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What Wrenn said.

I am right there- same song- same issues. Chiapanecas is tough. Trying to hit that high d note with the pinky is a pain.

Wonderful Carl! I still have a ways to go to get through book 1 but as of just now I'm checking myself off on "Saints" as I can play it pretty much without error in the RH melody version and at least once without error on the LH melody version. I will move ahead but continue to practice this as I am Jingle Bells currently.

Hope everyone is having a great Easter Sunday!

I'm still working on Chiapanecas too. I think it's the one from the book that's given me the most trouble so far. Although I'm making good progress now and should be able to play it pretty smoothly in a day or two.

Good for you Leon! I think I have it licked, but there is still a spot or two that trips me up.

Romolo, thanks so much for those music links! There's some great stuff on there! I saw Sheetmusicplus.com mentioned somewhere. I bookmarked this page from there awhile back and it's a chart that explains the different playing levels.

Sheetmusicplus playing levels

Mom and everyone, congrats on all you've accomplished! I'm going to be here awhile too, so you won't be here by yourselves...lol. I'm working on Jericho, etc. this week. It's a bit tough to get a lot of practice in during the week while watching a 2 year old, but I really make up for it on the weekends...no one sees me!

I received my Greatest Hits 1 & 2 this week and I really like them. Haven't looked at 2 very much yet, but book 1 is definitely a bit more difficult in the arrangements. I do enjoy working through them!

Well, back to practicing!

Thanks for the link Guinnie.
Wrenn, I totally agree with you. I find myself watching videos of people playing the piano on youtube and it makes me want to rush with my learning so I can play like them. That's not good...lol
But at the same time, seeing how well they play and how beautiful it sounds just makes me want to learn and practice even more.
Hopefully we can all play like this guy one day...
http://www.youtube.com/user/kylelandry

I forgot to ask Guinnie, where did you order your "Greatest Hits" books from? I only see Book 1 on amazon.ca. But I'd rather order both of them from the same site or store.

Thanks for sharing your story Wrenn.

I made the same mistake rushing through the Alfred book. I am working in Book 1 again and supplementing my learning with lessons at the local Steinway Gallery (they opened a new location in Melville NY) which I attended a demonstration lesson by one of the piano teachers (he teaches adults and children). I am very pleased with my progress; I am intending to continue with private lessons with the teacher after the initial eight lessons are completed.

Romolo, I did get them from Amazom. They arrived in two seperate packages so I assuming they came from two different vendors. I had trouble finding them too so I typed Alfreds Piano Greatest Hits Level 1, etc. in their search tool.

Hope this helps!

I always thought that "Lullaby" was a nice peaceful song...it's starting to give me a headache...ha ha

It's kickin' ya huh?

You'll get it.

A lot of the time, I'll practice a song over and over again...and I won't get it...I won't be able to play it without making an error...but then the next day I'll go back to it and get it on the first try and it just seems so much easier than the previous day.
Does that happen to anyone else here?

Oh yes, my typical method of practice is to NOT overdo it. I'll work on parts (a phrase) or the whole thing for a bit, maybe a half-dozen times through, try it slower and faster and if it's not coming together leave it --- either go do something else of work on a different piece. Generally it is much better/easier when I get back to it.

I suspect it happens to everyone. It certainly happens to me. Learning the piano (or any instrument really) requires neuro-kinesthetic pathways that don't exist before you begin trying to play. It takes time for these pathways to develop and ve reinforced by the brain. Once you practice something, the brain will continue to reinforce the neuronal groups that are associated with that action even if you are not physically doing the activity. This activity is especially active during REM sleep. Visualizing the activity also encourages this process. It may seem counterintuitive, but it is actually more productive break up your practice into segments of about 20 minutes at a time. Practice something different in each of these blocks of time. If you spend too much time working on one specific thing you risk becoming tense and reinforcing the wrong neural pathways.

For some interesting reading on this subject, check out Daniel J Levitins' book, "This is your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession"

Love that book! I'm just today at the "What makes a musician" chapter.

Yep, excellent book. I like the idea that 10,000 hours of practice, not talent, make a virtuoso. He discusses this concept in the chapter you are currently on. I'm currently up to about 500 hours on the saxophone (started last September) and 20 hours on the piano (started 2 weeks ago).

Unfortunately I don't think I have that much time left.

LOL, I'm not sure I have that much dedication, that's like 10 years at 3 hours per day. Fortunately, my goals are not to be a world class virtuoso, I just want to be able to play a decent tune.

Well, yeah, me too. The only audience I hope to satisfy is myself.

Ditto!

Also ditto on not having enough time left, and not having enough dedication. :-)

I agree good sleep always helps to sort the music and memorize the movement for improved performance next day. They say if we don't sleep, we start to hallucinate because the brain hasn't sorted out the filing system.
Research has also shown that it is not going to bed at same time each night which aids sleep, but getting up at the same time each day, so that you naturally get tired when your body needs the rest. It took a couple of weeks for me, but certainly worked.

10,000 hours ? hmmm.. that means I could theoretically be a decent player before I get my pension...lol
I'm sure there will be pianos in heaven

oh well I need to slow down with the book...seeing posts which say the last pieces are harder, I'm going to stop where I am, Plaisir d'amour (4th last piece in my book), and just keep reviewing pieces till I finish my major scale and chords. Will probably order the greatest hits books next payday.