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Slump No More + 2026 Sneak Peek

Remember my piano slump? The one where November felt like an endless month of barely touching the keys? Well, guess what—it's over. In just the first week of December, I've already logged almost as many practice hours as I did in the entire month of November. That's right: I'm back!

Most of my time has been happily devoted to Silent Night Rhumba, Jingle Bells Rag, and You Are My Sunshine Rag. Rounding out the Top 5 are Chopin's A Minor Waltz and Liszt's Liebestraum. I've also been doing a lot of technique work (as usual), along with practicing 2-5-1s from a PWJ course.

All this momentum now has me thinking about my the future ...

Sneak Peek: 2026 Piano Goals

I'll post an official goals blog later this month, so consider this a preview. :)

Goal: Limit Projects Overall

My main piano goal is to LIMIT MY PROJECTS. My failure to do so this past month is part of what led to my slump. I also want to limit the DIFFICULTY of my projects--in other words, avoid pieces that I think will take me more than six months. This might mean working on an easier Joplin rag, if I decide to learn one in 2026. If I decide to work on a classical piece, it will be something in the intermediate to late-intermediate range, at most.

Goal: Limit Dot-Reading

This is a goal to LIMIT MY INTERPRETIVE PROJECTS. In other words, don't spend so much time mastering things other people wrote. I had a bit of an awakening earlier this year (click here to learn what I mean by "dot-reading"), and I want to begin my creative work in earnest. Part of that will be diving into PWJ's Level 5 Foundations. Part of it will be continuing work on my own arrangements.

Goal: Feed My Creative Soul

When I do learn published works, the goal won't be to master them so much as to LEARN from them so I can feed my own creative soul. I want to position myself to beg, steal, and borrow from better composers and arrangers. I'll mostly work on pieces in the PWJ Ragtime and Blues Learning Tracks, though, as mentioned before, I may try another Joplin piece, or something by another ragtime composer.

Goal: Limit Maintenance Work

Another goal: LIMIT work on maintenance pieces. Brush up on them once a week, and no more. Spend the other six days a week on my active projects.

Piano Word of the Year?

It looks like the word of the year may be LIMIT. Or maybe BOUNDARIES. I want to narrow and deepen my focus, all with the aim of developing my composing/arranging chops, as well as my performing and technical skills.

I'll spend a few more weeks on my current projects, and then ... I am ready for 2026!


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