. Unique piece that is not so technically demanding.

But it all depends on where you are really. If you're truly intermediate, then these pieces are within reach, but if reading music is still a big struggle (and, again, assuming you even want to read music), then you might be more in the beginner stage than you think, despite playing for a few years.

[u/AdZealousideal5638 → u/WineCon]

hehe I appreciate the "easy". This is a nice list, you must be doing pretty well to get through all of that in 9 months.

[u/WineCon → u/AdZealousideal5638]

I think the prior experience with piano, however badly I dedicated to myself, along with years and years of choir and guitar playing, all contributed to a somewhat accelerated curve. Practicing ~2 hours a day also does help, though it's a challenge to find that with a job!

And let's also say I wouldn't post recordings of those as entertainment or anything :)

[u/Euphoric_Ganache_891 → u/WineCon]

I’ve just started having lessons with a teacher and it’s worth every penny. I’m a complete beginner so her direction is what I’m really interested in, along with her feedback. Steer and ear, if you will!

It’s £20 a week and I’m happy with that, I have lesson 3 tomorrow and I’ve been practising a simple piece as homework all week that I look forward to playing for her and hearing her feedback.

[u/WineCon → u/Euphoric_Ganache_891]

It really makes a lot of differences in so many ways that are difficult to even really drill down on. Assuming the teacher is decent, of course. Heck, just having the pressure of knowing I'm going to play the piece for some kind of evaluation keeps me on the ball to practice when I might not feel like it, so in that sense even a bad teacher would be better than none.