The old joke couldn’t be more true, though.  Since I started taking piano lessons again last Thursday, I’ve realized that as much as I love to play, despite that love I can still fall into the pitfalls that only self-discipline can cure.

I hear all these beautiful songs and I want to play them so badly, then I sit down and work at them for a while, then get frustrated that they don’t sound like I want them to.  It’s so simple when you say it, but so hard to implement – it just takes practice.

So from here on out I’m making a pledge to practice more, to go over those difficult spots however many times it takes, and to play my Hanon every day.  (Actually, Hanon can be quite meditative and enjoyable once I get into it).

Another area I want to implement discipline is with my diet – I want to start eating better and lose a little weight, too.  I think this will tie in with better playing as well.

Here are what the two songs I’ve just started playing should sound like:

I think the commentor who wrote “like on a cloud” put it best for that last performance by Rubinstein.

Victor Merzhanov played the last one – thanks to a commenter I found out I could play that big chord with the thumb on two black keys instead of making it an arpeggio like the player did and which I was doing.