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Wow ebonykawai your summer is starting off a lot busier than mine

I think your strategy as far as Level 4 is concerned is pretty sound. Had this been six months ago knowing what I know now, I would have split my studies the following way: 50% PA Level 4 Lesson and Performance books only; 25% repertoire (In my case Faber Developing Artist Literature Book 2); 25% "special assignments" from my teacher and other sources.

A this point we'll see how the summer goes, however I'm starting to think maybe I should do the same thing for Level 5 as well.

We'll see...

I'm also thinking I'll go through level 5. With the addition of appropriate level repertoire, I can't see how any of it would be a waste of time. There really is a lot of small bits of information scattered within PA that I now appreciate. I think it's a good direction!

Happy first day of Summer!!

Wow Ebony....congrats..looks like you breezed through Level 3B. I am still stuck on unit 2 of that level. The going is tough for me.

I can't wait to learn The Spy.

Mario, it's only because I played before, for about 3 years. I've been trying to get up to speed in the last year and this time around I was seriously doing theory, which I never did before. So I've been going though at my own pace, learning the theory as I go, but yeah, I did go faster because I'm trying to get back to the level I was at when I stopped played before. I'm almost there, so the journey for me seems like it's taken a while, but at least I have the theory down solid now and I fully understand the music. Before when I was learning with a teacher, she never had me learn theory so I had no idea about what the chords and inversions were and how harmony worked, even though I was playing Chopin preludes. It wasn't a good way to learn, back then, so this time I did things differently, and I'm SO GLAD I did!!

Take your time, you're doing great, Mario!!! 3B is a jump, you'll get more comfortable soon!

Still slowly self learning book 1 and found this YouTube channel quite helpful and informative. "Lets Play Piano Methods" YouTube channel

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCIeSnI-BmRMkxURGZ7nHtzQ

Welcome yellojello!

For those folks who are completely self-learning, a study aid like the one you attached could be of help. In fact, the first 50 seconds of the first video explains very nicely why a teacher is so important.

Best of luck and let us know how you are progressing through the wonderful world of Faber.

Hi Ebony,

That explains it.

A bad teacher can really ruin things for you. That is why I have placed myself in the hands of the Fabers. I've had a teacher before and she was rubbish (no theory...no set pace, etc.).

A violin is such a beautiful instrument but what I hear extremely hard to play. You've very brave to take on two instruments at a time . But they would be a perfect complement.

Awww, thanks, Mario! Not that brave, really, I played violin in school for about 3 years, as well, but that's over 40 years ago, LOL!! Violin IS hard, to me much harder in some ways than piano because you have to find the notes yourself with your fingers and your ears. It's REALLY challenging! And then bowing takes a good while to get down, too. I was amazed that my arm remembered how to shift forward to keep the bow straight in the strings, I was certain I wouldn't remember anything at all. The body and mind are quite incredible!

I won't be getting so in depth with the violin, mostly just playing Irish and Scottish tunes. So I suppose I should be calling it a fiddle, LOL! It's a lovely instrument.

I totally agree about teachers, you have to be careful. I'm probably going to go back to having one again, but it's kind of a nice break without one, really. I'll probably go back to my most recent teacher in Sept. She really is quite good. My last teacher, years ago, was very nice and all that, but by not doing theory, I was just playing in the dark. Music has such a depth to it!

I also have a ukulele, BTW, which is CAKE to play, OMG it's so easy!! And it's a real blast, I can play it while I'm in the back yard on my hammock! I'm learning Campanella technique on that, and also playing Irish and Scottish music. It sounds like a harp, it's so beautiful.

The world is full of music just waiting to come alive! We're all so lucky, aren't we? It's amazing!

A little bit off-topic (trying to ignore our terrible election results right now!), but how did you learn the uke? I've had one lying around for ages but never got around to learning to play it. Are there any books/videos/websites you'd recommend?

