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

Luna how exciting about your voice! I do hope you can find time to practise singing and piano playing.

Luna, thank you for you kind note. I feel like "understood", which is a great feeling. I love singing too but could not continue voice lessons due to time constraints. I had to pick one of the two, piano or voice. It will be great to continue both if you could. You could accompany yourself. For some reasons, I cannot do both. I either have to play the piano only or sing.

Brilliant Valencia!

Luna,

A budding coloratura in our midst? Oh my. That'exciting.

Maybe if I ever get this Puccinni up to speed we could give the first AOTW-Opera!

Week 29: practiced six of the seven days which is an improvement. Five days were short, maybe 15 minutes, with maybe 40 minutes on the one day. I went back to doing some free playing aka known to me as composition. I can't get very far during the short time periods, but the good feeling is back.

My tongue is hanging out for it!

Cathy

Wow - I learned the difference between tied and detached notes - not just the theoretical difference, but the playing difference, the different sound in a piece.

I know, I know, it's so very basic. But nobody ever taught me. Years ago I did two years or so of private lessons with two different teachers, working all the way up to the grade 6 book but NOBODY ever taught me this.

Now, I'm working way down at the grade 2 level, re-learning after a long hiatus, and doing it in GROUP classes. There was so much skepticism on this board when I said I was taking group classes, but I'm learning things in group that I never learned in private lessons. It's a high quality teacher and the students are at slightly different levels so she doesn't skip things she assumes we should know. It's working!!

FarmGirl, Cas, LizAnne ... I love all the stories of new teachers and lessons that are going so well. It's important to find the person/group that works for us, someone to keep us motivated and challenge us in positive ways. (And, as you know well, LizAnne, to make sure we're "getting" all the pieces of the puzzle. There's just so much to learn, isn't there?)

My accomplishment for the week is sort of a continuation from last week when I was due to have a Dampp-Chaser installed in my piano. Got it done, but my tech recommended letting the piano stabilize for a week or so before he tuned it ... so I finally, just today, have a freshly tuned instrument. It's heaven.

And now I really do have to go get in some practice time. Lesson coming up this Tuesday and I'm not ready!

Happy practising Deb.

Sounds great LizAnne! I know what you mean when something is explained to you that noone told you before- my teacher has taught me things and explained things that I wasn't shown or told before as well- and only had 2 lessons off him as yet. I have my next one Wednesday. I feel very positive about my learning- I am listening to all he tells me and working hard on things he gives me and feel some improvements. They are small as yet but I can see them and my friend can see them when she comes and I play Piano. Small steps lead to bigger steps!

FarmGirl, I can't do both (sing and play) simultaneously either but I'd love to be able to. That's definitely something to work toward.

JimF, now opera and piano....that would really be something!!

I practiced a lot today and enjoying last a few min of the weekend with the forum:)

I am also planning to have the 1st piano party in my house in January. The date is not set yet but I do have one Piano world participant. My new teacher said she would come. A few of my friends as well. I am going to start PM'ing those who live in Arizona and seems to be active in the forum. Everyone in the forum is welcome to my humble abode. I will make pizza and other finger food. I would like to create safe and non-intimidating performance opportunities for all of us adults beginners / re-starters. I will post it as a separate thread in the forum as soon as I got the date confirmed. I am looking forward to it. Let me know by PM if you would like to attend. I will send out contact information.

I played last night at my teacher's relatively informal "adult recital practice" session. That's something they set up in the last year to try to get adults (and older, more advanced children) performing in front of their peers more regularly. Anyway, I finally managed to give a creditable performance of the Rameau so I think we can check that off the list now. Phew! (Well, need to get a reasonable recording too.)

So on to newer pieces ...

That's great Andy! I think it is good to play music with others- helps build up confidence. I am fortunate in that I have a friend who plays violin ( and is also learning viola and cello) so she comes to hear me play and brings her violin. I am going to be working on making some little tunes - chord based so we can sort of jam together. My Piano is a semitone down from concert pitch ( being antique) so she has to tune her violin down a bit and if I prepare something first makes it easier.
You are doing well with your playing learning Chopin and Rameau.
How long have you b een playing the piano?

I know the week ain't over, but just wanted to share with everyone my new-found enthusiasm.

I sort of *quit* piano this year - not really quit, but just stopped learning new stuff. I tried maintaining a bit of my rep. though, so I can still play on command a few things...

Anywho....I FINALLY finished "learning all the notes" on Bach Invention 1!!! I worked on this piece on and off (mostly off during 2012) for over a year, and learned the notes on the last 6 measures this past week (3 this past weekend). I really put the "pedal to the metal" ---- LOL, even though you never pedal the inventions...get it?? ----- sorry, bad piano joke --- this past week and crammed the 6 measures in. The whole piece is now memorized!! (woo hoo).

