Although this is the Adult Beginners forum, many here seem to be very advanced or just amazingly gifted. I don't see many true beginners here (Like me) so I thought I'd start a thread dedicated to the "True" beginner, especially those using Alfred's Adult Piano Course Level one, book one.


What I want to use this thread is for those starting out using the Alfred book. I started playing everyday in November and started the Alfred book in the beginning of December and find it to be an excellent learning tool. I have the first 55 pages down pretty well with pages 56-73 that need a lot of work. And thats were I'm at...

So where are you? Let talk about Alfred book one and whats working and whats not? Lets use this thread to help us advance and motivate...

Mark

Alfred Book Two Thread

Alfred Book Three Thread

The Alfred Adult Users Supplement Pieces Thread

Alfred Graduate List

Alfred Book One - You Tube Video Pieces

Some other pieces from our users from book one:

Harp Song performed by Choppin'

Liza Jane performed by Choppin'

Beautiful Brown Eyes performed by Choppin'

The Cuckoo

Why am I Blue? Performed by Carl Mc

Good People Performed by Carl Mc

The Stranger performed by wj3

Greensleeves

Scarborough Fair Performed by Key Notes

Rasins and Almonds performed PianoN00b
Rasins and Almonds Performed by Carl Mc

The Entertainer performed by Bob Griffin

Amazing Grace
performed by angelojf

Hi Mark!

I just wanted to say that yes, I am quite familiar with that course myself, however, It's more of a supplement to what my teacher provides me. Anywho...I'm TECHNICALLY on page 65 but like I said I don't often use that book as much as my instructor's material. Currently I'm working on Minuet in G --Bach ~feel free to ask any and all questions~
but really, this thread can be of use to many--Great Idea!

Cheers

Wow...I'm also working on Minuet in G for the last couple of weeks. Its almost there too...

I'm a true beginner, working my way through the Alfred book 1. I'm currently on page 82, and can play Alouette like nobody's business , but I haven't played much in the past 3 weeks due to the holidays, and then the weather, and then the kids needed to go to the mall...ok, ok, I've been slacking off...

Page 82...nice, but how is your Can Can song doing? :lol:

It amazing how some songs you can breeze through and others are really clunkers...

Great Idea Mark.... I had my first lesson last Thursday and I purchased the Alfred book from my teacher ( only $50.00 ..............kidding, kidding just kidding!!!! ) I covered some ground on my own so we worked up to page 27 and 29. When the Saints come Marching In ( Getting ready for my Super Bowl performance). I like the way the bass and melody switch from hand to hand. I'm getting it up to speed and really enjoying the practice time. I get carried away and relax and that when the best efforts come through. Also learning the thumb tuck method for the Cmajor scale. I have read that contemporary methods frown on the thumb under technique but I will perceiver with the teachings of my instructor until I can make a decision based on experience. Happy Playing..... Tom

Hi TsonicTsunami, looks like your moving fast. I also have been banging away at both versions of Saints...perfect timing for this week.

One trick I do with the Alfread book is I go back each day from about page 16 and do the book up to 73, where I'm at...

By doing this the earlier songs become easier and I build up the later songs. As I improve I move up my start page and leave out the super easy stuff...then I add a new page as I get better on the newer stuff...

Keep us posted on your progress. As the book goes deeper the progress does slow down. At least for me...

Mark

I am on both of the Saints versions too. I looked ahead a little in the book, and tried out the G position for about 10 minutes, and that was kind of confusing after being in the C position for a few weeks. What are some of the other books you guys buy to go with this Alfred's course?

Dale

Mark, Im in the same book, page 88, and have a suppplement book, Alfreds All Time Favorites and am working on Finlandia. The G position is strange as you have a lot of the same notes played with different fingers than with the C positions. It looks like a few of us are grouped really close in this book.

Ok, I'll play. I started lessons in the first part of October. Started with Alfred Adult Beginner Book 1. My teacher spent the first lesson figuring out where to start because I did have about a year of lessons (however unproductive) as a kid, and played flute. I finished the book just in time to start playing some christmas music the first week of November.