Trevor, the uke is super easy to play and it's a blast! Here's a few links on Youtube, honestly, just put in "beginner ukulele" and SO much comes up! I like this guy, he has a bunch of great stuff and he explains it very well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qh2JQwkhjk

It depends what you want to play, really, you can learn the chords to play and sing along, or you can learn fingering and play it more like a harp. This guy is great, too, for teaching how to read tablature and how to play by fingering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ji8DUkEDrA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_qBwSr2WbY

Ukulele for Dummies is a pretty good book, there's a lot of info in there, but you can get something shorter that gives basic chords and fingering easy songs. Check Amazon, there's DVDs too, but so much is on Youtube, it's crazy!

I tried to learn the guitar (left-handed) a year or so ago. With my full-time job and other things, it became clear after a few weeks that I could only deal with learning one musical instrument at a time.

Well after a 3 month break, I have started Unit 4 of the Lesson book. Feels good to be back, however the last few months were pretty amazing, having played/passed 10 pieces of various difficulties to finish up Developing Artist Book 2.

Moving on to the Developing Artist Book 3 next week.

Thanks for the Uke tips, ebonykawaii! I already have the Ukulele for dummies book lying around. I should just use it!

Back on topic: Still working The Spy. It's a fun piece, but I'm finding it really tricky. My teacher gave me some tips to improve my tempo (currently: slowly, left hand stuccato) and I'm gradually relaxing my hands a bit. I'll get there… eventually.

I've also started learning this piece by Berthold Hummel from the ABRSM grade 2 book, which is easier, but no less interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlCxnbiaf0

SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW progression. Anyone else just get stuck on a piece that they feel like they're going to be working on for the rest of their lives? That's how I feel about The Spy right now. I can still only play about half of the song, badly. Ugh. Sorry, just felt the need to rant.

Happy 4th!

Hey Trevor; this is definitely the place to rant

To me there is a difference between slow progress and no progress. For The Spy, I still hear progress being made in your words. Give it another week, and keep it slow through the tough parts. If you are not progressing after that, put it away, at least for now.

In my case, I'm on the sixth (and last week) of learning Beethoven's Sonatina in G. I pretty much know when I have reached the point of playing a piece as well as I can, and my teacher's guidance helps at this point. For this piece, I'm at 95% and that's as well as I can do for now. Time to move on.

P.S. About that Revolutionary War thing a couple of hundred years ago: Sorry

I haven't posted in a while as I felt i was not getting anywhere but I have finally started on Faber & Faber 2B. It's been a little painful but new teacher has been trying to break me of bad habits allowed by previous teacher. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm making progress. I know they are easy pieces and I am anxious to move forward.
Piano is teaching me patience. And how important to have a good teacher!

Great to hear from you Bsw! Let us know what pieces currently have your attention. There are some great ones scattered throughout this level.

My own Faber "Graduation": Tonight I started Faber Developing Artist Book 3; it took me 13 month to complete Book 2. This will take several years at least. The best part: The word "Intermediate" on the front cover.

Thanks Brian. First piece I'm working on is Theme from Trumpet Concerto in Eb. I'm enjoying the piece and of course some measures are giving me fits. How slow can I play to get it right!

Hi Trevor,

Exactly how I feel about some of those fast moving 3B pieces.

But to echo Brian's words, it is progress none-the-less.

Keep with it. It is a beautiful piece and you progressing toward being able to play it well.
Maybe then put it up on soundcloud or youtube for us to enjoy.

R

Hi BSW,

Ebony gave me some excellent advice when I was struggling with some fast pieces. I would like to share it with you.

Play at a slow pace and write down the tempo. Use a metronome to measure it.

Then increase the tempo a bit and play. Once you get comfortable, increase it a bit more....and so on.

I find it useful to write the current tempo on the music sheet.

Mario

Thanks for the tempo advice.. I will give it a try as I tend to slow down in more challenging spots and then speed up. I am getting better at playing slow but need to be more consistent thru out the whole thing