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Thanks everyone for your reponses! My struggle around O Sole Mio isn't so much around the playing… with fingers, at least. My problem comes from pedalling. I just can't seem to get it right.

I don't go overboard (by any stretch!) with perfecting these pieces but, because I can't do the pedaling, I can't mark it as "done". It's annoying because I can do the earlier pedal exercise just fine, and there are no other in-between pedaling exercises in the AiO book.

I'm also very tempted to drop the AiO book 2 and pick up the standard 2B books instead. They seem to cover pedaling a bit more in those, and the repertoire seems a little bit more exciting and varied. 2B seems to go over a few things that I've already done, but 3A looks a little too advanced right now.

Oh, I've also started working on this jazzy Jingle Bells piece. It's a little out of my comfort zone, and I doubt I'll have it perfected in full by Christmas, but I'm having fun with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c6Hd16Rbzo

Welcome! I used Musiah for a while. I think I got to level 6? It was great for improving my timing, I think. I stopped using it because I got a new piano which is away from my computer. There's been an iPad version "coming soon" for a long time now, but it doesn't seem to get mentioned anymore.

Well, I finally finished with Faber 3A! After a short holiday break I'll start on 3B in Jan. that lesson will also mark 2 years of lessons. I'm going to work on some Vince Guaraldi Christmas tunes during the break.

Fantastic! Make sure you have the 2nd edition of the 3B books, including the sight-reading book.

I'll be curious as to your thoughts and experiences as you progress through this next level.

Brian

I will have 2nd Edition, the 3A books were 2nd Edition as well.

Hi everyone. Sorry about not updating for a while, but this is the busy season for me at work. But now that the Christmas rush is pretty much over things are back to normal.

Blackjack - I envious that you're able to memorize each of your pieces. The class teacher was not happy with my attempt to memorize what was supposed to be a recital piece. Well, to be more accurate, she didn't like that I couldn't play and follow along to the sheet music. Therefore, no safety net if I blanked during a live performance.

Brian - I enjoyed listening to A Spanish Waltz and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Both were great!

Ralph - Lots of great milestones and goals in that list. You've accomplished a lot in such a short time - well done!

Skyzero - Welcome to PW! Since you're previous experience is coming back you'll probably get through the first book in no time.

Trevor - No point in sticking with the AiO if you're not happy with it. I sympathize with you about the pedaling. That's something I haven't gotten the hang of yet.

PFred - Congrats on your progress. Enjoy your holiday break.

My group piano classes ended for the semester. I had gotten as far as unit 6 in the second adult all in one book. I won't be signing up for the next group class because I found a private teacher instead. Get this Brian - she's been teaching piano for about 50 years! We had our first meeting yesterday and we decided that (for now at least) instead of continuing with the Faber's method we'll be using the Succeeding with the Masters Festival Collection books along with a sprinkling of other genres for variety.

Well, it's been fun. Good luck to all of you. Who knows, I may end up back with the Faber's method one day.

Best of luck Linda on your new teacher for 2016. Sorry to see you go though...

Keep in touch from time to time.

Brian

As Brian requested, here's the year in review.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
I continue to use both Fundamental Keys and Faber AAiO1. Along with supplemental materials. In FK I have played all of the pieces up to page 66 - Horvath's Canzonetta. This represented learning 11 new pieces. In AAiO1, which I started at the end of June, I have worked through the first 10 chapters as far as Half-time Band. I have certainly enjoyed working with Faber and it has really filled in a lot of the material I thought was missing from FK.

In addition, I have worked with The Festival Collection Preparatory book to have supplemental pieces to play. Another thing, I started doing was looking at the RCM exams to see what skills you should have at various levels. I worked on the requirements for the Preparatory A exam and a advanced playing piano friend felt I new the material well. I don't feel the need to actually sit for the exams but the guidance they provide, I have found helpful.

Lastly, joining PW and the ABF! You have all been so helpful.

PIANO SKILLS UNDERTAKEN:

Sight reading - I am now able to play the left or right hand separately for a piece I am trying to learn fairly accurately as long as the interval is not above a 4th. I need a little more practice on 5th and 6ths but I think that is coming up real soon in Faber. I find it helpful to get a sense of the sound of the piece before I listen to a recording.

Learning some of the Pentascales : C, D, F, G, A major and A, E, D minor

Playing songs with eighth notes and learning how to play a single eighth note after a dotted quarter note.

Finally getting to play the Black Keys!

Playing two handed pieces with non-chord left hand accompaniment to right hand melody - actually this is not how FK works so I have never done the chord accompaniment. Even very early pieces in FK are that way. Look at Duettino by Thomas Attwood. This was my 4th piece.

Transposing a piece to a different key or location. I had a lot of fun with Czerny's Going Downtown. Once I had the piece memorized, I played around with it starting in various locations on the keyboard or moving one hand up or down an octave. It was a lot of fun to try and see which combinations had a pleasing sound and which did not.

CURRENT FOCUS/'GOALS:

Try to maintain a repertoire of 3 pieces I can play from memory.
Getting my counting to be a more consistent
These last few days of the year I am just going back and playing older pieces. For FUN!


