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Palmpirate that's good! Isn't it funny how we focus so much on getting the notes right (well, of course we do! and must!) that we somehow fail to notice that what is beginning to take shape under our hands is really musical! I am finding it helpful record my practice often (so I don't worry about whether any particular run-through is "perfect"). When I listen, I often realize that the "clangs" or hesitations that throw me off are really much less noticeable in the overall experience of the piece.

Someone pointed out that if we were giving a speech, no one would be counting the number of times we said "um, ah" or started a sentence and then changed a word or two (well, they might start counting if we did it excessively). People want to hear what we have to say, and people want to hear why we love this music that we are playing. That's what I'm trying to focus on, anyway!

So glad you WOWED yourself!

Thanks Qwerty53. Love your speech analogy. I can relate to that too and am not nearly so judgmental.
Glad to read you are making progress.
Recording has its own different stresses. I find I almost resent having to spend the time listening through when I could be playing again..... and there’s two types of recording , to capture a performance live, or to get things edited right. Not that I do much of either but what I’ve done has been enough that I’m in no rush to do more.
As a practice tool perhaps if it’s only for short passages I could give it a try again, then there won’t be so much listening involved!

This particular substitute teacher was a former student of my regular teacher, so there wasn't a lot that was different, though he did provide me with some written comments and suggestions for practice. My regular teacher will write comments on the score, or I'll write down the comments, but she doesn't otherwise give me written suggestions to take home. I've had subs in the past that will suggest different fingering and different pedaling; sometimes it's very helpful, other times not.

With the current sub, we worked mainly on a piece that I hadn't yet played for my regular teacher, so we'll see if there are differences. The sub called attention to the melody line in the piece (Debussy's Reverie), which moves between the right and left hands. Bringing out the melody with my left hand is still a work in progress. I can do it with HT scales and arpeggios, but in the heat of playing an actual piece, not so much (though I can do it with my right hand).

First lesson back after St Goar, two months ago now.
So proud of having actually played there and not making a hash of it!
It has given me a whole new understanding of what playing the piano is all about, and just how long and hard that road to becoming a pianist with a capital P really is.
And there’s no way I could have achieved this without the help of my teacher, my piano guru, someone who has become a dear friend to whom I am tremendously grateful.

What to do next! Well I really want to finish that Chopin Nocturne, No 8, opus 27 no 2.
Now that I really understand what it takes to bring something up to performance level, I am so frustrated with myself. It’s been over a year since I first looked at this, and I still do stupid things, like miss a bass note by a 3rd, or get a sequence incorrect. - No, that A natural comes later, it’s still Ab right now....Augh!
I’ve tried all sorts of tricks to get it into my head, even found an on-line theoretical analysis, figured out the chord sequences myself. And that was a major challenge since it’s over 40 yrs since I studied that stuff.
But do I really need to know all that to play the notes? In the end it’s putting the right fingers on the right notes and voicing the melody or theme wherever it is, and just doing what the score asks you to.
So it’s back to the practice bag of tricks. Ghosting the different notes; playing out the bottom, tops, or middle notes of chords; playing alternate notes in passages and runs starting with the first and then the second note; playing odd rhythms, ta te then te ta etc.
One new suggestion this week, try being an athlete with the left hand. Get the runs as fast as you can, accurately of course, but do interval training, sprint then walk, sprint then walk.....then it will feel leisurely at a gentle tempo.
I don’t know, running a hundred meters never looked so far...... when I used to run and wasn’t too sure, the first thing to do was put on your running shoes, and somehow you get up and run.
So to play the piano, the first thing to do is sit on the bench ........

Well done, palmpirate!

After an "okay" lesson last night (getting towards the end of Alfred's AIO Book 1), I went through a Chopin prelude my teacher gave me to work on. It's very pretty, short, and well within my skill level. After going through it, he asked me "do you realize how far you've come since you started?" It really made me feel that I am making progress, even when I sometimes think I'm not.

It is so easy to beat ourselves up and forget how much progress we've made. Bless your teacher for reminding you!

Palmpirate it sounds as if you have made a big leap in your musical development!

Stubbie, how wonderful to have your teacher acknowledge how far you have come!

Thank you for the nice thought, but I was referencing Palmpirate's post where the teacher gave the compliment/encouragement.

My teacher does on occasion compliment something I've done. They're not the "nice job" type of compliments (see the Piano Teachers subforum), but hard-earned on my part and I treasure them!

