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I haven't posted anything in a while so here's my update.

We had a death in the family a week and a half ago so as you can imagine my practice time was messed up. I was able to get in at least an hour most days but it was broken up and my mind was not with it all the time. I don't think I made as much progress as I would have normally but I did accomplish some things so it wasn't a total loss.

I had a lesson yesterday and I asked my teacher why I can play some songs well after only a week or two and yet I continue to struggle with others after 3-4 weeks. Memory and The Entertainer are good examples. The Entertainer looked very challenging when I started it but I had it under control after a few days. I can now play it completely from memory and it sounds pretty good. Memory on the other hand seemed very easy when I started it (Greatest Hits 1) but after 4+ weeks it continues to give me trouble. I can't play it from memory (no pun intended) and one section in particular gives me trouble. On easier sections I make stupid mistakes. I like the piece a lot but I am now starting to tire of it. This happens frequently. He didn't really have a good answer for me other than to say that some arrangements don't really work well and some note sequences are more difficult than others. He said everybody experiences it at one time or another and it will pass. He also suggested I keep playing it slowly and play hands separately while calling out the note names.

In book 2, Guantanamera is coming along pretty good and we started Overture. That's a familiar tune and after playing it through a few times last night shouldn't give me any problems. It's almost as far along as Guantanamera!

I am also working on the Bb scale and have it down hands separate and hands together, one octave. When I try 2 or more octaves hands together I can go up the scale with no problems but I get messed up going back down so I have to continue to work on that. Is anyone else doing scales hands together in more than one octave? It seems like this doesn't get talked about very much at this level and I often wonder when this is normally introduced.

Craig, I watched the video and out of curiosity followed the link to his website. He has a great site with a large number of instructional videos. Well worth checking out. I have added it to my favorites and will spend a bunch of time watching them. He has some good suggestions for practice methods, scale fingerings, and much, much more. Thanks for leading me to that.

Here's the link in case anyone else is interested.

http://oziecargile.com/

Take a look at the Learning Piano choice on his menu bar.

Hi Everyone!!

Welcome Doug to the Level One Graduate side! Feels like old home week here now.

I didn't have a lesson this week so I'm still working on Thumbalaika as well as a couple from the All Time Favorite's book--Bridal March and Sonata Pathetique--which I find to be very beautiful. One thing nice about classical music...even when you play it slow...it's still just as beautiful!

I am also working on Annie's Song and Memory in the Greatest Hits book and beginning Light and Blue - want a head start for next week when my teacher assigns it to me!

I've also started to use a metronome when I'm doing my scales...which helps me, not only keep a steady beat, but I get accustomed to listening to the blasted thing!!

I don't think I have a Sophmore slump, but I haven't been putting in my hours due to my recent trip to Milwaukee..and when we got back home, my husband's uncle died on Monday, so we are making plans to go to the funeral tomorrow--so it doesn't seem right to play my usual 1- 1.5 hours a night right now..and I miss it terribly. We will be back on Sat night, so I plan on doing at least 2 hours on Sunday. Now that the summer crowd is gone, I can have a half hour practice during my lunch (I live and work at the same place).

Doug--with your silly mistakes--I think we all do that..but I can only speak for myself. I kept going back to the same thing..and then when I got one part mastered, I make stupid mistakes on an easier part. That's when it's time to go to another song!! Come back to Memory when you have your good practice days. I have noticed that I definitely have good and bad days. Have no idea why. But, if you are like me and have your good days..that's when you should go back to Memory and tackle it! You may be surprised that you can play it perfectly!

Anyway..signing off probably till next week. Take care,

Nancy

I agree... he plays very well too. In my opinion, though, his fingers are a bit stiff and his hands tense.

You're quite right about that. There are days that I do much better on pieces that give me trouble.

I forgot to mention what happened at my lesson yesterday. I was playing Memory for him and got to the spot that gives me trouble regularly. As usual I couldn't get through it cleanly and told him that it was coming together at home but I just couldn't play it for him. Just then his phone rang and he said he had to take the call and stepped out of the room. I started the piece over again and wouldn't you know it, I played it through perfectly. I told him he would have to listen to me from outside the room from now on. He laughed and came back in and sat down anyway.

Doug, sorry for your family's loss. Glad to have you back.

I had a couple of supplementary songs that I practiced for 4-8 weeks and I could play them, but I kept making stupid mistakes...random. Finally I just put the songs away and moved on. I think the mistakes were happening because I was tired of the songs and no longer concentrated enough to play as written. Another reason was because I had most of the song memorized (from so much practice) that I played the song quickly, then when I came to parts I didn't have exactly memorized I messed up.

