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I love having the piano tuner over! Lots of piano discussion for a good hour

FINALLY..after a (too long) time, I can play a piece I've been working on at a very fast tempo, musically, and it feels- ta da- totally comfortable! The dang tension is finally gone (well, at least in this piece!) I had both a mental block (tensing up, knowing the fast part was coming ahead) and then, as a result, my hand/forearm would tense up. After weeks of slow, deliberate and very determined practice, I've got it. Now, please, Lord, don't let me lose it!

This is exactly how my teacher has been having me work on Invention #13 in A minor, which I'm learning now. So far, so good. Now I'm on to dynamics and increasing the tempo. But I think the suggested tempo is kind of crazy. Quarter note = 104 ?! I wouldn't even be able to hear all the notes, much less ever play it at that speed.
It's hard to resist sometimes, though, isn't it?

Sam R - great news that you're getting a teacher. I'm sure you'll love how s/he will be able to help you improve so much faster than trying to learn on your own.

Sounds like you have enough music to last for a long time! That's something to look forward to.
That has to be a disappointment. What kind of advice do you need? What to look for in a teacher, how to find one, ... ?

I'm not a morning person, either, but lately, I've been playing the piano for at least a few minutes in the morning before I leave for work. It's a nice way to start the day!

Paperclip -- how exciting to be starting out in a new direction doing something you love!

cas -- that sounds scary! I think the possibility of sight problems would scare me more than the high blood pressure. Luckily high blood pressure is treatable. Take care of yourself!

We're going to be doing some quite different things in my lesson next week -- a couple play-by-ear pieces (I've never done this before!), and some comparative listening of different performances of the same piece to look at different choices in dynamics, articulation, tempo, etc. This is going to be hard for me, but I'm excited!

This week I finally managed to play the whole first page of Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor, which is something I've desired to do for such a long time. I was able to get over the difficult passage in this page and when I was able to play it, it was like "Wow!" Nice feeling. I posted it on my blog:

http://projectfantasie.blogspot.com/

Inspite of my engineering degree, it took me a while to figure out that 4-16th notes=1/4 note. I was really struggling trying to figure out how to count the notes in Bach Invention #1......after making this amazing discovery, I proceeded to get up from my piano, walk to a mirror and slap myself!

What a great list of success stories this week!

Is anyone noticing a pattern here?

"Slowing down works".
We are all so anxious to make progress we really don't want to go over bar by bar and take it slowly - and yet that is the key to getting the tension under control and accuracy firmly in place.

Michael, I chuckled outloud when I read your "ah ha!" .... I hope you didn't hit yourself too hard!

My music has been basically just "holding steady" - though I have managed to get the "tricky" (for me) bar in OH HOly Night under control. I've got the first half almost to my satisfaction but haven't really tackled the second half yet.
My bp seems to be settling down - though I'm off the meds as I had quite the reaction to them - it seems my thyroid might be the guilty party here as it has gone out of whack again.... ah well, I feel like I'm getting to the root of the problem.
MaryBee, you are right - I was really terrified about the eye problem (Hey, that could be what put the bp up in the first place !!!!)

Casinitaly I so agree with you! Slow, bar by bar works, but it is so hard to do! I have seven little numbered note cards that I use to play through each section seven times slowly. Then I increase the tempo just a little and play through again seven times. As soon as I make a mistake, I slow the tempo down again. I know this works, but invariably I just start playing and enjoying, and the first thing I know I am playing too fast and too much and making mistakes. Maintaining the discipline is so hard!! So, I keep trying.

My week has been one of slow but steady progress. My lesson this week was tough. We spent 40 minutes on the Bach prelude. My teacher is trying to teach me to make the big jumps quickly from the shoulder so that the hand lands in position to play the next sequences quickly. I just can't seem to do it without tensing up the whole arm. I am also trying to get the right expression of color in this piece, but it is complex enough that my playing is pretty flat at this point. By the time we started the other two pieces I was spent. I can tell this Bach piece has a lot to teach me! The Clementi piece is in the polishing stage, and the Chopin Waltz is coming along. I have never worked on three pieces at once before, but I really like it. When I wear myself out with one, going to the next one is like taking a break and seems to refresh the brain.

