BarbVA,

Caution:Don't just drop a medicine as some medicines need supervision when dropping them. Ask me how I know?

A medicine I started in late September for anxiety gave me visual and aural hallucinations big time about 30 days later. I did not associate it with the new medication because it didn't develop immediately in the first month. My doctor referred me to a "psychitrist" which is a step I didn't think (and neither did my husband) I needed to take. I thought it might be a brain tumor, or a brain degeneration, stroke, or last of all, a reaction to medication. I also have a cervical neck strain a few years ago that plagues me still, and I wondered it this was a new dimension of it. I also have had migraine headaches, no pain, just vision distortion to the point it's best to go to bed.

It has been very difficult getting from 2 per day down to 1, and trying to get to 1/2 of one is still my target before getting off of them. Once off, we can evaluate if an anxiety meication is still needed, I think it will be.

I have had a lot of reactions to medications in my lifetime, and I know to be cautious, but this one has been out of control. Fortunately, when we reduced to 1 tablet, the hallucinations went away.

How do I find the referance you saw to Lipitor that said about pain, numbness and tingling. I have had that for years due to the accident with the cervical strain, but I have also been taking Lipitor before and since.

Are natural approaches including cinnamon and ginger and blueberries? I'm not sure. Do you have a list?

I think my anxiety is about the physical limitations I have and the reduction of being "normal" in the lifestyle I have enjoyed so much. Mine involve a cane when I go out, and the requirement that there be a place to sit nearby, and certain seating requirements of the chair itself. That is for my knees, hips and lower back; then there is my right neck, shoulder, arm to take into consideration.

If you think you have a resource to contribute please consider posting it, or if you wish, please PM me.

Best of luck and healing to you and the return to your previous enjoyments in life!

Betty

Betty, I'm going to PM you after I get some things together, since this isn't really piano related. It was actually a doctor (not my regular) that suggested this was the problem and I've since been overwhelmed with the information I've found.

Oh No! Good luck with that Barb! Hope you get results soon!

Barbva
Sorry to hear of your pain and hope you are feeling better soon.

Betty P - As a psych nurse and a person with depression (taking Rx) I can't agree more! Be careful with medication, and only change Rx under supervision.

Other than that - I have to thank you all on Adults Beginner's Forum for referring me on to the Alfred's all in one Piano course. I have returned to Piano after 15+ years and have been struggling. I'd already got to grade 3 AMEB, and grade 5 theory but I've had trouble with anything other than basic pieces as I am without a teacher. I decided to give the Alfred's books a go and I am so wrapt! If only I had been using these books years ago when I was doing theory - I would have understood the triads and probably would have got better marks on composition.

Since using the Alfred's all in one course, I've been identifying the chords in my other pieces and have a much greater technical understanding of my pieces.

Honestly, I couldn't rate it higher.

Shelly

Hi everyone - I'm fairly new to the forums and just taking up piano study since my kids are now out and on their own - I've been thinking about getting a teacher and maybe using the Alfred method - do you recommend both?

Thanks. PS

PeggySue, I used Alfred on my own for a year, and picked up lessons with a teacher a few months ago. She had me start on Alfred's Book 2, and we are having useful and productive sessions. Alfred's wasn't her first choice (she tends to go with Bastiens), but the method books themselves are merely a tool. The pieces and flow of topics are merely a framework to use, the real goal of lessons is to learn music (and, by extension, expressing music via the piano).

My suggestion would be to secure a teacher first, if indeed you intend to go that route. Then decide collaboratively whether a method book is right, and if so, which.

Since Lavender's Blue was mentioned, I thought I'd jump ahead and give it a try. Wow, definitely some independence of hands/fingers there and working together. It's a much different version here in Alfreds than the one in the Bastien book which I played pretty much right away.

Woohoo...I can play "Blow the Man Down" perfectly now and at a good pace. I really thought I wouldn't be able to learn this...and that this would be the song that would make me quit. But I did it!

Well done romolo!
Keep up the pace, you will find pieces like that one all the time.
BTW the word quiting should not be in our dictionary! We have a long journey ahead of us.

Great Job Romolo! You're an encouragement to me.

Congratulations, Romolo! BTMD certainly didn't stop you for long.

Thanks everybody...:)

Been a while since ive posted an update(and I need a break from practicing) so I figured I would post my progress. Got up to the blues section this past sunday, and my teacher wants me to learn Got Those Blues through Good People this week. Kinda freaked out because I have no idea how im going to get all those pieces plus the extras she has me doing(Minuet in G-Bach{on-going piece, learning measures 17-24} and 3 duets)

Anyone else get overloaded with too much to do? How do you handle it?