Now that the holiday season is over I started book two January 4th. I liked book one, but like the music in this second book even better. I'm now through page 21.

Anyone else playing from this book?

I'll have to check out Alfreds All Time Favorites.

OrdinaryGirl, you must be doing very well to go through book 1 so fast. I was moving at a fast clip to page 50, then it's been slow progress to page 73...

As for the G position, I kind of like the change after a while...Hey were talking f# now...lol

Mark

Oh sweet I was excited to see this thread. I started on Alfreds last January and in about 7 days I will have been taking piano lessons for 1 year.

I didn't move through alfreds as quickly as some of you and I think it's due to how much my teacher gave me. One alfreds song every week and sometimes 4 supplemental from other sources. Would we have cut it down i would have been done much quicker but oh well water under the bridge.

I'm on book 2 now and this week I'm on page ummm ummm ummmmm ummmm. I'm at work so I'll have to call my husband at home so he can look for me. One sec while I call him.

I'm back I'm on page 28-31 and i start page 32 tomorrow.

I also picked up faber and faber book 2 a couple of weeks ago and my teacher liked what she saw so I'm playing out of that one as well in addition to some other supplements.

Last week she found this guild repetoir book and she asked me to start on Tchaikovsky Italian Song. bleh leggato one hand stacatto the other. she says i have no trouble with playing one hand leggato while the other plays stacatto so I'm stuck with that.

I went through the Alfred's Book I about 2 years ago. I think I spent about 6-8 months with it. I was also using other books at the same time.

I got Alfred’s Book II a year ago and I got the CD with it. I thought the CD was disappointing. It was low quality. It sounds like it was created on a very old electric piano. The piano part is on the right channel and some horrible accompaniment on the left channel. If you just want to hear the piano you have to turn off the left channel.

The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano (with CD) Carl Humphries $29.95 [/b] is kind of expensive but I think it is a great book for a beginner who is interested in getting an introduction to classical piano music. It comes with a high quality CD with all the music and exercises from the book. I found it to be a good complement to the Alfred’s.

Scott Houston’s book Play Piano in a Flash! Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro--Whether You've Had Lessons or Not![/b] is also a good book for beginners or anyone who wants to learn to play popular music from a fake book. The title is obviously outrageous but don’t get hung up on that, the book is worth reading just to pick up some of the author’s enthusiasm.

So loly, do you still go back to book one to maintain those songs or do you just move on?...As for the time frame I can see it taking a while. Like I said earlier I moved fast through the first 50 pages but now I'm at a snails pace. But as long as your learning and improving thats all that matters. I did buy book two as an incentive...

So loly as you progress with Alfred does that allow you to play other material at the same level without too much trouble?

Hi Cooper...Scotts book and TV show is what got me back into piano. I'll have to check out Humphries book...

So zoso, let us know when you hit book two...I know the end of book one gets demanding...

Hi all. Luckily I have alot of time to practice so I am a few songs away from completion. I can tell you that there were alot of times when I felt hopeless, and then after sleeping on it went back and the songs started clicking. When you are sitting there and struggling, take a break. The idea of going back and replaying songs each time up to where you are is good, as your timing improves and you can concentrate on the dynamics and pedaling. There are a few songs toward the end that are beating a dead horse and I think my teacher will let me skip a few. Once I got the rythym of blow the man down, I went back to my c version of linus an lucy and now can play that in full. I mistakenly thought you get the left hand going and simply do the melody with the right hand. Like patting head and rubbing tummy. No way. You have to take it frame by frame and get the timing down before moving to next measure. While doing this book I learned a few from Thompson's book, which were actually tougher but kept practicing interesting. Funny, just the other day I downloaded Minuet by Bach and thought that would be a doable classic piece. Not as easy as it looks but halfway there. Teach has me doing scales on the side,and we already did major chords and variations of each of those. There is a nice version of the Entertainer at the end of the book. Sounds pretty good. I tried the Joplin version and had to give up for now. I am looking forward to book two, but am committed to mastering book one first, except for a few songs that I just can't listen to.(mexican hat dance)(on top of old smoky) to name a few. I remember that when I hit Lavender Blue, it started actually sounding like a piano. That's when I decided to buy a piano, as I was playing a digital and the feel would throw me off when I went to lessons and flubbed. I am finally starting to not "clam up" when playing for others or teach. Use a metronome and go back and play songs you thought you were playing well and you will see that they sound even better when played in perfect time. Use the record feature on you digital and that will give the same(pressure) feeling that you need to overcome when playing for teach or friends. I hope you are all enjoying this as much as me.