“ON THE HORIZON” FOCUS/'GOALS:

In Faber, its on to Greensleeves and I am hoping to complete AAiO1 by the end of March and start on AAiO2.
In, Fundamental Keys, the next pieces are Turk's Minuetto and Wohlfahrt's Village Dance.
I'm going to attempt the 40 Piece Challenge in 2016 and learn how to record music for the recitals. Better get the piano tuned too!

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to all.

Sounds like a pretty good year to me

Hopefully 2016 will be even better!

OK, here are mine for 2015:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

1) Finished up Faber Level 3A
2) Started Faber Level 3B (First edition)
3) Re-Started (and completed) Faber Level 3B (2nd edition)
4) Composed five pieces, and performed two at our teacher's adult recitals
5) 1000+ posts in Piano World
6) Started Book 2 of the Faber Developing Artist series
7) Studied and completed two Beethoven pieces (original form)
8) Completed the ABF "40 pieces a year challenge" (81 total)

PIANO SKILLS UNDERTAKEN:
1) Spent quite a bit of time using the Faber sight reading books. I'm doing considerably better in this regard than last year.
2) Pentascales for all major and minor keys
3) Sixteenth notes!

CURRENT FOCUS/'GOALS:
1) Getting a good start in Level 4.
2) Better practice habits
3) Try to lower the anxiety level of live performances
4) Better deal with "Red Light Syndrome"

“ON THE HORIZON” FOCUS/'GOALS:
1) Complete Faber Level 4
2) Complete Faber DA Book 2
3) Learn and pass one or more Mozart pieces (original form)
4) Learn and pass "Wiosna" by Chopin (original form)
5) Try to continue to contribute to the ABF recitals
6) Complete the "40 pieces a year challenge" for 2016

Happy Holidays to all.

It's great to see everyone's accomplishments. I'll come back with mine soon!

Just dropping in with a quick update. I've made the switch from the AaiO Book 2 to the regular 2B books! I feel like it was a great decision. There's just so much more supportive information.

I was struggling quite a bit with the pedal so I've dropped myself in at Unit 6 which seems to match up perfectly to where I was in AaiO 2 at the end of Unit 2. Unit 6 has a huge amount of pedal practice material (plus more the other books). Additionally, I wasn't happy with my sight reading progress, and the accompanying sight reading books are exactly what I need.

The bundle of books was pretty overwhelming at first (I still haven't found a teacher), but now I've grounded myself in the lesson book (and use that as an anchor to dip into the other books) I feel a lot more in control.

Anyway, onwards!

Fantastic TrevorM!

I think you articulated very well why our teacher prefers the PA series in general. The other core books all revolve nicely around the Lesson book. And don't forget the Sight-reading supplement. I now do all five days of sight-reading exercises before starting in on the actual piece in the lesson book.

Have a great holiday. I'll be tuning in to all of the Boxing Day matches over your neck of the woods Saturday morning!

Thanks, Brian. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see how you all are doing.

Hi Linda,

Congrats on finding a teacher!! I know that you were looking for a while, so that is excellent news. Finding a good teacher can be extremely challenging. I think you'll enjoy having private lessons again. I'm sure we will run into each other in the various threads on here!

As for your recital, maybe your new teacher will have some recitals that you can take part in as part of her studio in the future As for me I have to admit I'm quite relieved to not have any recital for another 12 months. I really prefer just to play for myself

Thanks, Blackjack. At least this time it's an actual certified teacher (as opposed to someone from craigslist or wyzant), so there's hope. Recitals never came up during our first meeting, so I'm not sure if she even has them. Like you, I also really prefer playing just for my own enjoyment, except I do enjoy the challenge of participating in the PW quarterly recitals. I'll see you around!

As I begin my 3rd year of lessons this week, I've also started the 3B books. Lots of minors from the looks of it.

Fred

Best of luck PFred!

I'll be very curious as to your experiences with 3B. Most of the pieces are still fresh in my mind.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll finally pass the duet in the back of the Performance 3B book, and at that point I'm 100% done those books.

Here is mine

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

1) Completed the Accelerated books and started 3A
2) Practiced an average of 1 hour every day
3) Developed my sight reading skill and less reliant on memory
4) Learnt and recorded every piece from the three core book (lessons, technique and performance)


PIANO SKILLS UNDERTAKEN:
1) Sight reading and less reliance on memory
2) The major scales of C F G
3) Triplets

CURRENT FOCUS/'GOALS:
1) Begin level 3B soon
2) Video record my performance so I can see my body posture, etc
3) Post more on YouTube to get people to post comments and feedback
4) Improve on certain technical skills


“ON THE HORIZON” FOCUS/'GOALS:
1) Begin Level 4 later this year
2) Learn a few Blues and Jazz pieces from the level 3 Jazz book
3) Learn and play some New Age pieces from Kevin Kern, etc

Hi guys and gals,

I wonder if someone could help me here.

There is a piece in 3B which is giving me a bit of trouble. It is called 'the fly's adventure'. I love this piece and it is quite easy to learn. Now you may be wondering what the heck is the problem then.

Well.....I am finding it not so easy to play. At that speed I just can't seem to be able to play the triplets evenly. Any hints or tips on how I can accomplish this would be most welcome.

BrianDX, what's next?