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Well I have been sick for some time now and wanted to know if it is okay to practice piano when your sick. I read somewhere it was not cuz it can ruin your techique or loss of memory easily but idk, so is it bad to practice when sick?

really? Is this a real thread topic?

While we are at it...

Do you think I should stay awake if I am really tired?

* I have been looking at too many KBK posts

It depends on the "sickness" I suppose. If you are in severe physical pain, like back pain, it is probably not a good idea. It is difficult to answer without knowing what your problem is.

I think the thrust of the question is whether there is anything to be gained from the practice session due to the fact that one cannot focus full attention on the work at hand--or whether, in fact, the same conditions might lead to a loss of technique or memorization.

I know when I am nervous or distracted in a significant way, I don't practice well and begin to make mistakes--I suspect due to simple lack of attention. And as we all know, if you practice mistakes...

Russ

When I feel really sick, I usually play pieces I already know well, but I still practice...

I would think it depends on your sickness and what kind of practicing you are doing.

When I am having an off-day in terms of practice, I will choose to practice things that I can do successfully. If I am not able to concentrate well enough to work on a piece of music (sick or not), I will choose to practice scales, chord progressions, fingering for difficult sections of a piece - something that will give me a sense success.

Hope you get well soon!

Glen

Ditto to what ChopinAddict said. Curiously, I often play better than usual when I'm ill. If I have a fever, there even seems to be a sort of time dilation that makes it easier to play fast passages accurately. (Either that or the delirium just makes me think I'm playing better!)

Learo, it may be best to reduce your practice and largely reserve your vitality for healing and becoming well again. But if you can tolerate it well, some practice is probably ok.

I kind of know how you feel; I have a chronic illness that is well-controlled, but which is never going away. Maybe I don't practice like some people do. I do what is reasonable for me, and I don't give up on the important things--- like music.

If practice time is making your illness worse--- well, there's your answer. If you can still do it, or do it some--- there's your other answer.

I hope you are well soon.

Leario, I'm sorry to hear you've been sick. I haven't read The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green, a professional double bassist, but I've read a chapter on Amazon, it was about people playing better when they're sick, as Mathguy experienced.
I know that when I'm sick and I play tennis, I don't care if the ball goes out, my muscles relax, and I can hit my best shots. When you're sick, you generally have low expectations of yourself and your mind stops putting pressure on yourself.
I think playing the piano could be therapeutic. I wouldn't do anything too stressful such as concentrating on perfecting rhythm against a loud metronome, or sight reading something really difficult. But I think that staying within your comfort zone would be great. Otherwise you might miss the piano too much if you don't play at all.
I hope you get better soon.

Interesting comment by custard apple.

I also play tennis and have noticed sometimes that if I play when unwell or very tired I often play my best. The 'inner self' or other (sub)consciousness takes over and puts into play all the practice.

I've not tried this with piano as I don't play when sick or tired, but I have noticed that when I restart after a shortish absence, caused by sickness, tiredness, or any other reason, there is a jump or step-up in improvement of my playing on something I had been practising.

I'm suggesting this improvement is beyond that if the absence had not occurred!

There was a thread on the Adult Beginners Forum that even suggested practising different things or pieces on alternate days to exploit this phenomenon.

Very interesting comment by custard apple. I've read the book and forgot about that.

When I'm sick, I practice as much as I can and forgive myself for not working as hard as usual. Fortunately, I'm not doing this professionally so I only have to answer to myself or my teacher.

practice Is about accomplishing the goal you've set to you're technique and music studies. If you have confidence that everytime you practice you get something done, then do it by all means. If not and you think you might not get anything done, then its better for you to revise something else or simply rest.

The ironic thing about getting sick is that we can have time away from the hectic pace of life, sitting there at home with all the free time we could dream about, but the brain and body aren't working right for good practice!

Maybe you would prefer calmer pieces when you're sick.. since piano can be very demanding, physically, it would be wise to wait with the intense playing until you feel good again