It's nice to be *into* piano again, though...it's almost like an old buddy that I've neglected for months...but...the layoff has done me well. I have a new plan and goals and find myself thinking about piano again.

PS-EdwardianPiano: I like your avatar dude.

Hi all,

I message this forum a quite while ago. This year I went to the cookery school. But I was so busy studying. There was almost no time to play piano. Let alone to read this forum.

Finally, this week is my LAST week of school!!

I can play and study piano again!! WooHooo!!

I'm very excited!! And I can read the forum again too.

Anyway, this summer I tried to do some scales for the first time. Well, I found them too boring, so to make it more interesting I tried some chopin op 10 no 12 fingering at a very low speed.

I asked my teacher if she could learn me that piece at a speed ten times lower or so. And to my surprise she said yes! I can't believe I'm allowed to study this piece! I love my teacher!

Well, now I almost know the notes of the first page and almost succeed to do them to play in time. The chords are so beautiful. Can't wait to let my teacher hear my progress.

My hands are slow, but luckily big enough to make the piece not really impossible. Pfewww....

My enlightened moment was yesterday. I sat down to practice "Moonlight" and was treated to a glorious full moon right out the window to my left.
Now after two months of practice the piece it sounding like a whole piece not simply measures 8-32 sounding good, but wonderously whole. I was playing it from the begining and the sound was so bewitching I was entranced by it and I lost my focus around the 38th measure and missed the next note, came back to reality. At that momemt all those hours spent working on a single measure, attempting to understand it, was worth a thousand times over...

Hello again Paperclip, it's nice to see your post! I think you gotta buy yourself a gift to celebrate for your graduation from the school. I suggest 24 recipes for chopin 24 etudes since you are a chef and studying Chopin Etude. Here's link in Amazon ... http://www.amazon.com/Chez-Chopin-24-Etudes-Recipes/dp/B004YP3TZK
I cannot remember what dish was for op 10 - 12. Anyway, it's a fun book.

Andy, congratulations for playing well. I am jealous for your situation!! what a wonderful teacher who gives so much performance opportunities. i have to create my own opportunities - i am trying to set up a piano party now in my house since there is no opportunity for me to play for others.

Cebukid - It's a great accomplishment to get the notes for your first (i am guessing) invention down. I love every one of them.

Irene - Sounds like you are having an awesome time. Experiences like this make us see where life and beauty abound.. Cool

Luna and Jim F, could there be an opera duo?

Edwardian - It's nice to have someone to play with. I think you will be recording a duet very soon

My achievement is being able to play through the f minor prelude from WTC Book II. My teacher said that we would move to the fugue - I am so excited. i love this particular fugue. Brahms piece is going well as well. I like it so much I am now thinking that i might do the whole Op 118.. (just kidding), may be a couple more. I love short pieces like this. I am so happy that I don't need to do Chopin Ballade #1. My old teacher told me that I should try but I knew I would not be able to handle it at this time. I do not like to do anything so way over my level. I could do it if I spend a whole year - but it's not fun to do the same piece for a whole year... at least it's not for me. For Chopin, we will do an Etude Op 10 #3. It would be difficult but it would not kill me like the Ballade would have (LOL).

I taught myself as a teen, but just playing from fake books and the like. That was a few decades ago. 2 1/2 years ago I decided to improve and wanted to play classical pieces so I started lessons. So I had a running start at it.

PaperClip and Cebukid, welcome back! It is great to see you here again and to know you're having fun with piano!

Farm Girl, sounds like you are really rolling along making great progress with your new teacher. I think it is so wonderful you'll be having a Piano Party! I wish I were closer so I could join you!

Andy -congrats on the Rameau!

Liz Anne - learning things that seem "basic" are fundamental - we all have to learn them at some point (and some of us have to take a step backwards because we missed the concept the first time around! ) All steps, even baby ones - are fun to be enthusiastic about!

Valencia - how great you were able to record for a friend, I bet she loved that!

Luna- it would be splendid to hear your singing...and in a Puccini piece played by JimF ! Well, how cool would that be!??

Piano Deb, glad you're happy with your tuning. I hope to have mine sorted out soon!

Irene - what a marvelous experience! You created a fantastic image in my mind!

I had my second lesson with the new teacher today. He was quite pleased with what I'd been able to achieve this past week and had some interesting suggestions for bringing out the "poetry" of the pieces, giving them a fuller, richer sound.
I really like the way he speaks and explains things and I feel on cloud nine with renewed enthusiasm !