Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about why you must accept your limitations. I don’t want to bring you down. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite! Anybody who’s accomplished anything great, it’s because they accept their own limitations. You look at people who are masters at any craft or art, and you think everything must just come easily to them. What you don’t see is the hard work that goes into it. I can’t tell you how many times I have students who think they’re the only ones for whom piano is so hard. It’s actually really hard for everyone!
Different things are difficult for different people.
Some people excel at some things, and some people excel at other things. But the key to being able to accomplish anything is to accept where you’re at and what it takes to advance. And it takes way more than you think it does. This goes for everything. When you see a beautiful painting that’s absolutely photorealistic, you’re in awe of the quality of the work. You can’t imagine how it’s done. You might think the artist is just a genius and it comes naturally to them. But if you lived with that person, and watched them work, you’d realize the countless hours they spent working and crafting that painting to look like that. It doesn’t just happen. They accepted what it took to create that masterpiece. The same is true in your piano practice.
The learning process takes time and dedication.
It’s very easy to dismiss things and think, “I should be able to get this. Why can’t I get this?”. It’s because you’re human! I have a video that hasn’t come out yet. The editing has been mind-bogglingly difficult because I wanted to put the score in the whole video. I sat down for a while one day and practiced a piece that I had very briefly studied years and years ago. I just showed how I practice. It’s a Mozart fantasie, and there’s a fast section in there. I practiced just that part of it. It’s about a 40-minute practice session. I knew it was too long for anybody to watch.
So I have parts going in fast-motion. It shows how long I take to learn something—to really get it under my fingers and into my head. Just because I can play all this music from memory doesn’t mean that it just comes easily to me, It’s a meticulous process.
You can see for yourself how I learn a new piece of music!
I have a video I did years ago. I flipped open the Chopin Mazurkas randomly, found a mazurka I’d never even heard before, and started memorizing it. You can watch that here. You’ll see what it takes. So don’t beat yourself up! Accept that this is what it takes. Then you decide if it’s worth the effort or not. But to think that it should come easily—you’re not going to get anywhere with that type of thinking. You’ll just get frustrated, and you’ll think less of yourself. Just accept your limitations, and from there, you can accomplish almost anything! That’s the message for today. I hope it’s inspiring for you and not discouraging. Let me know in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
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4 thoughts on “Why You Must Accept Your Limitations”
Speaking as someone who took up piano at around age 55 after playing guitar for many years, I have to say that your comments are particularly appropriate for adults. As an adult, especially one who has some proficiency on another musical instrument, it is a constant struggle to accept that I’m making progress on piano, commensurate with the effort I put into it. It is easy to become extremely frustrated with lack of rapid progress, completely forgetting the endless hours I’ve played guitar in the past, practicing on my own and playing in bands. I might mention that I do take private piano lessons, and it seems there really is no substitute for that in learning to play well. Just one other comment if I may. I have read that guitar players find piano particularly hard because of the unique nature of the left/right hand coordination required on guitar, which is very different that on piano. Do you have any thoughts on that? I thought my guitar playing would help with piano, but it has actually turned out the other way around.
Usually, having a background on any musical instrument (or voice), is helpful in learning to play the piano. However, it takes time to develop an intuitive sense on any instrument.
Many years ago, I told another piano teacher that my fingers just are not fast enough to play Bach or faster pieces! Her comment left an indelible mark on my heart! ❤️ she said just play the pieces you love at speeds your hands 🙌 can do! Enjoy! Let the joy of music encompass your soul!
Usually, as you gain familiarity with a piece of music, you are able to increase the tempo. Paradoxically, practicing slowly is a great way to develop speed! x