Hi Bob, welocme to the group. You sound alot like myself. Some songs I try and say no way. Then I take a break and then slowing tear it down. Sleeping on a song does help.

What is it about blow the man down that makes it so difficult. I'm just starting to get it to click, but its been the worst song for me so far...

I also like Lavender Blue as well as Standing in the Need of Prayer...and I'm also starting to like "Got those Blues" which was strange at first.

I'm going to have check out linus an lucy...

So how long have you been working on book one bob?...and when you finally get to book two,,,keep us posted...

Mark

I think I will order that Scott Houston book, and give it a try. Thanks for sharing your favorites...

Dale

hi mark sorry for not responding immediately

I haven't gone back to alfreds book 1 I tend to move on, but I do sometimes spend a little time on the previous piece as I read somewhere that it's good to spend at least 10 minutes on your previous piece.

Yes to your other question. My teacher gives me a lot of supplemental music and all I can say is that it works. With alfreds method and a good teacher I've been able to tackle other stuff with no problems except for the usual mistakes and you know how it goes, the distractions. Oh I think I heard a pin drop, doh I missed a note.

Your teacher once you start lessons will be able to pick out other music for you from different sources that'll match where you are with alfreds and sometimes might give you a tad harder piece to keep you challenged.

thanks for this thread looking forward to more. I can always go back to my book and look to see the notes I have written on them from my lesson.
Like "Stretch fingers quit jumping" he he my teachers big into finger stretching

My pleasure, it should be fun. Keep us posted on book 2...and your progress...

Mark

Blow the man down has a different chord speed than the melody, like linus and lucy. You need to just work on the first two measures until it "clicks" and then move forward. Don't try to play left hand and then add the right hand. You only have one brain and it doesn't work that way. Think of piano as a typewriter. You have to use both hands and hit the notes in the right sequence with both hands. All of a sudden it "comes together" and you can hear the song. I will check on this thread and see how everyone is doing. One thing I told myself is not to compare my progress(good and bad) to anyone else. The more you practice, the faster it goes and I probably have more time to practice than alot of you. I am one of those "gung ho" people that dives in heavily to new things and I am slowing down and incorporating scales and fingering exercises(hanon) so that I am ready for what's to follow. Scales are real good for fingering technique. I suggest everyone search for some threads here on scales as I have picked up some real good ideas that make learning them fun. I really like playing them hands toward each other and then away from each other. I can only do C and G and D major right now, but hope to be able to do most major scales. This sounds cool and really forces you to know the sharps in each run, as they pop up in different places for each hand. What I find most gratifying about the whole piano trip is how you feel lost when trying something new and somehow through practice and time it "clicks." What's weird is as soon as you get good at something, you are thrown back to the level of incompetence as you move forward. I guess that will be the case for the next ten years or so, so try to focus on how far you have come rather than where you are at the moment. If you are serious about this, go buy yourself a quality piano as it makes even the simplest things sound better and calls you to the room for more practice. Look at slightly used pianos on www.craigslist.com in your area and you will pay half of new. I am playing a 52" Kawai upright that was ten years old and hardly played and paid 5300.00 total delivered from a private party. Comparable models is the K6 or Yamaha U3. Back to practice.

Yeah, I moved fairly quickly through book one. I didn't start from page one. The first lesson we just sight read through the book to figure out where to start. If I could sight read the piece well, we moved on. I think we ended up starting about page 80. He assigned four songs from there the first week, and I remember thinking, "Yeah right." But I practiced enough to get them all done because I thought that was the expectation. He was suprised they were all polished, but then I'd set the expectation and got in the routine of practicing quite a bit. It's slowing down a bit more now in book two. Plus, the songs are even better so it makes sense to polish them more.