Honestly, I'd put those songs to rest and move on. There's no shortage of sheet music out there. I think mom3gram is a major stock holder in a few music book companies.

Scales? What's that? I have no desire to do more than 2 octaves hands separate. I tried putting my hands together just the other day (1 octave) for the first time and I didn't do too bad. That's about all I can stand. I probably won't do much more than that until I get to the point where I see WHY practicing scales is important.

I go as far as practicing hands separate (2 octaves) because it helps me "see" the sharps/flats in a particular scales. Makes it easier to "feel" them in the music if you know what I mean.

I'm almost finished with Light & Blue. I like it and hope to record it. It wasn't so bad after I got the hang of playing the eighth notes unevenly.

I'd like to record Overture and Guantanamera as well. I still haven't polished either song and recording them would force me to finish them completely. We'll see...

Have been considering piano lessons for my 7 year old...

Hi Doug. When I started with my teacher back in January I was also in the early part of Book 2 Alfred, so about where you are. She has assigned scale work every week. Back then, the typical routine was one new scale assigned each week. Play one week hands separate two octaves if necessary, then one week hands together two octaves, then a week hands together four octaves. Meanwhile you are starting a new scale every week, so there's always something you're working on at each level (apart, together 2va., together 4va.) Somewhere along the way we also started going for speed once we get it to four octaves - using the metronome to incrementally inch up the velocity. More recently we've started doing triplets and sixteenths for each metronome beat.


Hi Gracie,
One of the benefits from doing scales hands together multiple octaves is developing hand independence. Doing them over four octaves gets you working all the way up and down the keyboard, experiencing all of the different angles involved.

Doug - I'm also doing scales in two octaves, hands together. We do up, down, and contrary. There are good days and bad days. When I start messing them up, I do one hand at a time a few times and look away from the keyboard and concentrate on something else. Then I play them at the same time, also while concentrating on something else. This usually gets me back on track. I think my muscle memory has it down, but my brain likes to interfere.

Gracie - I think another benefit to practicing scales is that it's supposed to help you with pieces written in that key. If I'm having trouble with a piece in the key of A, for example, my teacher will suggest that when I practice running through the A scale a few times prior to practicing the piece.

Here's my not so perfect recording of the Overture piece. I didn't do any repeats. It's boring to repeat sections. LOL I think the hard part is doing staccato in the left while playing legato in the right on only a few notes....while your hands are on top of each other.

Overture

GracieCat, nice job on Overture.

JimF, AimeeO, Nancy, etc.. I'm glad to hear that everyone else is suffering along with me on scales. Definitely not my favorite part of practicing but I can understand the importance of doing them and the sooner they get familiar and easier to do the better so I will try your suggestions and keep at them.

Clementi Sonatina No. 1 seems to be as much a right of passage for most teachers as BTMD is in Alfred 1

Now, eat your peas so you grow up big and strong

I was really glad I'd worked on my multioctave scales when I got to runs like measures 24-28 in the third (vivace) movement.

While it may seem like forcing ourselves to eat the peas, we're gonna need those vitamins eventually

I've been away on vacation for a week, and I just played through some of my pieces tonight, and except for being a little rusty on the first piece, I didn't backslide much, if at all. That's the good news. The bad news is that I am dropping La Bamba for now. I will be reviewing some later Book 1 pieces, and the Book 2 pieces up to La Bamba, and then I will start with the next piece, which will be La Raspa, I think. That won't be for a while, because I want to get those earlier pieces down really good again before moving on. I've been really out of my comfort zone here, and instead of getting more frustrated I need to go back to basics. So some of you Book 2 newbies will probably pass me by.

Well, that was easy, I just polished La Bamba! Just kidding mom3gram, I haven't made it that far.

I'm gonna need to rerecord Overture using the correct dynamics. Pretty much finished Light and Blue. Started Hungarian Rhapsody #2. That'll take some time. The last thing I need is sheet music that says "faster and faster" as I already play faster (on everything) than I should.

I sing with a small group and I'm constantly saying, "pick it up" (in regards to the temp). I can't stand to sing slow draggy songs. Apparently I don't like to play them that way either.

Anyway, I'm looking for some new supplemental stuff to play. I'm tired of Alfred stuff and bored of the other junk I've been playing...

I've never recorded anything - well, I did record a couple of the earlier Book 1 pieces on my digital, but it only holds one song so as soon as I recorded something else it disappeared. I keep meaning to find a way to save recordings on the computer, but since my piano is on the first floor, and my computer is upstairs, and on opposite sides of the house too, I haven't been able to do that.

