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

My ATOW is actually being TOTALLY unprepared for my lesson... but not cancelling. (I actually could not bring myself to cancel), and it was a great lesson. Yes, I confessed that I was unprepared and had no idea what we should work on.

The suggestion of my teacher, which we did for the entire lesson, was to talk and play through new repertoire I should have been working on at home this last week. We discussed fingerings, identified problem sections/possible solutions, and discussed how I would approach new repertoire alone.

SOOOOO, never be afraid to go to a lesson and admit that you are not ready for a lesson. You can still learn a lot! It really was energizing.

dogperson - That sounds like a good lesson indeed, and thanks for the reminder that every lesson is valuable, even if you are unprepared. I am always anxious when I go into a lesson when I feel I am not prepared enough. Your reminder puts it into perspective!

I am so happy with my new teacher. She has been a conservatory teacher for 25 years, and normally only teaches post ABRSM 8 students. So I feel very lucky to have her. After each lesson she sends notes that are a critique of each piece or technical exercise, much like one would receive from an examiner in the exam. It points out the strengths as well as the weaknesses, so I know exactly what to practice and how to do it. She never says "fail", she says "revised", which means needs more work! My AOTW - an "excellent!" on my scales, and "improved" on all of my exam pieces. It is nice to feel like I am making progress.

She ask me if I would be willing to pair with another student next week via Skype and play exam pieces for each other. I agreed to do so. It is a little scary, but exciting!

SwissMS so happy for you! That does sound intriguing to SKYPE perform for another student. Way to go Dogperson, I have students (not piano) who opt out when they are unprepared so I'm glad you showed up and learned. I'm anxious before lessons even prepared...usually I learn something useful.

Ahhhh...I do have an AOTW for a change. Our piano group (all students of the same teacher) had our Chopin piano party on Wednesday and I played a Waltz in A minor Opus 34 no 2. Lovely piece and I felt good about my performance. A higher level piece and my accomplishment was playing it after only 2 months of practice.

These pieces take longer and longer to complete.
Working on getting one octave scales in the LH in 32nd notes at the tempo of 70 quarter notes per minute.
And that against other activity in the RH, in a melody mainly in thirds, and a light sprinkle of 6ths.
It sounds great at that tempo and a very nice technique to have.

Recently, a fit of intelligence set in on me, but, I'll probably be over it soon. I was struggling to play a series of descending chords, legato, with each succeeding chord requiring the use of many of the same fingers as the preceding chord. The "legato" part was the problem.

Suddenly, on my own, without provocation, explanation, or remuneration, I came up with the brilliant idea of using the sustain pedal to sustain the first chord until moving my hand to play the next. I thought of it on my own! Never before had I used the pedal without being told or shown to do it by someone else. Could this be a sign of adulthood?

I'm very proud of myself, and of the sounds I am now making.

Discovering a new ability that one's brain can perform, is always rewarding.

Two discoveries got me excited. First, my sight reading is improving out of sight thanks to the 40 pieces a year challenge; and second I discovered my heartrate drops (thanks fitbit)when I'm playing something I love and I'm in the zone (you know, that kind of away with the fairies thing that happens).

You know the way our progress is not linear. Sometimes it can feel really glacial, and then we experience a bit of a breakthrough.
It's subjective of course, but my AOTW is that feeling that a number of things have come together, and that I have actually made some progress

I made a recording of a section of a piece I'm working on yesterday, so I could pay closer attention to how it really sounds & what to focus on. There's lots I need to work on still, but loads about the recording was so much better than I expected. It was a really satisfying feeling!

Barbaram, - that is indeed a great feeling.

My ATOW is not exactly week-specific - just that at my latest lesson it hit me that for the past month or so, at EVERY lesson, my teacher has been saying "good", "that's improved", "better", and sometimes even "very good".

This kind of feedback has not been so forthcoming until very recently - I feel like I've really moved to a new level and that's very exciting.

I have pretty much got Traumerei under my fingers and next week I will have a substitute teacher as mine is away - but the week after we'll start working on the pedaling.
I am also starting on a new Diabelli sonatina - Op 168 N. 1 in F

Gosh, how did we drop down to page 3?

This week my teacher was out of town, and I had a lesson with my first teacher. She hadn't heard me play since last June at another lesson where she subbed for my current teacher.

I was really pleased to get her feedback - she noticed a big difference in my reading fluidity (I sight read part of a sonatina for her) - and she was impressed with my work on Traumerei.

It was great to hear she noticed the big changes I've been feeling.

Who else has an acheivement to talk about ?

I haven't been here in many months due to frustration about how limited I was playing on that 49 key Yamaha.

But I'm back now since I've gotten my hands on a Casio Privia PX-160 so now my real work begins. Definitely been an eye opener and I've only had my new DP since yesterday.

