Having spent eight months learning the piano, these are some of the problems I have encountered as a 38-year old beginner.
- Sometimes my mind switches off and I can't play a piece which I have played every day for the last few months. However hard I try, my fingers do not land on the correct keys. At that point of time, if I try to read the notation, my mind looks at the notation as if it is completely new and I am learning the piece for the first time. I have to calculate what the note is by doing the FACE/ EGBDF/ ACEG/GBDFA calculation. After a while, maybe a few minutes, or maybe the next day, I can again play the piece as I played it for the last few months.
- With my left hand, when I use fingers 3 and 1, and am not using finger 2, my finger 2 does not lie low on the keys. It is slightly raised. My teacher says it looks bad and keeps requesting me to lower the finger.
- When I am playing the piano, my mind often keeps wandering and all unnecessary junk thoughts enter my mind. Sometimes, these thoughts make me play the wrong notes. Then I have to force myself to rid my mind of these thoughts and focus and play the correct notes.
