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

SwissMS - glad your recovery is coming along steadily - and how great that your teacher has specific exercises to help you with the week finger! Also - be patient with your Chopin. His works are so deceptive.... you can look at them and think, "Well, it can't be THAT difficult"... but then the truth will out!
Just enjoy the step by step progress towards a more satisfactory rendition - and imagine what you'll do with it later on down the road, with even more experience under your belt!

What fun to try so many lovely pianos! A great way to spend your morning

Stubbie! A ninth woohoo! Good for you - and thanks for your kind words!
Bobby - getting to the piano regularly is the key to success! Good for you!
Malkin, that must have been fun! What did your teacher play?
Were all the performers teachers?
Floydthebarber71 - now that's exciting! When will we get to hear you play? Do think about submitting to the February e-cital!


Wisebuff - I know which 1917 piano you were on! I bet it sounds even more delicious in person than in the recordings we've heard in the recital. What a lovely day - I wish I could have joined you.
Is the date set for your exam?
Thanks for your encouragement! Nice to know that even at your level you've still got to work on scales

PianoPraise - I love duets! I haven't played for a while. I did some with my former teacher but haven't done any yet with my new teacher.

I don't really have an AOTW, but a funny story.....

I moved my lesson time because I had an appointment this week. At the end of my lesson the next student quietly came in and I glanced over my shoulder and said hello and went back to what we were doing... When I stood up I realized that the young lady was a former student of MINE ! I laughed and apologized for not recognizing her. Our teacher asked me to share my jazz music with her and I am happy to do so.. I also suggested we could do a duet! I think she was a bit overwhelmed (she's only 16) by our enthusiasm, but she said ok..So maybe in the new year I'll be doing a jazzy duet!

Definitely! Something to work towards...nice.

It was a doctoral recital at the University; he was the only performer.

Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Schoenberg: Six Little Piano Pieces
Lizst: Trois Etudes de Concert
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
Wild (Gershwin): Virtuoso Etudes on Popular Songs

Take a peek at his youtube if you like!
http://www.youtube.com/user/WeissmanPiano

Not so much of achievement but I do have a couple of exciting things to report. My piano party plan is moving along just fine. I will have a total of 8 or 9 pianist. I think it's not so bad for the first time. It will be either 2/2 or 2/9. I will post it in the event area of the section as soon as I have the date finalized. I am asking everyone to hold the dates open. If anyone wants to join, you are welcome. Nothing fancy. It's in my house in Phoenix AZ.

Another excitement is that I get to play in a studio class in my teacher's college class on Jan 5. I haven't played on stage for ages and she thinks I need to do that. The last time I played on stage was when I was 15. Gee that's a long time ago. I'm happy but I'm also in a panicky mode. It will be a good prep for the piano party. I will play Brahmes Intermezzo 118 #2 and Bach f minor prelude from WTC Book II. I am working on the fugue now but decided not to play it at this time. It's still dodgy and completely sucky. For one thing i cannot play it if i look at the keys. My eyes are still completely fixed on the score when I'm playing. My teacher told me that you have to be ready 2 months before the performanceB if you want to play a fugue well. Anyway, I'm so excited. I will have to record my playing and force my friends to listen to me.

Malkin - what an interesting recital - such a lovely range of genres! I love the Suite Bergamasque! it must have been a great pleasure indeed.

Farmgirl - What fun! A piano party in your home - The dogs will be so happy to have more pianists, and your husband? Maybe he will go golfing

Also- good fun to play in the college class - a bit hard on the nerves, true -but exciting!

What a great idea Farm Girl or two great ideas. The piano party is great socially and as an experience of playing for others. The opportunity to play in the college class sounds intriguing too. Let me know how that goes and I might sign up for one on my campus. Of course the other students would all be young and talented...which would be fun to experience. Every February our university offers a Piano Celebration where they have master classes and experts talking about piano. I've gone for the last few years and it gives me a glimpse of the academic side of piano.

I enjoyed reading all the updates. Congrats to CasinItaly on 3000 posts. Cheers.

Week 40: The choral concert last Sunday was very good. It was a nice oasis in an otherwise jam packed life schedule. Practice time often has the same effect. Some days practice was only ten minutes but I practiced every day. I tried to reclaim Ashokan Farewell, but it remains a challenge. The two Christmas tunes, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, and Silent Night are not fit for prime time, but do sound like music. During these short times on piano keyboard, I have settled on a core group of tunes that come easily. It includes Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and my originals: Shimmer, Simply Beautiful, March to the Sea (all at my signature link).

