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@Tararex
Great story, it is no wonder you are so chuffed.

I took my digital piano to my grandmother's so she could hear me play.
She broke down in tears, she was so happy there was someone to continue the music in the family as she sang soprano solos in the choir many decades ago, she was good enough to be on the radio a few times during church broadcasts.

It felt good to make her proud, even though the pieces are easy.

Haha, great story, promising indeed

@wimpiano

Thank you sir. Appreciate it much, I'm quite excited to begin.

Thanks Cathy, yes I'm very excited to have found this opportunity and to take advantage of it within months.

Thanks TallGuy, I'm pretty hard to discourage, big umbrella and a hardy carapace donchaknow

SwissMs, you've got moxie. Congratulations!

RagDoll, I know exactly how you're feeling now. Yay!

And thank you so much Earlofmar and others.

You too Whizbang - that's why I decided to start from scratch. Starting up the ladder from the first rung should keep the bruising to a minimum. So...Who's having the family reunion this year cousin?

Jeremy, Wonderful! I'm a grandmom and I'm proud of you too!

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I live in a medium-small town in the middle of nowhere, GA. I was worried about finding a teacher at all let alone one with mad credentials.

I'd like to highlight what a shock to the system a professional teacher is after almost three years of self teaching. I discovered within minutes I know nothing at all about technique. By the end of the lesson my book-only limitations were patently obvious. I'm not saying self teaching is certain to fail as I enjoyed plunking away these past few years. I can "play" a number of pieces to okay standards. But that's all. I want more and that necessitates a teacher who knows the subject. Everyone here who says "get a teacher", well add one more to the consensus.

Another big week for this thread. Congratulations to so many. Thanks for the many interesting stories.

Week 119: I attend a concert featuring the Allant Trio, Beth Nam on piano, Anna Park on violin, Alina Lin on cello. All three have advanced degrees from Julliard. They perform some Haydn, Dvorak, and Murphy (modern) and get a couple of standing ovations from the crowd.

My piano week is on the quiet side. I practice and compose every day. On some days it is less than the hour that I aim for each day. It is mostly the same two pieces that I've been working on for a while, my new original Between Raindrops, and Killing Me Softly.

Great story, Tararex. I've seen the "get a teacher" advice given many times, but never with a personal revelation such as yours. I hope to see you contribute the next time we see a "should I get a teacher thread"!

Me: I'm back to working on on Fur Elise after giving it a two month rest while I was busting my hump getting a place ready for a tenant. My achievement is that after playing the first section, my teacher said "that was wonderful; Horowitz couldn't have done any better." I actually felt like a pianist walking out of that lesson!

Who remembers Shel Silverstein's Melinda Mae?

The Dm Toccata is perhaps progressing more quickly than that; I predict that I will finish it in less than 89 years. My AOW was finally realizing that my teacher and the Alfred's editors are not completely out of their minds for assigning it and placing it in Alfred-3.

Still, it's plenty slow; I'm just taking a few lines each week.

Last night I started to learn Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins. It is perfect for the style of music I love to play,slow and lush and very sentimental.i'm planning to go to the library this week to pick up some more easy piano broadway books.i find it really helps to play tunes that are already familiar in my head.
This morning first thing I worked on my new tune.i'm very excited about it. I plan to work it really well before I bring it to my teacher.

Malkin,



Nah, that's not so slow. I've just spent two weeks on essentially one measure of my recently started Debussy piece. Now, that's plenty slow.

Ragdoll - I am happy that you found a teacher that you are pleased with. My fingers are crossed for you that this one works out better! The right teacher makes all the difference.

Tarex- interesting story of your teacher's lineage. It sounds like she has a lot to teach you!

SilverKeys- Great praise from your teacher! It is nice to get positive feedback to let you know you are on track.

malkin - I remember that Dm Toccata from the Alfred 3 book. It is major finger puzzle, but once it clicks it will go together fast!

Well, I thought I was off to a swift start on my new Villa-Lobos piece (Samba Lele), but it seems I have some more foundation work to do. We spend 1/2 my lesson today getting the gestures on a four note phrase correct. Sometimes I think my brain and my fingers simply have a disconnect. It looks so simple when my teacher does it, but it doesn't consistently sound the same when I do it, and my left calf muscle tries to help. Seems tension will squirt out somewhere and my teacher spots it every time. So, my assignment this week, is to get this single phrase relaxed and correctly choreographed. So, I guess my AOTW is recognising that sometimes you don't know what you don't know until your teacher points it out!

Sometimes it seems like they are deliberately not speaking to each other, doesn't it?!


I love how you put this!


And that's why we pay 'em the big bucks, isn't it?!

It's a very good feeling for certain. I have been teacherless (except for short trials) for nearly 10 months now. AND it really shows!!

Looks like you have acquired a good one as well YAY for you too!

Oh thank you SwissMS so am I. I had my first session with her Friday; it was both delightful and humbling. I had nearly forgotten how valuable a good teacher is. She is a former music teacher and a has very good way/style at the piano. Theory/harmony/technique... the whole enchilada. I think it will be an exciting ride. I'm inspired again.

Originally Posted By: SwissMS



And sometimes I don't know what I think I do know until I do it for my teacher and I realize that's why I need a teacher.

SwissMs,




Isn't it weird how that happens? Same thing with the toes on my left foot...sometimes I realize they are all scrunched up like a fist....often happens when I have worked hard to get hands to relax on a difficult passage. Weirdo piano stuff happens!

I spent the week in Toronto at a conference (Media Ecology) and presenting a paper there could be considered an accomplishment. Making the bus tour to Niagara Falls was spectacular but probably not an accomplishment. I'd never seen the falls up close and personal and their power and beauty cannot be denied. We arrived home at 5:15 and the piano party (my teacher's adult group) was scheduled for 7PM. I knew I could choose not to show up or to show up and not play but a commitment is a commitment. I arrived at her house at 630 and she let me run through my piece (Soaring by American composer Jennifer Linn) to warm up. I played my contribution and it went very well...I hardly noticed my own mistakes. I also played a duet with a fellow student that we'd been practicing but we had never played it together. We started and ended together and had fun making music. Then after an evening of contemporary music (our theme for this party) we drank wine and enjoyed the moment.

My AOTW is just having a blast playing and my teacher being impressed! Pedal work keeps improving. I will try to make another recording for the piano bar.

I've reached half way thru my first piano book, Agay's Joy of First Yr Piano! I don't think I'll move as quickly thru this latter part...it's getting hard! ;))