Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Achievement of the week - what got you excited?

Of all the threads, I've wanted to post something fabulous on this one...some great achievement...some higher level ability that suddenly takes form in my playing...a moment where the music is just right. Alas I have none of those to report. My AOTW is the daily excitement I feel when I wake up and think "I must play the piano" and I do.

WiseBuff, I look at theis thread everyday for the same reason. Also, I really don't have so much knowledge to engage in discussions about composers / pieces etc.. My theory is rudomentary. I have a book and teacher. Just lazy. I have a long way to go.

By the way, I saw that you participated in the Piano party in Denver area. That's nice. Good for you. I am sure you all are motivated now. Just think of us in very hot area of the country (Arizona)...

Same, the more I read this forum, the more I realize the need to become a well-rounded musician. When people are discussing their favorite interpreters or recordings, I'm still struggling to pick out the nuances between different performers. And a collection of music theory books sits on my shelf, probably covered with dust. Enough ranting -- my AOTW is that I'm going to watch a piano documentary called Pianomania today!

The best way to do this is go to You Tube, find your favorite piece, and play several different ones. You'll hear the difference if you're passionate about a song.



I wonder if I'll ever have an achievement that great. I have many pieces in various states of disrepair. But sometimes I go back to a piece from 6 months ago that drove me crazy trying to play, and I put it away unfinished. It'll sound a lot better, and be a lot easier, and that's accomplishment enough for me. Maybe later I can go back to it and have an aha moment.



You scour towns you travel in for pianos! That's motivational to me.

Thank you, AimeeO! I will try to do this more often.

Wisebuff, no need to wait for something fabulous. Around here we like to keep the bar LOW -- if you did something, no matter how insignificant it might seem, and you feel good about it, this is the place to celebrate. If we waited for only fabulous achievements there would be nothing but crickets chirping on this thread most of the time - and what fun would that be?

My AOTW is that I got a rare "gee honey, that sounds pretty nice" from my wife last night on Shadow of Your Smile. (yes C., I will, I will; when its a bit more polished) It is possible this was an invitation to not play it again, but I'll take it anyway. Oh, and my teacher said she need not hear the Bach "gavotte 2 au musette" from the English Suite again. In her case I know for sure she just means I've squeezed most of the learning out of this ditty - not that its ready for any kind of performance.

Haven't been writing here much lately, but have been practicing on my piano.

Today's achievement was that I finally learned to play John Lennon's Jealous Guy and Bon Jovi's Always

Thank you.

I love that song. Do you do the whistle solo too?

I whistle the whole song as I don't know how to sing

My achievement this week is playing Für Elise, the first section, without looking at my hands.

Looking at my hands is quite a bad habit of me, because I memorize notes very quickly and don't need to look at the sheet after playing it a few times. -.-

So I'm very happy with it. Especially because I do jumps very relaxed and slow with a high bow and a loose polse. I don't know if that is good. My teacher is on vacation. But I couldn't do it before and it gives joy hitting the right note.

Chris

PS: I promise to learn the rest of Für Elise too.

I've just tried to play the first section of Für Elise without looking at my hands, and it has been an absolute disaster. I find very difficult doing it. Congrats Chris!

Congratulations, Chris! Now try playing with your eyes closed!

Today's achievement which could be counted as an achievement of the week as well would be the fact that I was able to teach my 8yo daughter on how to read sheet music (C, H, A with left hand and C, D, E with right hand) and to actually write and play her first masterpiece with these notes on a staff!

I haven't seen her so excited in front of a piano before

Arthur, congratulations! Your daughter could be very talented. You are fantastic father. She will remember the day forever.

Chris, congratulations getting Fur Elise. It was one of my favorite when I was young. It also is a very meaningful piece. I call it my come back music. I did not touch piano almost 20 years. Then, one day all the sudden, I wanted to play the piano. I tried a piano in the music department of a University. Then, almost like a miracle, my finger remembered all the notes.. I was schocked. My fingers were shaking (from not playing for a long time) and it was very hard to control them. But I was playing. I cannot tell you what an encouragement that was. I strongly recommend memorizing the piece. It is overplayed but it is a beautiful piece and worthy of anyone's repertore.

