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I have to admit that I am very familiar with the service I was singing, though it was my first time singing it as the role of the officiant.

Normally, I'm not always a native singer for this service since we have a heavy mix of Latin and sometimes French and German. But this service is the simplest version we have since we have a mix of singers and it was English all the way through.

Andy and Sam, it sounds like you both have had great performance experiences! Congratulations!

Carlos, good luck with your piece. I look forward to hearing it, too.

My AOTW is that my teacher was satisfied with the Handel piece I've been working on, even the dynamics, and has assigned me two new pieces, and they're NOT baroque, for a change. One is a L. Mozart minuet (which she wants me to play at the next piano salon), and the other Turk's Arietta.

I'm still plugging away at Melodie. I've been practicing up to the first repeat HT. There's a bit where both hands are playing 8th notes which I was struggling with, and my teacher had me just tap my fingers on the closed piano lid to get the hang of it. What a difference it made. I'm mad at myself for not thinking of it because it's what I always used to do with method book pieces when I was having trouble coordinating my hands. Anyway... now I have to move on to the next 8 bars or so. So much new stuff. Yikes!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! It's been quite a fun week. Yesterday I met with Mark_C, who played the 4th Ballade for me (as well as a Chopin polonaise I was unfamiliar with). I played a jumble of notes for him, which he was kind enough to listen to and make nice remarks about. Then we walked around a bit, he treated me to a coffee at Starbucks, and we chatted for a while.

Then (of course) I went to Steinway Hall and rented a practice room. In between my use of the practice room (which had a smaller grand in need of a tuning and regulation) I got to play the Steinway D in the main room of Steinway Hall. The piano sound, the acoustics, the action, my GOODNESS!!! I have never enjoyed playing that much before. If I had that piano in my house in that kind of a room, I'd have to be force fed because I wouldn't want to stop playing for a single moment!

Mark_C, I don't think you read this thread, but if you do, thanks for a fabulous time!!

Sam, I like your enthusiasm, it is very contagious. Good for you.

My AOTW: Today was a holiday in Lisbon, so I took the time and I finished the piece I was working since the beginning of the month. It is memorized and I just need to polish some sections. The "public opinion" here at home is: "It's OK, but we like much more of the others you usually play."

Einaudi 1-0 Helen Jane Long

Sam, that must have been really fun. You had a private concert by Mark C. I love to see your live performance someday. I mean piano, not figure skating

Mary Ann, I have Ariette in one of my books, so after reading your post, I dashed to the piano to try it out. Very pretty ! You should have fun with it. Don't waste energy being mad at yourself! I had exactly the same situation with my Handel piece last week, I just couldn't get the feel of it and we spent time sining Ta-ta, ta-ta, ta-ta, ta-ta, ta-ta taaaaaah over and over - it felt silly but it helped.

Sam you really are having some wonderful experiences lately! I would so like to be able to hook up with PW buddies the way you and others have. What a great time! Have you started your figure skating lessons yet? Maybe you could skate with a portable keyboard strapped to you ..that would be cool

CarlosCC - looking forward to hearing your new piece - It seems like your whole family is dedicated to Einaudi!

My AOTW is that I finally nailed the troublesome spot in my Rigaudon piece and now I can move on to the last 8 bars! whew. What a struggle they were. Not only was it the combination of getting the rhythm, I had a lot of trouble getting the fingering coordinated for the left hand.
It made my brain hurt!
But in a teasing, stimulating way that just makes me want to play MORE baroque.

HAHAHAHA You guys are too funny! I'm sorry to tell you but I quit piano and now I'm doing figure skating full time.

Maybe one day I'll have a special concert for my ABF buddies. I'll make sure to play with ice skates on my feet (although it will make pedaling pretty difficult).

Sam -

Sounds great, but please skip the gaudy sequined outfit.

My AOTW is to have gotten my fingers untied and nearly able to play Schumann's "The Happy Farmer Returning from Work", which from now on I will refer to as "The Happy FarmGirl Returning from Work", in her honor.

