I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on what keeps them motivated to learn new music, keep playing and generally keep on keeping on. Here is my own experience:
I don't currently (nor will I in the foreseeable future) play for any church, so there is no pressure on me to learn anything for that purpose. My playing is most definitely not at the level necessary for public performance, so giving concerts (even as a participant along with others) is out of the question. Since I first got into Hauptwerk about 3 1/2 years ago, I've gone through shorter periods of intense effort, separated by longer periods of largely no playing at all. At one point during one of these quiet periods I seriously considered selling my Hauptwerk system.
During my periods of intense effort I might learn 2-3 pieces to a reasonable degree (but certainly never note-perfect). I always seem to hit a wall where no more improvement seems possible and eventually I yield and let the piece go, calling it 'done', for a given value of done. In terms of technical ability, the pinnacle of my achievements (tongue firmly in cheek here) would probably be Bach's Toccata in F BWV 540 and the first movement of Mendelssohn's sonata no. 4.
Over these past few years I have often felt like I may have reached the limit of what I can, in fact, achieve. Scientific research in recent years has shown that people's ability to sight-read music is largely limited by their working memory capacity, something which most scholars currently believe to be unchangeable. So once you reach a certain point, no more improvement is possible. I also have come to the conclusion that there may be certain mechanical limitations in the anatomy of my hands that prevent technical ability progressing beyond a certain point (this one is probably more dubious).
This all leads me to question why I play. I find the process of learning new music an often frustrating experience, something more akin to work than something enjoyable. It is a necessary evil that must be endured before the piece can be adequately performed. And I'm talking here about pieces I've selected to learn because I love them very much. I sometimes feel torn about learning to play a piece I particularly love because once that's done, one's feeling towards that music is forever altered.
All in all, to me music can be quite an emotional roller-coaster ride. No other thing can bring the same unalloyed joy as music, and yet at times it can be such a cruel mistress!
I don't currently (nor will I in the foreseeable future) play for any church, so there is no pressure on me to learn anything for that purpose. My playing is most definitely not at the level necessary for public performance, so giving concerts (even as a participant along with others) is out of the question. Since I first got into Hauptwerk about 3 1/2 years ago, I've gone through shorter periods of intense effort, separated by longer periods of largely no playing at all. At one point during one of these quiet periods I seriously considered selling my Hauptwerk system.
During my periods of intense effort I might learn 2-3 pieces to a reasonable degree (but certainly never note-perfect). I always seem to hit a wall where no more improvement seems possible and eventually I yield and let the piece go, calling it 'done', for a given value of done. In terms of technical ability, the pinnacle of my achievements (tongue firmly in cheek here) would probably be Bach's Toccata in F BWV 540 and the first movement of Mendelssohn's sonata no. 4.
Over these past few years I have often felt like I may have reached the limit of what I can, in fact, achieve. Scientific research in recent years has shown that people's ability to sight-read music is largely limited by their working memory capacity, something which most scholars currently believe to be unchangeable. So once you reach a certain point, no more improvement is possible. I also have come to the conclusion that there may be certain mechanical limitations in the anatomy of my hands that prevent technical ability progressing beyond a certain point (this one is probably more dubious).
This all leads me to question why I play. I find the process of learning new music an often frustrating experience, something more akin to work than something enjoyable. It is a necessary evil that must be endured before the piece can be adequately performed. And I'm talking here about pieces I've selected to learn because I love them very much. I sometimes feel torn about learning to play a piece I particularly love because once that's done, one's feeling towards that music is forever altered.
All in all, to me music can be quite an emotional roller-coaster ride. No other thing can bring the same unalloyed joy as music, and yet at times it can be such a cruel mistress!