Dude! I think you'e overloaded!



Right now I am my own teacher so only push myself to do what I have time for, I've got the rest of my life to learn to play.

Good job on BTMD, Romolo! Being able to play something that gave you fits at first is the best part of this.

Right now, I'm so amazed I can play "Rock Around The Clock" from Alfred's Greatest Hits 1, that I can't stop playing it. For the first few days, I was constantly pausing between sections and just messing up in general, but now I've got it down pretty darn smoothly. Although, I have it memorized and if I try to read along, I have problems.

It's definitely been the biggest challenge me for so far and I can't believe I (mostly) conquered it. Next up in that book (before any more from the lesson book even) is "Beauty and the Beast". I don't know that song and something tells me I won't like it but I'll give it a go anyway because I figure the more you read and play, the better you get. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I just tried "Beauty and the Beast" today myself. I was bored with the Alfred lesson book and looked through "Greatest Hits" to see if I could find something that looked interesting, and that's the one I chose. I know the song, because having 10 grandchildren, I've seen the video many, many times. I'm enjoying playing it. I hope you like it too. If not - well, you can always skip it and go on to a different one. "Greatest Hits" has a lot of really good songs.

Have you played any other songs from the Greatest Hits book? I'm just going by the suggested page numbers and playing them all as they come up.

I've tried "Beauty and the Beast" too...It's somewhat hard but you just need to practice it and go slowly at first.
Maybe we could all play it like this someday?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyhPxrchntM

Sounds like everyone's progressing nicely! I really need to pick up a Greatest Hits book. I shamefully admit that I skipped over Good People and went on to LBJ...I'll go back to GP this weekend. LBJ was actually much easier for me than I thought it would be and I'm now working on Auld Lang Syne.

Keep hanging in there everyone!

Wow! I leave for a week, and everybody is moving along so quickly! I picked up my Alfred's lesson book #1 after not playing while I was on vacation, and it was painful. Today I practiced Amazing Grace (kind of a jazzy version!) for an hour. Although I was better at the end, it was so SLOOOOW...(now I am on break)In a minute I will go back and try again. I love this version of Amazing Grace, it is very cool.Next week we start on Alfred's Level 2! I feel like I should get a gold star or something from my teacher for completing level #1.

Keep up the good work guys, you are an inspiration to me.

Here ya go:

Ha ha! I want one too...

Hello everyone!

I am just starting out on the Alfred Adults Course Book 1. I have booked in with a Teacher who uses these books but I don't start with her for another 3 weeks as she is getting married this weekend and will be away on her honeymoon!

I was wondering if you think it is ok for me to start on the books in the meantime? I dont want to pick up any bad habits without a teacher to guide me but I just got a new piano and I am impatient to get started!! So far I have been practicing scales (I have a book of these also from the Alfred series)as well as some theory and sight reading, but do you think it would be unwise of me to start working through Alfred?

I am also in the market for a metronome and know absolutely nothing about them! Any advice or recomendations of brand, digital v's pendulum etc. would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Welcome Kokoro. I'm new here too, using the books and teaching myself.

Oh.... all right!

I've got a bad habit for you.
Habitualy playing the same music over and over. ARGGG.
Move forward like a strong wind not a comfortable breeze.

Johann Nepomuk Mälzel inventer of the ticking torture.
Also inventor of hearing devices for Beethoven.

Digital Metronome, Chinese ones I find are great, but you have to order online. One with an ear plug is good to, some are too quiet.
Beethoven was the first to place MM markings in his music and wanted everyone to have one. So you can see the strict importance of them. Also count aloud with it, I can't stress this enough, talk to the hand people. And do not sing your numbers, talk like a robot.

Ha ha...thanks Kenny...that made my day

Slow but steady progress for me this week. I've pretty much got Jingle Bells down, still could be a little more perfect so will keep going back and reviewing/practicing it. Brother John was way easier for me than Jingle bells -- a lot more just straight chord accompaniment. Working on Largo (from the New World) trying to get my fingers to smoothly shift between the CM and G7 ...

Thanks Kenny, I needed that!

Am I the only one who thinks the last song (Amazing Grace) in Alfred's Book #1 is kind of HARD? I love the song, but holy cow, who knew they could jazz-up Amazing Grace of all songs, and what would possess someone to do so?