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Good work SwissMS,
I don't always respond to a lot of folks in the forums. Not because I don't admire their achievements but often don't really understand what they're saying because I myself have not studied what they refer to or unfamiliar musical terms. Did that make any sense? I hope so. Also, sometimes things just slip away or I completely miss posts that I intend to answer and forget.

Thank you Cheryl, yes it is such a relief and I had a perfectly wonderful day yesterday. It wasn't just my bench work either it was just a great day altogether.

Thanks TallGuy, the support here means a great deal to me.

Wonderful!!!! Nothing like an overall really good day to lift the spirits!



Debussy's "Children's Corner Suite". The one I know from this suite is "Goliwogg's Cakewalk". My teacher had me listen to it to hear the early sounds of jazz and rag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Corner

In particular:
Golliwogg's Cakewalk

At the time of its composition, Golliwoggs were in fashion, due partly to the popularity at that time of the novels of Florence Kate Upton ("golliwog" is a later usage). They were stuffed black dolls with red pants, red bow ties and wild hair, somewhat reminiscent of the black-face minstrels of the time. This is a ragtime piece with its syncopations and banjo-like effects. The dynamic range is quite large and very effective. The B section of this dance is interrupted on several occasions by the love-death leitmotif of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, marked avec une grande émotion (with great feeling). Each quotation is followed with banjo imitations. The cakewalk was a dance or a strut and the dancer with the most elaborate steps won a cake ("took the cake").

Sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMrdhgWR9Zk

Cheryl - That's it. Thank you.

+1 for the Word method ... except in my case it's TextMate. Word seems like overkill for this. Plus, smart quotes cause problems when copy-pasting into a plaintext medium like this forum. For the non-Apple nerds: just plain old WordPad works, too .



YAY, indeed! I don't know what's been troubling you, but I do know that when a cloud like that lifts, it's just about the greatest feeling in the world. I'm really glad your piano helped get you there.



I would encourage you to sit down and just do it. It's actually not half as magical (or remotely as difficult) as it seems. If you can do melodic-rythmic dictation of one simple melody line, then you can do this, too. It's YouTube. Unlike in music theory class (where we are trained week after week, ad nauseum, to write down simple melodic-rythmic lines after hearing them once or twice), you can pause, replay and double-check as many times as you like.

For some perspective: the YouTube video I transcribed was a piano arrangement of a melody (Down by the Sally Gardens) I'd heard before. As played in the video, it is 58 measures long, but I only had to actually write out 38 of them. The rest was a matter of copy-paste (or repeat signs). And also, once I had the key signature, time signature and melody line down, it became mostly a question of logic. The bass line is just a series of arpeggiated chords, and the progression of chords in this particular piece is fairly predictable. See here for the end result, if you'd like.

But it's not as if I did this in fifteen minutes after only listening to it twice. I would guess it took me closer to three hours, in three separate sittings. I'm no Mozart (who allegedly once wrote down Allegri's Miserere from memory, after only having listened to it a single time). Like most everything in life, this is primarily a question of *wanting* to do it, and then putting in the required effort.

Casinitaly I just realized, I often seem to skip your posts when I sweep through here in one of my 'get everyone' giant piles of quotes. That's not because you don't deserve to be cheered on as much as all the others here -- perhaps we should cheer you on most of all, because you never fail to cheer on anyone else. But your AOTW's are often very specific to the pieces you're playing, and I sometimes have trouble envisioning exactly what you're talking about. Which means I then feel ill-equiped to say something meaningful in response to what you've accomplished. Nevertheless, I am happy for you every time I see you reporting on your progress here. This time, too: yay for progress on the Heller piece!

Thanks Saranoya, I didn't realize I was writing too obscurely!

Here is a link to the Heller piece. The part I've been focusing on is at the 1 minute mark with rising arpeggios. The rest of it I pretty well have under my fingertips now and I'm working on fluidity and dynamics.



The tricky part in the Schumann piece is at 55seconds and is repeated later again.

(you don't feel you should give more feedback on these pieces )

Saranoya, thanks for your input. Some folks are flat out better at it than others. There are a few on the forum that can hear and play after one or two goes. I've been playing by ear for years, and it is still slow. The training app points out the weakness, that on 10% to 20% of the notes I have a hard time. Over an entire piece, that means a lot of getting stuck, possibly a lot of wrong notes.

A good trained ear will be closer to 98% or 99% correct and may only miss one or two notes. Some songs come easily, on others I get stuck. A few, I can not even get started on. For example, Tonight from West Side Story has a key change, so after a full hour of effort and not one phrase correct and complete, I gave up. It points out my need for more training. If you have taken a formal music theory class in school, you have much more training than most of us beginners.

I encourage all those reading to train their ears. It seems like one of the most neglected items. The app I have has four sections, higher/lower, match the note, interval training, chord identification. I have been doing the app for five or six weeks now, a few minutes a day. I am good at the higher/lower, have to work to match the notes but get 95% right after pressing various keys until a match comes. I am not doing the other two yet because I might as well throw darts on those at the moment.

