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Thank you! I just use an app on my android phone called Easy Voice Recorder which has music/raw sound mode. At some point, I'll try to figure out how to place the phone at the right angle to record hand playing in video...

I'll need to re-do Carol of the Bells now

Have fun to all Faberites

Oh, I would love to hear a recital! Don’t think I would be brave enough to do it, but it would sure be an inspiration for me!!! enw10, I would love to hear a duet by you and your daughter, that would be so special! Wish4Thing, You are so supportive, and your pieces are just getting better and better! tbonesays, Chili_Time, and dobro, you all have so much to offer, would love to hear from you too!

I just made a major jump ahead in my lessons, I am now learning sharps! I am also getting to the point where I can finally get through a piece without too many mistakes, and most important, very little tension, thanks to my teacher!!! Still a long way to go, but am moving forward!

Fran...

@pagirl, it’s great that you recognize and avoid that tension, I constantly try to stay clear of it. I even have a “tension” sign with the line thru it as a reminder on my music stand. Keep up that forward attitude.

I hope to be back with the faberites here soon as I’ve went back to Alfreds 1 to refresh on some pieces there. I’m not putting any pressure on myself and just having fun. I hope everyone here has a great holiday and I wish you all well with your studies and progress.

"Just having fun" is the key. Merry Christmas to you!

I agree with Noble House, “Just have fun,” and it sure doesn’t hurt to go back and review. I try to do that even with pieces I’ve finished. Enjoy the Holidays, but give yourself plenty of ‘rest’ breaks🙂

Fran...

Also agree on the fun.This is a hobby for me so enjoyment is the objective!

Just like dobro said, play in a relaxed manner because you are enjoying it. PA Girl, you are making great progress. I already test out my weekly lesson at open mic night at a local coffee house. A Faber themed recital would be fun, I think I used Audacity the last time I recorded for PW.


No time for NYRs, I'm off to Level 5.

I seem to recall the OP of this thread said only 1% of the Faber students get to level 5. That's quite an achievement!

I'm taking it easy and slow too (on last song of unit 1 in lesson book 3A)

Happy new year and happy pianoing to all!

@tbonesays, congratulations on your move to 5, I agree with @Wish4_Thing above in that it’s quite an achievement. Pretty soon you won’t even know us little beginners. Kidding aside, I applaud your discipline as we have at least an idea of what that takes.

Congrats, tbonesays! I just started level 5, too I'm a little overwhelmed. I really hate the Jazz Reflection review piece... it's not difficult, but I absolutely hate the way it sounds. I've only felt that way about a couple of pieces so far ("Morning" in Adult AIO2 and "Tropical Island" in 3B). Then, in the performance book, I've got Allegro in A Major, which is fine... except I'm having a hard time getting the tempo above about 70%. Not off to a great start, but I'll see what my teacher says.

I heard a really beautiful song in a movie the other day and went online and found an easy arrangement of it. That's always been my goal: to be able to play beautiful music that I hear, so it felt really great to see that I'm actually getting there! I can't wait for the day when I can play the not-easy arrangements or even the original versions of beautiful songs I hear!

Congrats!!!!

I don't think many people that begin piano make it to level 5 so you are a rare student. I did a quick check on Amazon just to get a feel for how many fewer level 5 books get sold. Here are the results.

Level 1 - Lesson Book: Piano Adventures #4 in Piano (Books) #1,114 in Books

Level 5 - Lesson Book: Piano Adventures #270 in Piano (Books) #61,231 in Books

Keep up the good work, enw10!

I just gave myself a pass on "Looking Glass River". One problem I have is that, the piece is marked Andante but bpm is 112-120, that's pretty fast for me...

My new piano has a recording feature, so I played around with it this weekend. It took multiple (as in a lot) of play throughs to get one that was close to mistake free. Anyway this is the best out of many attempts on Snowflake Rag. Hope the link works. I'm still fgiring out soundcloud and recording and uploading.

I am in awe of people whio can play real Joplin Rags!

https://soundcloud.com/chili-time/snowflake-rag-faber-3a

I like that @Chili_Time, I’ve been redoing The Entertainer” from Alfreds 1 and this sounds somewhat like a juiced of version of that. The bass sounded good and solid, bridge, and ending clean and on point. Great job.

Very nice, Chili_Time! I like the way you touch the keys since mine (Looking-Glass River) sounds like I'm hammering it... Thanks for sharing so I can learn from you!

Wonderful recording, Chili-Time! So even and yet at a fast tempo, Not easy to do!

Fran...

You make me wish I was already at your level! Your song is lovely! I am just now addressing the problem of how to touch the keys without sounding like I’m hitting them too hard. My teacher helped me do this just a few days ago, and it really does help, just to touch press down gently, then let up, after the count. Hope I’ve got that right...So much to learn, but I’m loving it!

Fran...

Thank you all so much. You are all so very encouraging!

I wish I could play it like that every time but that was the best I could do out of about 30 takes some of which were total train wrecks. LOL My teacher has helped me so much from the beginning days.

The journey is the fun part, so enjoy it.

Need an edit! 😆 Press down gently! From the wrist!!! Don’t want to forget that!

Fran...