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Wrenn,

Thanks for the informations and the link. Dance of the Hours does looked pretty hard, especially section where you have to maintain LH staccato while playing the poco accelerando at the same time. I love Fantasia, both the music and the animations, and especially enjoyed that scene of the Hippopotamus dancing.

I'm not sure if you've already heard or seen the following YouTube video but I thought that it also sounded very nice on organ as well.



Cheers,

Key Notes

Waltz,

Nice job with Waltz in G Minor, another beautiful tune.

Key Notes

Thanks Key Notes

After hearing Undones's performance of this I had been anticipating it with eager. It's certainly a "Waltz", but it, to me, is slightly dark. Perhaps it's due to the minor key

Hmm, I see what you mean, very smooth and fuid. Beautifully played.

Okay, I'll be brave. Here's my current work-in-progress of "Alexander's Ragtime Band". I would appreciate any tips and pointers as to how I can better improve upon it.

I need to stop short of pulverizing the tips of my fingers, especially the pinkies, practicing this song. They're obviously out of conditions and in desperate need of getting more exercises.

Alexder's Ragtime Band

Cheers,

Key Notes

Waltz – I’ve done a little Hanon and I’ve tried a few arpeggios, but for the most part I’m just doing scales right now. I should add arpeggios; when I first tried them I was having trouble understanding just how I should be playing them, I should probably give them another look now.

Undone

Waltz – Great job on “You in G Minor”. I really liked playing that piece myself, yes it does have a rather “dark” mood to it, but I think that’s one of the things I really like about it.

Undone

Key Notes – Way to be brave! You’re doing quite well with “ARB” and that’s no easy piece. It’s always best to start out strong, people are paying close attention as you begin and will notice things that may otherwise slip by them later in the piece, so in the spirit of "tips and pointers" I would just point out that the rhythm of you first measure (and several other places where this is repeated) is a little rushed. (I’m speaking of the part where the lyrics would be “Come on and hear” or “Come on along”.)

Try listening to just that first couple of measures on either page one of this thread (John Frank’s) or Always Wanted To Play Piano’s recording here: http://www.box.net/shared/ygm84tc1lp and then maybe try singing the words to yourself as you play this part.

Undone

Key Notes,

I enjoyed listening to that, and I think you're already playing the piece rather well. I noticed that, through some of the tricky spots, there were some hesitations, which is understandable. I also agree with Undone, in that you are playing the piece quickly. Perhaps slowing it down a tad would help smooth it out. Regardless, you certainly have the technical aspects of this piece down.

Undone,

Thanks so much about Waltz in G min!
Also, I am just like you, I only do scale exercises. I've really tried to to arpeggios from this book I have, but I really, really suck at them. Perhaps when I am better at playing piano I will add them to my practice routine. For now, however, only scales for me as well.

Thanks Undone and Waltz for the wonderfully helpful hints and pointers. I definitely agree that I needed to slow the over-all tempo down just a bit.

In addition to the segments that Undone had already mentioned, I also thought that I should be taking a bit of a longer pause/break (breath) in between each phrase or sentences of the song as well.

Asides from the lack of skills and talents, I have to also confess that I was kind of rushing it a bit after a (gazillion) takes. Needed to get up early for an early morning hike.

It has definitely been the most challenging and fun piece to learn so far.

Thanks again.

Key Notes

Key Notes - ARB is not an easy piece to play well - you've got a real good start - keep working on it and it will fall in place soon - good luck!

Regards, JF

As a quick update, I've passed Theme from 6th Symphony and Fascination and am currently hard at work on Deep River.

I'm very ambivalent about DR. Overall, I like the piece, it sounds nice and is fun to play: but rolling the chords all over the place is a major drag and sometimes I think it would sound better (at least for my playing) if I didn't roll them at all.

I have a question for everyone out there and here:

When you are practicing a piece you've learned (by learned I mean have the capacity to play fluently), what do you do when you make a simple error while playing (missed note etc)? Do you:

A. Keep going
B. Go back to the error and replay the mistake correctly, then keep going.
C. Go back to the beginning and replay.

I'm very curious and I would like to hear from everyone. . .

Waltz: I just started working on Fascination this morning; seems like it won't be too bad. It is mere distraction though because I'm also working on Canon in D at the back of book 2 and I bought the Dan Coats arrangement of Canon in D that's a bit more complex. I'm very pleased to know that the arrangement in Alfred book #2 has prepared me well for the harder version.

As for practicing I'm curious what others say as well. I think once you learn a piece you should just keep going. If you were in a recital you shouldn't stop and backup and replay.

That said, I tend to stop and replay that section; but I don't think it's good. If you keep stumbling over the same area, focus on playing just that section to get it absolutely correct and then go back to playing it.

But you are saying you don't return to the very beginning of the piece in attempt at a "perfect" play-through?

Oh yes, I will attempt to play the piece again perfectly from the beginning; but I think it is good to try and get to the end if it's only a minor stumble. If I botch it big time I'll stop completely and start over

Sometimes I practice late at night though and when my fingers start stumbling, I know I've been at it too long so I'll hang it up for the night to return again another time.

Yea, that's what I meant, for minor errors. . . This is the habit I'm trying (difficulty) to break.

I adore the feeling of running through an entire piece flawlessly, but the odds of it happening in any one run (depending on the length of the score) aren't very high. This is especially true of pieces with damn repeats (Ballin' the Jack comes to mind immediately)

I feel that I waste much precious practice time "redoing" the same areas over and over in an attempt to play it through, beginning to end, without any erroneous notes or botched dynamics.

Even though it feels "nice", I hate myself for wasting, and I stress wasting, so much practice time for that petty exultation.

Can any of you relate? Nancy W or anyone? Thanks. . .

Waltz:

That's a tough one. Even the songs I'm pretty good at - I still make mistakes on; but if I'm playing just for the pleasure of making music then I might utter an obscenity under my breath, but try to keep going. I don't consider that part of my 'practice' necessarily, just playing to enjoy it. I'll make less mistakes as time goes on.

I think if you're getting too stressed over getting it absolutely perfect then you might want to move on to a different song for a while. There's nothing saying you can't go back to the song again in a week or two. Or even flip back and forth between a few for a while. If you really enjoy that song; then it could be worth more concentrated effort; but I find setting it aside for a bit sometimes helps me play it better in the long run.

If I'm having fun - I keep it up. I'm an adult and nobody can make me do pushups in Karate class anymore if I don't want to!

-Nancy

I try and continue playing if its a minor mistake and I dont lose all my concentration. Then when I have finished I'll go back to the place I made the mistake and play the section 4-5 times to see if it was just an accident, or if its a more serious issue with that section that needs more work.

If I’m “practicing” a piece I’ve already learned, I will always try to keep going. If you ever play a live recital, in a group, or accompanying a singer it’s an important skill to learn and if you get in the habit of stopping at each mistake, it can be hard to break that habit.

Now, if I’m trying to make a recording of a piece, then I will more likely stop and start over. But whether its practice or recording, I know that I can only keep working on a piece for so long before I start making more and more mistakes. So I find it important to know when to stop working on one piece for the day and move on to something else. Sometimes the “going for a good recording” will take longer (in terms of days) then the initial “learning”. I don’t think of it as a waist of time (for me), and feel that I have benefited some from the process.

If I keep making the same mistake in the same place, then it’s time to work on just that section for a while.

Undone