I don't do much other than what is in the book at this point, because I haven't brought other things in that I want to do. So, that helps with the pace some too.

I do go back and revist things from the previous. I like the little arrangement of Amazing Grace at the end of book one, so I go back and play that. I also love the piece Light and Blue in the beginning of book two. What did you think of that loly?

oooo OG, kind of funny that you should mention light and blue. When I look at those arrangements I cringe but surprisingly enough I tend to pick up on them rather quickly.

I also tend to play them with a different rythym which at first didn't go well with my teacher because she wanted me to play it the way the composer intended for it to be played.

So I broke myself from the habit of making it my own and then when we got to another similar piece she actually told me to make it my own. She liked my rythym better but unfortunately it was hard for me to pick it up again.


amazing grace actually made me cry as I played it. I was going through some tough times when I came upon it so I was putting my soul into it.

Right now I'm on mexican hat dance and that one is extremely easy to pick up.

Do any of you guys use some of the Alfred's books they have printed inside the Level 1 and Level 2 Adult course? I am trying the Basic Adult Christmas Piano Book, Level One, and the first song, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, is very easy after finishing When the Saints go Marching In from the course book.

I used the alfreds adult christmas book level 2 back in november. I liked the arrangements they were a little different from the traditional ones.

there were about 16songs in all, my teachers intention was that I learned all 16 songs by christmas. hahahahahahahh I still chuckle over that one.

Hi all, thanks for starting this thread.

I'm using "Alfred's Basic Piano Library Chord Approach for the Later Beginner" Level 1 (ISBN 0-7390-1553-2). It doesn't sound like the book you've been discussing. Though I did finish "Saints Go Marching In" a couple weeks back. It's on page 35 & 37 in my book.

I also got into the Hanon challenge in another thread, but couldn't keep up, so will drop out of that and do the Hanon at your own pace thread. I have #1 fine, but realized that I had the fingering wrong for #2, so will try to fix that this week.

My teacher gave me "Easy Piano Classics" last night and it has 3 versions of Bach's Minute in G. I wonder which one y'all are doing?

She thinks I can tackle an easy version of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" after I mentioned watching "Immortal Beloved" movie. I'm just now starting pedaling in Alfred with "Harp Song".

I too enjoy the challenge and accomplishment of starting a new piece and being completely bewildered, and then take it apart, "fix the fractures", and put it back together.

The term "fracture" came from Charles Cooke's book, "Playing the Piano for Pleasure" - wonderful old book, but if interested, new copies are $60. I bought mine used via Amazon.com and it was $20 and the good parts are already underlined. Much of the book is over my head now, but many of the suggestions are great.

I also purchase Humphries "The Piano Handbook" and Larry Fine's "Piano Book", but I held back from buying an acoustic piano for now. I want to be sure that I'm going to stick with this. However, I upgraded from my soft key Yamaha P-510 to a Yamaha P-140 with weighted keys.

Sorry to ramble, but I too was imitated but so many adult beginners that were so far ahead. Good to be amongst peers closer to my level.

Thanks, Mark

Welcome!

It nice to know that others are in the same boat as yourself. I liked your description of breaking down a song. Sometimes when I start a new song and it looks like Greek, I do the same thing.

Your book does sound a bit different, but no matter were all just trying to keep each other motivated.

Keep us posted on your progress...

mark

Here is my update:

After much research I bought a used Kawai ES4. What a difference from playing with soft keys.

As for Alfread, I'm almost at a stand still. I have been practicing like a dog, but some of the songs in the 65-75 page area are really giving me a tough time. Can I fire my left hand?
I hope I can break through this tough stretch and move on...

I've been working hard on my major scales and was just given Moonlight Sonata. What a great sound. Just playing the first few measures is a thrill...its going to be a long term project. Hope I'm not over my head...

After 6 weeks of playing teacher tag, I hope to have my first lesson on Monday...

Have a great weekend everyone...keep practicing...

Mark

what songs are they Mark? I'm at work and my alfreds 1 is at home.

The little Brown Jug is a real pain...lol
Why am I blue is also going very slow

Thanks
Mark