I had a terrible lesson on Thursday - couldn't do anything right, & left feeling quite deflated, particularly because I'd played everything fairly well at home that morning.

But my teacher really - REALLY - stressed that using a metronome would help. I've always hated using a metronome - find it really distracting, & generally makes things worse. But he had also stressed learning each hand separately, thoroughly, with the metronome on a couple of pieces before putting them together - something I know I don't do enough of because I'm always impatient to be able to hear both hands together. So, I thought, maybe my brain can handle the metronome if I'm only trying to play one hand at a time, & maybe this is worth a try. (It is, after all, this sort of guidance that I'm paying a teacher for!)

So I tried it yesterday - slowed right down, each hand separately. I was able to handle the metronome & found myself getting used to it. I'm hoping if I can get accustomed to it, I'll eventually tune it out to the point where it becomes subliminal & I'll be able to handle it & play with both hands (like, walking, chewing gum, & maybe whistling at the same time?). I feel like 3 years of fighting metronome use has probably not helped my playing, & if I can learn to view it as an aid, rather than an obstacle, it'll be a good thing. So sometimes a lesson that's awful in the short term is not really so bad. : )

I've always found the metronome extremely distracting too, and it usually resulted in a complete train wreck. Let me know how working with only one hand goes. Maybe I'll have to try that too. Hope it works well for you.

Look at it this way. How could you possibly play a piece correctly if you CAN'T manage separate hands at a steady, controlled tempo? The metronome isn't causing a train wreck - YOU are, by not knowing which finger comes next! Slow it down even more, and sort it out! When you can play separate hands, at a reasonable tempo, 10 times running without fluffs - then you can attempt hands together. There's a lot less art and more simple finger training required than many people like to admit :-)

IreneAdler and Daniel Tkach, welcome to this topic! May have you a lot of achievements!

Little_Blue_Engine, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out is a fine song. I'm listening to it right now. I like it: it relaxes me. Even my head nods a bit away with the rythm.

MaryAnn, I like your piano room! It reminds me of comic movie Ponyo, the little fish that made friendship with a young boy. He lived on top of a hill, just near the sea. Such a beautiful location to live.

Michael Taylor, I think your christmas songs are simple now, after you mastered them. In the meantime you heard the songs a lot times. But for someone who never heard them, I don't think they sound simple.

Sam Rose, nice that you work on balade no 1. After this, you have nocturne in C-sharp minor and balade no 1. in your pocket. That's pretty cool. Do you like Pananini-Listz La Campanella etude also?

Piano Joy, Candlelight, I know what you mean! I've played the first page of Dark Eyes Boogie at right high speed and it really triggered me. The song is made to be played fast. It so much nicer. And I don't have to think doing it. My fingers just do.

Casinitaly, glad to hear the bp eases out. Casinitaly, Swissms, Starting slow is indeed the way to go. But speeding up isn't easy also. As if the problems creeps back into play when speeding up to fast. Speeding up by little steps I find it soooo difficult too.

joyoussong, mom3gram, Exalted Wombat. My teacher said there are two groups of people. The ones who like to work with the metronome and the ones who hate it. I'm in the latter one. I agree with Exalted, that working with the metronome should be slow in the beginning also to get really in sync.

Well, no big achievements here. Next lesson I have a few final questions about Für Elise and then it's done. Yah! I will tuck it away. However the fast parts still need to be polished at high speed. I don't feel great excitement, it's more a big relief. Though it feels good that all my efforts are worthwile in the end. I find some piece in that knowledge.

I'm one of those who hates a metronome. I had one on my digital and tried it a bit, just to "test drive it" - but it drove me mad.
I don't really feel that I need it, and my teacher has never suggested it, so I guess for the moment it really isn't something I need to work with.