I had the opportunity to play the 1st movement of Mozart's Sonata in D, K. 284, three times for public performances in the space of four days. There's a spot just after the first half (repeat sign) where the left hand repeatedly crosses back and forth over the right in order to produce a melodic line with lots of contrasts in register. Sounds and looks awesome when done right and at tempo ...

On the first performance, this part was terrible! I was so disappointed since it had been going flawlessly in practice. So, after that recital, came back and slowed it way down, reminded myself of proper fingerings, and gradually increased tempo. (Also reminded myself that, despite that mishap, I maintained composure/commitment to the end.)

The second recital, there was only one minor error in that section. Someone also commented that it was very interesting to see me play it since there is almost no time for tactile place-checking in the piece--you've just gotta play it!

On the third concert, I had had a particularly sour practice earlier in the day so wasn't hoping for much. That was the best version--no errors at all.

I am now working on Haydn's sonata in C# Minor as an "emotional counterweight" to the sheer joy of the Mozart. (Unfortunately, I don't have the Braille score for the other movements of the Mozart, either--but the Haydn I have in its entirety and am looking forward to exploring it since he is a composer I haven't played much.)

Thank you for indulging me while I go on a bit too long about my own small victories (sheepish grin)!

No, no... we want the gaudy sequined outfit ----Liberace on ice!!!

And I love "HappyFarmGirl Returning from Work" - what a lovely dedication!

Dottedlines - Did anyone get a video of you playing your hands over hands piece? It sounds extremely challenging!
Good for you for maintaining your composure even when it didn't go as well as you'd hoped the first time.

As for going on about your small achievement ...heck that's what we're here for!!!!!
We celebrate all our baby steps, and once in a while someone even has a giant step to report, but all-in-all, we revel in small accomplishments!

No Liberace on ice!

If not for the baby steps inspired by this forum (not to mention the instruction), there's no way I would have got myself past the early beginner stage where I tried to "get through" pieces of music instead of listening to them and playing them like I try to do now (with minimal success, but at least I'm aware of what I want to change). Small achievements rule!

Hahaha, I know this piece but I cannot tell which one in my schumann piano book (Henle). It's written in German. I can find Melodie easily because that's how it's spelled. In my effort to find the piece, i wound up sight reading several Schumann. I am lucky I work from home (LOL) for two counts, 1) I can play the piano when I can and 2) I don't need to wear nice clothes. So the end result is that I look more like a farmer. So yes, your analogy is not so far off. I am indeed the happy farm girl when I find time to squeeze in piano during my work hours.

Well, I can't let you not find it... the German title is "Frolicher Landmann, von der Arbeit Zuruckkehrend", where I've left off the umlauts for lack of knowing how to put them here!

Unfortunately with that version of the title it's clear that the farmer is, for Schumann, male... but we'll ignore that.

Yep, I found it and I played it. I know the song. This is exactly what I thought. I used to imagine an arcade game called "Whac-A-Mole" whenever I play the piece. Joke aside, now grown up, I noticed several interesting thing. Let me list them here.

1) There are actually 4 voices. I never noticed it when I was a kid. I was simply playing loud and enjoyed the syncopation.
2) From voicing perspectives, I think measures 9 through 12 are gold. It's beautiful. Especially measure 0 and 10. If I am learning this piece, I will play the soprano and base in these measures everyday until I can play it smoothly and then add the middle voices. See if you can still hear the melody in the soprano and echoing voice in the base. These measures are repeated later in 15 and 16. I call these measures farmers tender moments, whatever it is. Good luck and enjoy. I think you can swoon many farm girls in Ohio with this song.

No, no video ... Once I get my piano tuned later in the summer, I'll have somebody record it and post a link for anybody interested.

The ability to continue playing daily is an achievement, I think.

My achievement is that I am playing 34 songs (a third are mere bagatelles or pleasant practice pieces) daily. On the down side, 11 are not memorized and so I struggle to learn them all together, which slows down my progress. Monday I begin a 34th and then I will stop learning new pieces for the year, turning to learning music basics and theory from August to Christmas. By 2013 I should have all 34 in good shape and have lots of understanding behind the playing. Lots of work.

