kas
New member
Having been doing this since age 14, in the last 2 years or so I'm noticing increasing difficulties with both reduced concentration abilities and also loss of dexterity. No use kidding myself. My pedaling is becoming atrocious compared to what it was in terms of just hitting so many wrong pedals - one step away from the right note. A part of me is thinking that - if I can't do it the way I want to anymore - I'd rather get out before I start embarrassing myself. No way do I want to just resort to playing real simple stuff for the sake of continuing to play. I truly doubt if the parish music director (so called anyway) could care less if I'd do prelude music or not, as long as there's someone there to cover the Mass. It's been weighing on my mind. I still really enjoy playing, but there's less of a spark somehow. I have to practice pieces way more than ever cause the retention just doesn't seem to be there. Even though I have pedaling and fingering marked in (some of) the music, I'll wind up just ignoring it - not that I want to - but, like I said - the concentration just not up to what it was. Just throwing it all out there in case anyone else can relate. Sad thing to face, but there it is. I always have the guitar - which is not showing anywhere near as much decline - probably cause I have basically no formal training on keyboard compared to guitar. Maybe it's just a part of me thinking in terms of how nice it'd be to just do something different musically than the every Sunday church commitment. Been at my parish for 26 years.
The other thing that works on my nerves is that our priest wants everything done fast. I've never played hymns and responsorial psalms so fast in my life. The director is often clapping in the faces of the choir to get them to speed up. I can barely stand that and mentioned something to his wife (who actually does more of the choir planning than he does - husband and wife team). It's to the point where I'm finding that, during my home practice, I'm speeding everything up and rushing through especially more difficult passages. The whole thing has become so much less relaxing and enjoyable in some ways.
The other thing that works on my nerves is that our priest wants everything done fast. I've never played hymns and responsorial psalms so fast in my life. The director is often clapping in the faces of the choir to get them to speed up. I can barely stand that and mentioned something to his wife (who actually does more of the choir planning than he does - husband and wife team). It's to the point where I'm finding that, during my home practice, I'm speeding everything up and rushing through especially more difficult passages. The whole thing has become so much less relaxing and enjoyable in some ways.