Another highlight of the week was a conversation with a stranger. I saw someone with some sheet music, Ava Maria and asked about it. Turns out she and her husband are singers. They sing at home as a hobby. I told her about my adventures on piano (and pennywhistle and flute), and the local Southern California music group Songmakers.

For those that would like to perform for friends or in public but are afraid, I suggest having one or two or three short goto pieces. End every practice with a quick play through at full tempo. That way a person will be able to play them when tired, perhaps distracted. The phrase I use, is I can play them in my sleep.

Can I come to your piano party? Ever since I got the Corvette, I have the temptation to just drive and drive and drive some more. It might be fun to drive from LA to Arizona for your party!

Sam, of course you are always welcome. But it's a long drive (6 hours). Are you sure? I have never done it by myself. I always take turns with my husband. I know you are much younger than me but still! Please think about it and pm me if you decide to come. I'm just touched that you thought about joining us. Wish we were closer. Thank you.

Phoenix in February sounds like a great opportunity for all of us in the snow belt. Let's all descend on FarmGirl's party and thaw!

I enjoy driving, and I think it could be a really fun trip!
I think if I have the 1st Ballade up to performance standard by then, then I'll do it.


I'm in New York now for the weddings of a few friends of mine, and so I met with my first teacher again. The lesson went for about 4 hours and cost me $300, but it was AMAZING! We went through pretty much every piece of music I have memorized, and while my teacher had things to say here and there as far as how to improve, he was so enthusiastic about the progress I've made since I last met with him. It was really inspiring, also because I didn't feel even slightly nervous when playing for him. I'd say I played to 95% of my capacity. I LOVE PROGRESS!!

Sam - ok, you are in. I think your Ballade will sound much better than most of our performances combined. You may get good advice from some of the advanced participants. Please PM me when you are ready to get more detail. I can give you information about reasonable hotels in the area too if you would like. Our house is a bit too cozy to accommodate you or anyone from out of state. I wish I could pamper everyone with individual rooms but we are econimically "intermediate" level as my piano skills (sigh).

Bessel - yes defrosting is guaranteed. Although you will get frozen again once you go home. I heard it's not ideal to re-freeze things. Human too, I wonder

Achievement? We had a wonderful piano party last night (not PW but my teacher's adult group). We played on a Yamaha grand in a house with very high ceilings all beautifully decorated for Christmas. Of course this one was all Christmas music and everyone contributed to the achievement. My first achievement was playing accompanist for my husband who sang "Mary did you know". That is a whole different kind of playing and I kept up with him and didn't mess him up. My solo piece went well...even the section of fast moving forte octave chords and concluded with a dreamy pianissimo section. A lovely folk hymn titled Brightest and Best (I'd never heard it before). We ended the evening with group singing and a final of Silent Night. I just love my piano friends.

WiseBuff - that sounds wonderful, and congratulations on the duet with your husband! I'd love to hear something at one of the Denver piano parties.

And FarmGirl - I had thought about your piano party - after all, Denver is about 6 hours or so from here, and Phoenix not much different, but for this time February is iffy for me from some work and band gig situations. But I bet you guys have a great time - I take it mr. super-hunky is coming? One of these days -

Cathy

Cathy, you bet no piano party without Mr. SH. I'm still aligning the dates. Sorry to miss you this time.

You will have to post enough pictures to keep the rest of us satisfied and longing to be there! And if the Corvette and Sam get there, we need pics of them too!

I was noodling in D and found 'Noel', how appropriate!

Farmgirl - Sounds like you are going to host a great piano party, drawing ABF'ers from all across the country!
When I held my get-together we had to send my dogs out for "mani-peddi's" for the day so nobody would be bothered by slobering Labs. Wine and beer most definitely loosened the ice for a group that were previously strangers, although I doubt it did much for the piano playing....at least not with me.

My teacher gave me a very sweet Christmas note saying that I was her hardest working student....and that it would eventually pay off in a big way. She always seems to know just when I need a boost.

For the last three weeks she has been helping me work on improvising with lead sheets. Just picking simple melodies with easy changes so far - this week I picked Sounds of Silence and my job is to alter the harmony from that shown on the lead sheet. Fun stuff.

Moonlight is getting closer. Parts of it sound very nice...others, not so much yet.

She's passed me on a jazzy arrangement of It Came upon a Midnight Clear. But it isn't really at a performing level, so I will have to work hard on it this week if I want to record it for the Holiday bar before Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday

Jim

Teacher gave me two new pieces to start on. Snowflake Rag and Vivace. Both loaded with staccatos. I have started on the ragtime first, a bit itimidated by the Vivace right now. Also conquered C & G scales in contrary motion at 85 bpm but I need to exceed 100. Not very exciting but fun.