A couple of weeks ago, I was playing "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" from the Faber book, and "Greensleeves" from Book 1, and they sounded so good that I attempted to record them. No one else in the house to hear me, so no pressure, and yet I butchered both of them every time I tried to record. Sigh!

It would be so fun to be able to make a recording of my favorite pieces.

I'm always looking for supplemental pieces, but most of them are a little bit easier than the lesson book pieces, so that I don't totally frustrate myself. Right now I have a number of different level 1 books with post-it notes in them as bookmarks, and when I'm done practicing my Alfred pieces, I play a different one or two of them each day. It keeps me from getting bored.

My teacher gave me an easy version of Flight of the Bumblebee to play. That's actually been kinda fun. I also have a couple of Bach pieces I've been working on. I'm so close to having one of them down, and I was getting frustrated with myself for making dumb mistakes in the same spots. I decided to start playing the Bach pieces using the harpsichord function my DP and I find myself enjoying those pieces more. I might even be playing them better - go figure. Switching these things up sometimes might be a good idea for me.

I listened to Light and Blue finally.. I hope maybe I can go in there and pull it off so I feel like moving on in this book.

There is always the mobile phone for the job.

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone will get some quality time with their pianos this coming weekend! I know I plan to...but the weather is supposed to be wonderful up here..so I'm going to be doing early and late practicing!

I had my lesson last night and was passed on Tumbalalaika, which was a fun piece. Now on to Light and Blue--which looks difficult.

In my All Time Favorites book, I have passed Sonata Pathetique and Bridal Chorus (which was driving my husband crazy!). Since I aced all three songs right away, she gave me two more in this book--In the Good Old Summertime and Romance from the Serenade--which looks difficult. I think with Light and Blue and this one..this will be a 2 week one!

One thing that my teacher wants me to work on is my differing left vs right hand strength. She told me to get one of those Hannon books..the first one-which has exercises and wrist positions to study. I am left handed, so I can really pound out the bass--but I need to tone it down and get louder on my right hand. So, off to the music story in the sky to get that one!

GracieCat...you do such a wonderful job of recording yourself! I can't seem to get it. I am doing better with the performance anxiety, but it always seems the phone rings, or the dog barks. Gets me flustered. Maybe this weekend with everyone gone--I will be able to deal with recording myself. Would like to get a couple of pieces down that I have enjoyed doing..just for the sake of looking back in a year and seeing if I have improved.

Another goal is to be able to do tracks...play guitar in the background...but I will have to learn some type of software to do it. Goals, goals.

A woman that cleans the cabins here said that if she didn't work, she would become so bored...that she was never going to retire. I told her to come over to my house...I could teach her guitar, crocheting, Irish tin whistle, knitting, quilting, drawing and painting, art journaling, reading, very elementary piano. I told her that I was NEVER bored. She said why should she learn anything..she is 73....

I told her, "Why NOT??????"

Happy Piano Playing Everyone!!!

Nancy

Nancy, I'm learning the tin whistle as well!! LOL I just got it last week, but my book hasn't come yet. I'm just playing Amazing Grace until it does. I highly doubt you'll ever hear a recording of me playing that.

Looks like you're doing a lot of work. It'll pay off. Once you get the hang of Light and Blue it isn't so bad. I couldn't stand Bridal Chorus...

GracieCat! The tin whistle is WONDERFUL!! Tangleweeds from here also plays. Check out the great forum for the tin whistle called "Chiff and Fipple". www.chiffandfipple.com There you will find EVERYTHING you wanted to know about the whistle. They have a great search engine too if you wanted to put in a word like, newbie and it will bring up all sorts of great threads! I have been there for years.

I tried to play "Light and Blue" yesterday. Will work on the melody a bit before adding the bass. Same thing with Romance--lots of right hand work on that one as well. Good Ole Summertime doesn't seem very difficult. I almost had that one down yesterday. It seems if I can get a good hour to 1.5 hours in each day, I progress pretty well. So, that is my goal. (My house says I should have a different goal...but oh well) My gravestone will never say "She kept a clean house!"

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!

Nancy

I'm kind of stalled right now on Alfred, since I started with my new teacher. He's got me playing Beyer Etudes, & I've been finding them really difficult to start. I can tell it's really going to help with hand independence, though. & with reading, I think.
So I'm still playing stuff out of Alfred - I'm sort of working on Plaisir d'Amour, but mostly I'm using Alfred tunes "recreationally," going back & playing things I've already learned. No worries, mom3, about me passing you by!