Finally...green lights from teacher to move on beyond measure 25 of Debussy arabesques 1. I have conquered triplet over quarter notes...so much effort from my teacher's side to find the different ways for it to click..so many hours practicing at my end. The elegance is not there yet, but we are moving on...it took 7 weeks of sheer focus to get here ..but I was also working on Satie gnossienne4, which we are now done. Effort does pay off, lot and lots of patience though!

casinitaly, Getting some unanticipated, or not ususal, positive feedback sounds great. It certainly suggests that your teacher has high standards. It sounds like you are at a wonderful spot in your journey. Good for you!

Anita Potter, when you give the keys a rest, check out the Casio's recorded music library. I have the PX-760, which has the same internals as your 160. There are about 50 recorded songs, and it is an outstanding collection. They are so well played, that I usually end up preferring them over the recordings by some of the piano "greats" posted all over YouTube. I especially like Schubert's Moments Musicaux No. 3 and Schubert's March Militaire. I think they are numbers 10 and 12 in the library.

Pianoperformance, well done. Triplets over quarter is such a nice sound, like a nice ornament. For me, the key to those has been hand relaxation. Good luck with the rest of the regimen.

I was having a hard time getting my fingers to match my mind. I practiced a melody with my right and just 1&5th position with the left using a metronome at 67 to start. After practicing off and on in a three day period(slowly), when I went to play it again on the 4th day, it seemed natural and the muscle memory was much better than before.

In a couple of weeks I now know root, Inversion 1, and Inversion 2 for C, D, and Db.
I also have the C major and C# major scales memorized and can play them at a second's notice.
It is not much improvement, but a start:)

Pianoperformance - That cascade at the beginning of Arabesque takes a long time to master, and it is beautiful when it finally clicks. My teacher had me count first the right hand and then the left hand while playing both before she would pass me on it. Congratulations on getting the green light on it!

Casinitaly - It is really rewarding to get a favorable 3rd opinion from another teacher. It sounds like you were very relaxed playing for her, and that you have really improved!

Anita Potter - Have fun with your new piano and welcome back!

As for me, our temporary lease on our rental apartment ended at the end of February, so I spent last week packing and moving to yet another temporary apartment. Fortunately my rental piano came with me. Now it looks like we will not move into our new home until April 1, instead of the planned February 1. My new grand piano is in town, in its shipping box, waiting patiently.

As a result of this chaos, my lesson last week was the worst I have had with this new teacher. I was very tired, and as a result I messed up scales, could not remember some of the 7th chord arpeggios, and botched my Scarlatti terribly. I apologized, and to my surprise, she said "Listen, we all have bad days. You have made amazing improvement in the last two months". Such encouragement and understanding from a teacher goes a long way! So the AOTW that I will claim is simply carrying on through all of this!

Yeah, you guys are really slacking off.

Um, well, what I really mean is that I've really been slacking off. My practice hours are way, way down......have a new hobby competing for my prime early-morning hours, and I so dislike Skype lessons compared to "the real thing." Even so, I'm still making slow progress on Ravel. One benefit of cutting practice hours is being forced to work more efficiently...something that seems to be happening whether by design or necessity.

But my best news is that my teacher is MOVING BACK to my town...
as soon as she can escape her current lease, but at worst by June. Just typing that makes me grin from ear to ear

C - I was very impressed with your Bach in the recital. Your tone and balance between the hands were perfect to my ear.

Anita - Your post brings back memories from when I first moved from a little Yamaha toy to a real DP. You will get used to it in a very short while and then never look back. Then when you get a grand you can do it all over again.

It is nice to hear what everyone is up to. I may not post as much, but I check in and read the threads regularly.

Jim

Greetings. I am afraid I have to report in for absence since Feb 4th. Unexpected turn of events meant thoracic surgery scheduled next week so this was an opportunity to take a trip. Of all the most unlikely candidates for the dreaded lung cancer I had to be the one, totally healthy, clean life style and never smoked. I doubt I'll be back at the keys for a while. I did play yesterday and was amazed how much difference letting pieces 'rest' can make! Still need lots of work though and I look forward to that challenge just as soon as I can start playing again. MYOD For 2017 will have to be a miss but I shall enjoy reading how you all are keeping up with things!

Palmpirate, you'll be in our thoughts and prayers! The piano--and your friends here at PW--will be there for you. Keep strong!

Palmpirate, I'm so sorry to hear about your health difficulties. Stay positive, and bank on the lifestyle of wellness and self care to pull you through this temporary unpleasantness. I wish you the best and look forward to your return.

So sorry to hear about this bad news. Sending good thoughts your way and know all your healthy habits will give you a speedy recovery.