My advice is to not stop learning new material. Memorising, like sight reading, improves from daily practise. If you're memorising your pieces they really will benefit from time off (otherwise they may go stale on you). Even if you forget them it's far better to learn them afresh - they really won't take very long if you've already had them in memory.

If you have 22 pieces memorised you should be able to get away with playing them only once a week rather than once a day. Drop them into seven groups and just do one group each day - think of the time saving!

What's the situation with the 11 that aren't memorised (but you'll still be learning a new piece on Monday)?

Try this (it might look complicated but an exercise book by the piano makes it very easy in practise):-

Mon-Fri: one phrase a day on each of three new pieces to be memorised to about half speed; three memorised pieces from your 'most recently memorised group' for taking up to tempo and long term retention; one piece from your long term group for revitalisation and refreshing; reading/sight reading.

Sat-Sun: Long term memory pieces not played during the week; the memorised sections of pieces you're learning but didn't work on this week; technique (scales and arpeggios etc in the 'key of the week'); reading non-memorised pieces and/or investigating forthcoming attractions; improv/composition/fun/other musicianship work.

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I work on 12 to 20 new pieces concurrently, one or two weeks on and six to eight weeks off for assimilation (and improvement without practise!).

I take my last 15 memorised pieces, three a day, Monday to Friday, (or three a week depending on their state and cover the rest at weekends), until they're ready to drop into my long term memory group.

One piece (or one section of it) from my long term memory group gets worked every day for a week and the rest are played through at the weekends until they're in permanent memory.

Pieces in permanent memory I've held unplayed for over fifteen years and restored with frequent playing over a few weeks (without going back to the score) though normally I give them a few plays every six months or so.

Your advices about memorising are always very interesting, Richard.


My AOTW: I’ve played my Beethoven’s piece complete, which is a true achievement to me. But right now my playing on this music is like a sea of indecisions. I should work on every section separately again, in order to get confidence. You know, two steps forward, one step back .

Wow! I love this thread. There are always so many encouraging achievements, and is fun to hear about everyone's piano journey, both the baby steps and the major accomplishments!! Sharing the baby steps is what keeps us all going forward.

I have had house guests this past two weeks, so I have not been practicing as much. I managed at least an hour on most days, though. I have Solfeggio memorized, but I am only playing it at about 2/3'rds speed. I am focussing on fast positioning for the next phrase and 100% accuracy before I try to increase the speed. My teacher has me playing it staccato to assure evenness is the 16th's. It seems to be working so far. When it is at full speed the legato should be easy!

I have gained a real appreciation for Mozart's K545 Rondo in the past few weeks. I have learned so much from it. My teacher LOVES Mozart, but only if played well. The phrasing on this piece, the quick position changes on the Alberti base, and the need for crystal clarity have been a real struggle. This piece is like a comic Opera, and although it is not that difficult to play the notes, it is very difficult to tell the story and play it well at speed. I am determined to get it up to my teacher's standards. So far she is happy with a little over 1/2 of it.

No, no, Recaredo! Every step back, in this context, is a step forward!

MIDI sequencers store four pieces of information for each note: pitch, velocity, start time and duration. MIDI actually sends a note-off message rather than sending duration data. For staccato notes this isn't as practical for us but for held notes it is. It forces you to look at rests as well as notes, dynamics and articulation.

Pick an awkward phrase. Place your hands in the starting position, with all the fingers resting on the keys. Relax. Relax your spine. Relax your neck and shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Relax your fingers.

Start by considering the note data and get ready to play the first note/chord. Relax with all your fingers on the keys. Play the note using just the finger weight. Release it if it's staccato, without taking your finger off the key, but otherwise hold it while you consider when to release the current note and play the next one. Relax. Play the next note. Repeat to the end of the phrase. Use only as much motion as you need. Keep your fingers relaxed and glued to the keys. Listen.

Repeat until you're going at about half speed. Then you can let your fingers come off the keys for wrist staccato etc. When you need to make a leap, consider when you need to look at the target key (a beat or two beforehand) and prepare it accordingly.




Thanks, Recaredo. Funny you should say that!