How to break through to the next level?

I have been diligently practicing the level 7 New Orleans  lessons, improvs, and exercises along  with Chucks classic rock pieces such as Jessica, Southbound. etc.  I cannot say I “easily” play these compositions, but with much practice and hard work I do a semi-decent job on them.
 
My question is why the improvement comes so very slow in dribs and drabs.  Along with the IROCKU program I spend a at least 8 or 9 hours a week on the Hanon  60 exercises practicing fingering techniques and scales etc..  Again, the improvement is very slow.  I am apt to blame the slow progress on my age (59 next month – but have played off and on since I was young).  Do you have any other suggestions to speed my mission along  other than to keep on trucking?

Topic

This is a question that is very common among people learning an instrument. It can become frustrating at times to not see progress come fast enough. I think that it’s important to remember that learning an instrument is a bit like carving out a sculpture from a block of marble. You take a few chunks out of one side, but it doesn’t look like anything. Then you turn it around and take a few chunks out, and still it doesn’t take form. But after lots of carving, lots of attention, and approaches from many angles, when you stand back it suddenly has taken shape. Learning piano isn’t all payoffs, it is more subtle, a longer journey, but a fulfilling one. My best advice is to continue practicing and listening and keep exploring with methods and styles. You will see yourself growing as time passes and you become capable of doing things you weren’t able to previously. It’s such a rewarding process, just keep on trucking!

Collin has good points above. I’ve been periodically frustrated, feeling like my work didn’t show in my playing, then all of a sudden, months later, it shows up. It’s like we need time to process it, more than just a week or a month. Also, I’ve found that some of the greatest difficulty in the Level 7s comes with the 16th note syncopations. I have had adult students who grew up playing a lot, but not playing a lot of syncopation. If this was not a large part of your musical diet when you were learning, you have become “hard wired” in a way that just takes a little more time to unravel! Also, please make sure to practice initially in segments, and that when you get a segment you’ve been working on correct, force yourself to get it correct 5 more times IN A ROW. Enjoy!

Here are some of additional thoughts and observations from teachers, students, members,

1) Playing piano is both a left and right brained activity. It sounds like you spend a lot of time on exercises and practicing ( left brained activities). We hear time and time again from students who practice a lot but still hit a plateau. It is often because they keep doing the same thing and are not experimenting enough. It’s human nature to stick to the same routine. For every hour you practice within your existing routine, try spending an hour getting off the page by exploring, experimenting, and improvising. Listen to a recording and try to figure it out on your own, or take a song you already know and try to add something new to it like changing the left hand groove or trying out different scales to improvise with. Always try to achieve an even balance between left-brained activities ( scales, exercises, reading) and right brained activities ( improvising, experimenting). It takes a lot of discipline to break out of your comfort zone.

2) Play with others. Playing in a band opens up new dimensions to your playing. It requires listening and responding to what the others are playing. Plus you learn things that you might not have otherwise learned. But most importantly, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you do try things you might otherwise not have tried.

3) You should check out the forum page for the workshop we did with the NYC schools. Chuck talks about playing Hanon in every key

NYC Rock Keyboard Workshop

4) Our members tell us that the exercise at the following forum link is very useful for learning the rock rhythms. Try this exercise with as many left hand grooves as you can. 

Learning to Improvise

5) Here’s an interesting book that might help you remove some creative barriers in your approach to learning.

“Effortless Mastery” by Kenny Werner

I try to spend 20 minutes a day working on a lesson, 20 minutes working on scales or an exercise and then 20 minutes just jamming. I usually pick a song and play the left hand groove and then play around with my right hand. After just 20 minutes of improvising the improvement just seems to happen.

I had a break through when I joined a band. Like JClark I am a mature age player. I came to the piano 4 years ago with 35 years as a professional jazz guitarist behind me. I had a crisis in my life and I just couldn’t look at another guitar.
Anyway, my progress was quick because I already knew and understood the music, but after countless hours practise it still wasn’t ‘there’ yet.
Then I got an offer to jam and rehearse with a band. Right away my timing tightened up. I had to learn how to keep out of the guitarist’s way – and the bass player. Not as easy as it sounds. Things I thought I had down I found I didn’t.
One day I was sitting at the piano and I realised I had changed, completely. Even my sight reading had sharpened because we read from charts at rehearsal. Reading in real time is harder than reading in your lounge room.
I’m not in that band now but I’m looking for the next challenge to push me out of my comfort zone. I’m jamming with a sax player, a duet.