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Thanks Peter

Rosa,
I like it. You are really doing very well with Pop Piano Pro. It is back to the Method Book for me for a while. I can do the chords fine, but I am sooooo slow on the fingering of the melody, that I better get in a lot of right hand work on the Piano.

Pete,
You mentioned Fabers 3B. Did you mean the Popular Repertoire Piano Adventures books? I purchased 3A, 3B, 4, and 5. They have a lot of nice songs in them and will keep me busy for a while. I will also work on learning inversions from your book. Starting on Puff the Magic Dragon in 3A.
This one I can handle. Hope to get back to Hola soon.

Dale

Thanks all for listening to my piece. My Latin stride is very stiff because I am not used to it. Pete's is very soothing but now that I know I am on the right track, I'll practice this with a few other songs like On top of the world, Puff the magic dragon, love story, etc.

Pete, thanks for the arranging tip. I will try the Root chord for section B.

I didn't realize there is the copyright issue with midi files. Thanks for letting me know.

Yes Dale, this pop piano method is working very well, esp when Pete does the audio for us to listen to. I can't stress how important these audios are because when I just read and try to apply, I tend to play everything too fast and miss the real flavor, and they don't sound good.

Also thanks Pete for all these extra tips and suggestions. You are really GREAT.

Rosa

Latin Stride audio:
Fields of Gold

Good Bye Yellow Brick Road


Hotel California -wait for the verse


I'm not in Love

I'm on 'Top of the World' as my copy of the 'Pop Piano Pro' arrived this morning. I am really looking forward to working through it.

For anyone in doubt about this method, can I say that for two days I have been working slowly through Hola and have been able to develop a nice left hand patter, play melody notes at reasonable pace, increase my sight reading ability and apply these same techniques on other pieces.

Pete, I know this is a massive request but a video with overhead camera would be so welcome! Your latest recordings 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and 'Hotel California' are excellent.

Ragtime Clown: Glad you are making progress. I am hoping others are getting it as well.

Pete, great show! The reason I download the tracks is so I can play them in the car when driving. Its fills me with inspiration and ideas.

I have to confess that I'm a Beatles ballad fan, not much of what they did after Sgt.Pepper had the same appeal to me.

My favourites are If I fell, I'll Follow the Sun, Michelle and Girl. There is a nice version of 'If I Fell', played by the wonderful composer Henry Mancini here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nPXa1SaYTXU He uses a mix of arpeggios and jazzy chords to play this wonderful tune.

Apologies for the poor rendition of Hola but I just wanted to kick start my recordings. Heres is a very infantile version of Hola, mistakes and all.

I wanted to show that I was making an effort here!

http://www.box.net/shared/uxuk2bx4os

RC, way to go considering you only got your book today. Also it's good to post work in progress so that we can hear how we progress. Besides this is not a recital thread but a learning thread and we can learn from one another through listening to each other's recordings and with Pete coming in with his advice and suggestions.

Rosa

Hi Rc: I'm really glad you posted your recording as we are all learning together and it's hard to play patterns that we haven't played before while trying to improvise in the right hand also. You did good! If you are like me, that recording button can really be challenging but it's good for us to get used to it and hopefully we'll get over it somewhat. I really enjoyed listening and hearing the new things that you came up with to add to our bag of tricks.

Alene

Hi Pete: Those recordings are really nice and sound gorgeous! I'm a little confused on the stride pattern that you are using...my ears on listening aren't so good, LOL! Are you using the stride pattern from the pdf that you posted earlier or as in Rosa's post where she asked about the 4/4 time and you stated to play as a dotted quarter, 8th, quarter quarter? I've been practicing using your pdf printout but I guess we could do both also.
Thanks,
Alene

Ragtime Clown: Thanks for posting. That may be the sweetest ending I have ever heard. Your trill made me smile big. Hey , nice job on improvising too. Your A section is tight ,yes the E chord at the end is a bit tough eh? - (Heh Heh. I did not know I write Canadian)
Section B Youur tenths are in there. Can you say the notes in each of the chords? - That is the goal of the tenth exercise. Knowing the notes of the chord is handy especially when harmonizing the RH.
I think piano is so much harder than strumming the chords on guitar. The fret board symbols never really force the guitarist to really know each note of the chord.
The walk up is tricky. Playing it over daily for a week or two ought to loosen it up.
You made my day!
Alene: Here is a pdf example of Latin Stride pattern with 1 chord per measure: http://www.sendspace.com/file/gsp4di
It is the same pattern but the note values are doubled.
Most PVG charts are in 16th feel so I would use the pattern twice per bar (as in the first handout). For music with eighth note feel I would use the pattern once per measure as in the handout in this post. The difference is feeling it in 2 beats or 4 beats.