This isn't really an achievement, but was a BLAST.
We had friends over to make Christmas cake and have dinner - while the cakes were in the oven we (SURPRISE) played piano. One of my friends is simply brilliant at improv, and he showed me a really simple bass line to play left hand, with blocked chords right hand - while he went to town - it was so much fun.

Our home smells of baking - oh so very very cozy!!!
What a lovely day.

That sounds awesome. I want to be there

That's fine. As long as you understand what it implies if you CAN'T play a certain piece to s click.

My teacher suggests I use a metronome from time to time, for different situations. One is when I'm trying to increase the tempo of a piece: start out with a slow tempo at which you don't make any mistakes, and gradually adjust the metronome faster each time through. Another case is when I'm having trouble with a rhythm, especially when it's different in each hand. Same thing -- very slowly, then increase gradually. And the other situation is when I unknowingly slow down during difficult sections. Using the metronome really highlights where I'm having difficulties, and then I know to work on those.

For those who don't like the metronome, you might try a different type. I have an electronic one that beeps and blinks LED lights, but some people prefer one of those mechanical metronomes with a stick. I downloaded a iPod metronome app <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/steinway-metronome/id393021343?mt=8> which I like, because it blinks a light, and shows something like a scrolling timeline. It works really nicely for a visual person like me.


cas, Friends, baking, and music -- sounds wonderful!

I use the Steinway app too. Highly recommended.

joyoussong - I am so glad to hear that you are used to metro sound. I am not very fond of using it either but do recognize the importance. Whenever I skip using it (out of laziness, really) I notice that I am playing repeated themes with different tempo. As MaryBee mentioned, it's a good idea to pick the one you like. I happen to like the old fashioned wooden triangular one. I also have a smaller square one also from the same company. I use the small one when i am traveling. I tried electronic one but could not take the flashing light.

CAS - I love cakes. Cakes, music and friends... that sounds awesome.

My AOTW - I came home from my business trip late Friday night 10:40 PM. I was hungry for practice. Did some hanon , e-minor natural, harmonic and melodic scales, arpeggio right away. Felt really good touching my piano. Today and yesterday, I worked on the third movement of the Pathetique very slowly. This is the one my teacher wanted to hear how I would put it together. Hope she likes my phrasing. Speaking of metronome, I think I have to use metronome a lot to play the piece well. I can now play through the Rach 23-5. Still rough. I am now able to emphasize the melody notes but not to my liking. It sounds too bumpy. I had a blast reading Bach English Suite #2. I have to add that I read it very SLOW. I listen to youtube and was very surprise that many people play this very fast. Perhaps 4 times faster than my reading.

oh, MaryBee, thanks for that tip. I use a digital piano which has a metronome, but I find the sounds annoying and distracting. So I will try this out.

Following JimF's and my teacher's advice, I'm learning the rest of the Bach minuet on my right hand. OMG, it is so so pretty! (in general, i mean, not me playing it)

I am convinced that birds like music. They are listening to your piano and singing with it.

I agree. I have had little lizards on my balcony who were clearly listening - it was a hoot. I think I'd prefer little birds though, especially if they were singing along!

As for the metronome idea - I can certainly appreciate its value. And I don't mean to suggest that I'm "above" using it - I think for the most part the nature and length of my pieces are such that it isn't much of a stretch to hold the tempo. I would guess that the day will come when I may will have to just bite the bullet and use it. ......but I won't like it.

I am one that actually likes the metronome. My old teacher had me use it to keep me slowed down while I was learning a new piece. I always heard the music in my head at tempo, so I wanted to "sing" the piano at that speed. I would start slow, and then speed up. Now I use the metronome in several ways.

1. To maintain a slow speed while learning a piece.
2. To check that I keep an even tempo in complex rhythms such as 3's against 4's.
3. To add a little pressure when I start speeding a piece up.

I have a built in metronome on my N1, and I adjusted the volume down so it doesn't bug me. I really think the metronome has helped me improve.