Good morning all!

I love the fact that we have so many regular participants here - and that there are "new" regulars coming along all the time -

Wisebuff, Jim is absolutely right - this is the place to come and brag about your BABY STEPS - though even here we are at different skills levels, we're all very much in the "oh my, when am I ever going to be able to just sit down and PLAY the way I long to?" stage.

I like your "I must play the piano...and I Do!"
I would modify it for myself..... I think "The piano, I love it, I wish I could play.....ah, I CAN...just a bit, but I can!!!!!
It is stunning how exciting it can be to get 2 new bars down pat when they had seemed to be impossible.

Lain - I agree that coming here (and not just this thread, I mean PW in general) has helped me learn a lot about different composers and has allowed me to hear music I would normally never come across. It really has broadened my horizons.

AimeeeO, I think that it is really useful to re-vist pieces a few months down the road - it might take a bit to brush them up, but it is also wonderful to notice that things which used to be difficult are now much easier!!

Artur - what fun to get 2 new pieces under your hands ! And how wonderful to be sharing the adventure of piano with your daughter. I noticed you wrote C H A - the "H" would be our "B"?

In my piano lessons my teacher and I collapse in laughter repeatedly because we speak a mixture of English and Italian - In Italian the "B" is called "si", which is also "yes/Si", and sounds exactly the same as "C".
There are moments when neither one of us knows if we are saying B, C or si, or Si! Mamma mia.

PaperClip - that's a great accomplishment. I find I can do one or the other, the challenge for me is to be able to look at my hands when necessary and then find my place in the music again!!! argh.

I play with my eyes closed sometimes - sometimes it works well, sometimes it is a disaster!

Jim - you anticipated my request! I laughed out loud when I saw your small script note - isn't it rewarding to have your family notice your improvements! My husband has not yet asked me not to play a piece (though he did as me to play some "music" as opposed to my scales and arpeggios one day).

Farm Girl - what an amazing moment that must have been for you - the first step to getting back to the piano!

Well, we've all got something to be pleased about, haven't we !?

Until the next installment...

cheers!

JimF and cas, your discussion a while back about Beethoven's Sonatina in G got me wanting to play that piece again. I hadn't looked at it in a couple years, and I had to dig through my books to find it. It was fun playing it again, although I realized it would take some work to make it sound nice. It was kind of strange, because I played it using my pre-teacher-era approach: just playing through it once or twice, ignoring any problem spots, and simply enjoying the melody. But I also realized that I'm not quite satisfied with that approach any more, and what I have come to love is spending hours on a piece to explore it, understand it, and bring it to a much more polished level.

I've been struggling with that same issue with my next ABF recital piece. My teacher said I should just go ahead and memorize the entire thing, and not have to worry about it. ...yet another thing to work on.

Thank you for the congrats and comments.

Recaredo - I find the jumps I do difficult too. It slows down learning a piece very much. But I hope to benefit in the long run, because a learned jump I can perform in any future pieces.

Lain - Most of what I know about composers and pieces, I learn by reading this forum. I listen to unknown pieces on youtube. If I like it and it's my level, then I download the opus from ISMLP. Then I have more pieces with almost the same level within the opus. Too much to work on though. But youtube definitely helps to hear different interpretations.

Arthur - What wonderful to see an 8-year old child get excited by learning piano. She even wrote her own piece!

Farmgirl - I like the story of how you played Für Elise after 20 years and still remembered all the notes. I have already a wow feeling if I play a piece after an half year from memory. So I guess your experience was very magical.

Casinitaly & Marybee - (lol @ si, C or was it Si!) - I have the same problem I loose track of sight reading when I look down and up. I wonder what the trick is? Not moving the head, only the eyes? Or doing down and up as one movement and not two? Or just experience? Hmm...

Wisebuff - JimF is right that you don't have to announce big achievement here as it is unlikely to have it weekly. But waking up every day with feeling for playing piano and doing it, I think, thats a big achievement need to be cherised.

Chris

Casinitaly and Paperclip, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's always losing my spot on the page. Every lesson I have I have to stop and ask my teacher, "Where am I?" My brain, eyes, and hands are all working at different speeds.