Pete: Thanks for the feedback. Glad I made you smile! There are several things there that require some work and I'm quite happy to do it. It is a nice piece. I have recorded another version this evening and there is some slight improvement. The runs are coming easier - that E chord is so easy in the right hand - heck its tricky in the left.

Hola-Take2

http://www.box.net/shared/8utptbsyjq

Thanks Pete, I now understand what you were saying about the stride so I guess I was practicing correctly. My kids will be here soon for a delayed Christmas so I may disappear for a few days but will be back when I can.
Alene

Hi, all. This is a great thread, and I've been enjoying everyone's recordings! I especially like Pete's Latin stride rhythm pattern. Just wondering, can that be used for something like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"? Thanks.

Elssa, welcome to the most amazing piano thread. I have been working through several handouts and tutorials and I can tell you that although there is nothing new in these methods, the secret lies with the absolute ease by which it has been presented.

The book that many of us are working from is one of the single-most important companion books for any budding pianist.

Everyone here would agree that Pete has helped us all here and to date my playing see's great improvement and development.

RC, the hola take 2 is quite nice.

Pete, I tried the Latin stride rhythm pattern on an easier song. Since it is still holiday, I did Jingle Bells.

I think I am getting a hang of the LH stride, esp your fingering that makes this stride so easy. In the past, I used wrong handahape fingering so the chord part was very difficult to do. Now it is very easy.

I added in some rhythmic beat on the RH. I tried to follow what you did with a different rhythm at the end of your ON Top of the World but I don't know what you did, so I try to imitate.

Thanks for doing the audios for us. They all sound so good but I need time to spend more time listening.

Am I able to keep the beat with those synocpated Latin feel?

http://www.box.net/shared/tkivzn3org

Once I get a good feel of this Latin rhythm I want to apply this to Hola Section B improv that you mentioned. But now I need to play this with other songs to get comfy.

Rosa

This is such a fun thread, thanks to Pete and everyone that is participating.

RC: Your take 2 on Hola is very nice....good improvement (that's what I'm trying for too). I can hear the confidence in your playing also as we get more practice on it. Good for you! Fun listening to it!

Rosa: I really liked your Jingle Bells and sounded great to me. I'm doing the same as you and practicing that rhythm on lots of songs so it becomes a habit.

Elssa: Glad you joined us, I know you will enjoy it and can't wait to hear your beautiful playing!

Alene

Elssa: Welcome to the thread. I took a quick listen to your blog pieces. Nice playing.

What I am trying to do is use the same techniques as you have learned for the standards and update the repertoire. I can not get too many 10 year old students interested in Misty.

I sometimes use latin pattern for what I would call pop 8 beat songs - which is where I would file Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. On that song, I might try single note LH playing roots, (sometimes catching a 5) and 3 note chord RH to harmonize the melody.

Also try Latin Stride on any song with Bossa as a suggested rhythm. It will likely work.

Rosa: I am not sure Latin Stride will work on Hola section B. I just posted the Latin Stride using that progression because it is common and you are familiar with it. I would suggest trying Autumn Leaves instead.

Ragtime Clown: I am glad you are enjoying the book. Keep up the hard work!

Everyone:
So tomorrow I go back to teaching which means this thread is not going to get as much attention from me.

The thread has wandered a bit. I would like to keep it focussed on the book material.I posted the audio to give an idea of where patterns can take a song. I just will not have time to discuss other material.

Please, those of you working through my book, keep posting your progress and questions and I will get back to you asap.


Keep plugging through the book - More patterns and fills and fun fun fun.

I suggest trying to harmonize Hola pg 8. I have not heard a posting with that. RH harmony is an important step to making arrangements sound full.

Pete, I have been harmonising Hola all day but heck can I get anything right for my recordings. I've been using the Dm, F, G and Bb chords - they sound great but I need to slow everything down to come in right after the chord with the melody again.

I understand you can't devote much time from tomorrow and like yourself, tomorrow the college I work in is open again and its back to my teaching also - carpentry!!