Stubbie, Qwerty53, Pathguy. Thanks for your support here. Let me send my congrats to you too. Chopin may have some 'shorter' pieces but they are no less challenging! And i'ts always easier if you learn them right the first time round. I had terrible teachers when I was a kid so some of those earlier ones for me will take a lot of work to get right. I'd rather do something new even though it is challenging. I don't know those Alfred books I read so many of you follow. Maybe its a trip to the music store to browse through them and know what you are all doing!
Lesson for me tomorrow , Hope you all have a great week at the keys!

Well, it's been a week of failure and success.....

I was unable to get a good recording of the nocturne I've been working on, with what I considered a 'fatal' error on each take, so I sat this one out. However, I have worked hard to commit it to memory.

Coming across two opportunities to play on public pianos, however, proved more fruitful. One was in the hospital lobby where I occasionally work. I sometimes jump on during a very quiet weekend, but this week, I was prompted by someone's comment to sit during a more busy lunchtime on a weekday. I played the nocturne and actually got some applause when I finished.

Last night I found myself at dinner with an old friend at a small, local Italian restaurant. They had an old grand piano with a house pianist playing some Sinatra. At around 10 pm, when the place was mostly emptied out, my friend coerced me to play him something. He asked the pianist if I may, and I again played the nocturne, again to a small round of applause.

Both encouraging events!

Yay cmb13! It would be really something if I ever memorized anything! Three Blind Mice is about it!
Had a good lesson myself this week. Played the Chopin Nocturne, No8, that I'm working on, all the way through, quite smoothly, very slowly, though it is quite slow anyway. I've the last 10 or so bars form 61 left to really get done. I want it smooth my Xmas. Meanwile a romp through 'Winter wonderland ' , 'Rudolph' and a few other holiday favorites give some light relief!

Thanks, Palmpirate....I love No. 8 also, but it'll have to wait. I played 20 (C#min) and have been toying with 72.1 (Emin), designing whether to commit to a second one. No 8 is a little farther down the road for me.

Regarding memorizing, you might try, just do a small section at a time. I've also decided to try to learn from the end back, as some have suggested, allowing me to lead in to what I know already.

Cmb13,

Nice job jumping on those public pianos to play the nocturne. That takes a lot of courage. It's so easy to be self-critical with pieces we work on for months at a time. Easy to forget that most listeners are just trying to enjoy the experience and sound of the instrument and the music. All we have to do is get out of the way sometimes.

No real achievements for me. CDL is "finished" and I'm taking a little break working on "a bag of tricks", as my teacher calls it, to help me make arrangements from lead sheets of old rock or jazz tunes. If there is any aotw it would be that we decided the C# minor Nocturne would be my next piece... likely starting after the holidays.

Jim

Thanks, Jim...funny, I took on the Nocturne before CDL; I thought I could handle the nocturne but not CDL. You'll probably find it easier, I suspect. I just started playing the nocturne in Emin (72.1) and find that once I've tackled the first, the second becomes a little less overwhelming.

cmb13, I am just getting caught up after a trip out of state, and then catching up on the ABF Recitals, but I wanted to congratulate you on your public performances of your Nocturne! How wonderful to have it memorized so you can play when there is an opportunity. I'm hoping to continue polishing my Piazzolla so I can keep it always "in my pocket" for such an occasion.

Thanks qwerty, I agree - your piece is definitely worth it. I’d memorize it. I have to get my Piazzolla piece back. It’s close, just needs a little time. I had it memorized when I learned it but not solidly enough.

I played a couple of pieces completely at random, just sat at the piano and worked out the notes, and even got the LH parts down, fairly well coordinated.

Hi,
Played for friends after Thanksgiving dinner. (I think the glass of wine helped.)

I did not have a repertoire prepared. My friend & I shared a few Christmas songs for the children to encourage them to join the Children's choir this year. I was able to play a few songs by ear and with some basic left hand chord patterns we sang a few bars of our Christmas church favorites!

Couldn't have done it without the encouraging words from YT Channel Karen Ramirez. I started watching her channel to get some practice ideas on chord progressions. I'm on a break from formal lessons and have been reviewing theory and playing in different keys. :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

I'm a 48 year-old who started learning piano in September 2017. I passed my Grade 1 in March 2018 and took my Grade 2 at the start of this month.

Last night, I got a message from my teacher saying that I got 121 points which means I got a merit Very happy so onto Grade 3 now