Debussy's "Children's Corner" is a suite of pieces. My guess is the piece chosen from the suite was "Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum" or maybe "Golliwog's Cakewalk".

I do, actually. Thanks for providing the handy link! Now I see what you mean about the thumb flying up in the air. My teacher always tells me to 'think small' when this happens (and it does happen in consecutive arpeggiated runs like these occasionally). By which she actually means: stay as close to the keys as you can. 'Thinking small' seems to be what my brain needs to do to actually make that happen. Anyway, it seems like you've figured out a way to do it that works for you, so three cheers for that!

I listened to your Schumann piece, too (yay for YouTube!), and I see what you mean. But for me it would probably be the ending that's the trickiest! I don't like big jumps followed by block chords .



I could do that when I played the trumpet (and you can probably do it on flute, too). But not on piano. While I can quite easily hear and remember two or three voices within a piece, it takes a lot of practice for me to be able to play them at the same time.

With this transcription, part of the reason it took me so long was that I was using MuseScore for the first time, and I had to do a lot of Googling to find out how to accomplish x or y with it. But part of it, too, is that I do not have perfect pitch. There are two people in my music theory class who do (one of them is the teacher), and for them, it's not even a question. They hear a pitch -- any pitch -- and can instantly identify it. For me (and most other mere mortals), it's a matter of 'counting half-steps'. And while I do that pretty much automatically now, almost to the point of no longer being aware that I'm doing it, it does take more time to do it that way.



OK, way off topic here, but what the heck: Actually, where I'm from, all beginners get that training. When I first started venturing out into the big wide world, in search of like-minded piano freaks, it really surprised me that people in most of the rest of the world can take piano lessons *without* a formal theory component.

Anyhow, here's how it works: evidently, we have public schools like most every other civilised nation in the world. But, unlike in some other school systems, in Belgium arts and sports are, for the most part, separate from the regular public school curriculum. 'Regular' classes run from roughly 8AM to 4PM and, depending on the type of education one chooses, those hours might cover anything from Latin or Greek (plus at least two other foreign languages), to Literature and Mathematics, History and Geography, to Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Economics (for those pursuing a general education in preparation for higher learning), or Carpentry, Health Aid, Plumbing, Gardening, and any number of other trade skills, for those wishing to go into the workforce straight out of secondary school. In primary school the curriculum is less diversified (everyone basically gets the same education between the ages of five and twelve). But there, too, sports and arts are limited to two hours a week, at most.

For those wishing to pursue music, drama, dance, or plastic arts, there is a separate system of 'part-time art schools', which are called Academies. These, like the 'regular' public schools, are subsidised and regulated by the government, but unlike the regular public schools, they operate outside of business hours, and they are not compulsory.

The part about them being regulated by the government, though, implies that if you do choose to take lessons at one of these schools, you must follow the curriculum as outlined by the government. For music, that means you start with one year of music theory, in which you learn to read music, sing (alone and in groups), do music dictation, count and clap rhythms, and any number of other things that are considered indispensable if you want to learn to play an instrument. Only after successfully having completed that first year of music theory do you get to move on to piano lessons (or whichever other instrument you choose). During the first three years of piano lessons, the music theory lessons will continue (you move on to reading bass clef, identifying keys, writing out scales and their different modes, picking out and counting intervals, building chords and their inversions, the occasional multi-voice dictation, etc.). As you move into the fourth year of piano lessons, you shift from music theory to music history, which continues for another three years. And if you're really a freak, you can then go on to take music notation ('composition') classes during your final three years of piano lessons, although those are optional.

All told, when you enrol in a Belgian music Academy with the intention to learn piano, that's the start of a ten-year journey, during most of which you will be in music lessons for at least 3 hours each week. At first it's two hours of music theory, plus half an hour of singing in a group, plus an hour of piano (though there is usually at least one other pupil who comes during the same hour, so you're actually playing in front of your teacher for about twenty minutes to half an hour, and listening for the rest of the hour). Later, it's one hour of instrument, plus one hour of music history, plus one hour of 'band' (by which I mean: playing with other musicians in whatever way is most convenient, which for pianists usually involves playing four-hands with the teacher or another pupil). And then later still, it can be one hour of piano plus one hour of band, plus or minus one hour of composition.

For those who want even more than that, we do have a handful of secondary schools that specialise in performance art education, where the arts are a much bigger part of the 'regular' curriculum than they are at other secondary schools. And then of course we also have conservatories, for those who want to become professional artists (and/or teachers).

All of this just to say: the theory component of my music education is nothing unusual around here. In fact, it's the norm. But even with all of that compulsory music theory, I still can't read music for sh*t. My natural instinct is to remember the way a piece sounds, instead of what it looks like on the page. I read and play through a piece once (though not at all fluently), and then I tend to go by the music in my head.

One reason I haven't posted here is that my achievements are rather boring. I have a lot of habits tying me up from when I was self-taught years ago, and things I "learned" which added even more problems. Relearning to play is like being in a cement case, and the cement is chipping off. It's about as interesting as watching paint dry. The thing is that you can play a lot of music while using your body badly, but when you want to do more, you can't, or it just sounds rough. Plus a lot of us are getting older and we can't get away with the same kinds of things without hurting ourselves.

A while back I was supposed to be practising some chords, except that by the time I was at the 4th chord everything was getting tight and tense. That led to a major journey in what it was that I did when I played chords, and fixing a bunch of things. Today I went back to that chord exercise, and nothing gets tight or tense. That would be my AOTW.

Oh, and I dared post my first recording in the April thingy. That piece is also all-chords and it actually helped me with the other.

My AoTW is so minor but since the forum provides a space I take full advantage.
In the last week I have learned a simple 12 bar blues progression which gives me great satisfaction to play over and over. What is it about the blues which we can repeat endlessly without ornamentation? I also attempted my first song with quick chord changes (and hey there were sharps in there) and although it's going to take a while, my chord changes after a few days started to feel pretty natural. Such monumental progress makes up for last weeks feeling I wasn't moving ahead, hence I am as happy as a door Scotsman can be.

Happiness is ... a freshly tuned piano. And that's what I have. Yippee!

Also finding this video while searching for something on Beethoven's Tempest (no, not planning on playing it, a little above my pay grade!) If you have a spare hour:

[video:youtube]Zna1EROjGe4[/video]

Very simple. It's in your heart.



Please excuse me if I don't answer each person on here. I read your good posts. When I come on here. It's more to take a break then to concentrate on the internet. Maybe someday I'll start listing answers to everyone. I don't mean to be inconsiderate.

I'm experiencing this too, Andy! I've been spending weeks on one of the 3-part inventions, practicing using a fluid motion in order to be able to play it at a reasonable tempo. I think this is the first piece that I'm trying to play "fast". And I haven't even thought about trying to memorize it yet.

I've been spending a lot of time over the past month on ear training, both in practice and lessons. Progress is very, very slow, but it is detectable.

Other than that, I've been putting in a lot of effort on basics: Hanon, scales, chord progressions, sight reading. I haven't started any new pieces in a long time, but I'm hoping to change that soon.

We went to see Mitsuko Uchida perform Mozart with the Cleveland Orchestra last weekend. Inspiring!

That's it. It was the cakewalk but I don't think its as easy as it sounds. I'm used to being out played by kids but these kids are very young and amazing.

Happiness is a freshly-fixed up harpsichord.
Sounds so much better, although still awaiting the return of some fixed jacks.

AOTW, this week: Defeating the word 'Fantasia', head on.

I'd always thought a Fantasia would be like a Toccata: big, difficult, beyond me.

Okay, I'm just looking at page 1 of Sweelinck's Fantasia Chromatica, BUT it's approachable and sounds lovely (all that chromaticism).

Stephen300o - Getting a piece to your satisfaction in 1/2 hour is a real accomplishment. Sounds like you are progressing through the Alfred's rapidly.

ElleC - Playing Chopin's Prelude in E Minor after just three months at the piano is a major accomplishment. It is such a moving piece. Have fun with it!

Ragdoll - I am glad to hear that you have your musical "spark" back and your piano and you are friends again. It was waiting for you.

BBPlayer- Isn't wonderful that the piano always welcomes you back? Enjoy making music again!

Saranoya - I am very impressed with your ability to sit down and list, and deal with, the emotions that were weighing you down. I can see how these could get tied into Moonlight Sonata after four months of playing it. Congratulations for getting it recorded and getting closure on that phase. It must feel liberating to get that behind you, and, you are ready for the upcoming AFB recital! I am also impressed with your ability to transcribe from a Youtube video.

Allard - Orbits sounds fun. I like hand crossing, for some reason. Sounds like you have mastered the piece pretty well already.

Sand Tiger - Your weekly reports sound like you are really having fun, and going in multiple directions with your piano journey. You are developing a lot of skills.

Dwscamel - Mastering any tricky section that has been giving you trouble is a big accomplishment.

FarmGirl - Performing in a recital with only two hours notice? Wow! I am impressed. That is an accomplishment.

Casinitaly - It sounds like your Heller piece is coming along nicely. It is a lovely piece but, it sounds like it has some tricky spots.

Keystring - Congrats for eliminated tension in playing chords. That is a major accomplishment!

Earlomar - No AOTW is "minor". It sounds like you learned something valuable for the direction you want to go with your playing. That is great!

Andy Platt - Happiness IS a freshly tuned piano. I have to wait until May 8!

My AOTW - I got a "pass" on the Bach Invention #4, and can move on to #6! It still needs some shaping, but it can go into the background. My Debussy Arabesque is memorized and in the polishing stage. I am really happy how quickly this one is coming together. Of course, I am dreaming in polyrhythms now.

OK, it's official. You are copying me - moving from invention 4 to 6 is just too coincidental

I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the 6th invention. I'm finding it harder to fully understand than the 4th and memorization is slow. Partly it's the interplay of the rhythms. It's a great piece though.

Honestly, I am not. My teacher suggested #6 at the same time as Inv. 4. I chose #4 first, because I thought it would be the easier one to start with. I have been dying to finish 4, which I am not crazy about, to get to 6, which is so much more melodic to my ear. I guess great teachers think alike!