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Went in and picked up this book today. Having played through the keyboard version book 1, everything up to "Jingle Bells' was pretty much a refresher. I managed to get through Jingle Bells after a couple tries. That's where I called it a day today.

Yeah, that tends to happen when you record yourself! :P
That makes recording and evaluating yourself all the more important though, gives you a better idea of what to improve.

But wether you thought they were choppy or not, I enjoyed them, and I hope to hear more from you!

Enjoyed the recordings and thank you for the warm welcomes.

You guys are too nice. Not that I'm complaining.

Finally started working on The Stranger. It's ok I guess. I don't really like the fingering on the bass notes of the first and thirds staffs, but I'll do it.

Can anyone else remember the difference between a "relative minor", "harmonic minor" and a "melodic minor" scale? (P126 & 128) I don't know how I'm going to put those into my memory bank. I'm like, "So what!" BUT, I'd be interested in hearing how others are remembering this.

Forgot to say earlier that I finished section #1 of Alfred's Theory that I had been working through. It was pretty basic for anyone that has already played some type of instrument. Link to book. I'll start section #2 when I start the next Alfred All In One book.

GracieCat, I have been reading up on minor scales so it's pretty fresh but I'm away from my books right now so I'm winging it but it'll be a memory test right?

A relative minor starts on the 6th of any scale. The easiest one to refer to is the C Maj scale so the 6th would be A. That makes A minor the relative minor of C. All of the notes from A thru G played on the white keys would be the natural minor. A harmonic minor would be if you raised the 7th a half step (G#) and a melodic minor would be if you raised both the 6th and 7th a half step (F# & G#).

I remember it by just thinking it's all about 6's and 7's. I'm not real crazy about the way they sound though.

I'm also working on The Stranger. I kind of like the way it sounds but the right hand part is hurting my wrist. That has to mean that I am holding it wrong but I have tried to figure it out on my own with no luck. I haven't run into this problem on any of the other pieces but this one really bothers it. Hopefully my teacher will be able to figure it out at my next lesson. I can play all parts of it fine but I am having trouble smoothing out the transitions between the measures. I haven't even thought about adding in the dynamics yet!

I am probably jinxing myself by making this claim before my teacher hears it, but I am now able to play "Blow the Man Down", and I actually like it now.

6's and 7's. I'll have to put some more thought into this. Maybe write it out on paper or something.

I'm to the last line of The Stranger. I haven't put any dynamics to it yet either. My goal is to have The Stranger, Greensleeves and Go Down, Moses polished by Friday. I'm not currently working on anything else so that should be easy enough to do.

Wonder why your wrist hurts when you play The Stranger? Your teacher will see the problem though. I will say my right knee hurts when I use the pedal too much. LOL It's never hurt me before. It started when I was practicing Amazing Grace way too much. I started crossing my left foot over to use the sustain pedal to give my left knee a break. (That's a stupid idea, but the song doesn't sound right without the pedal.)

The remainder of the book won't be as easy. I imagine it will be one song a week for the last songs. I plan on starting my video piano course when I come back from vacation at the end of June.

wj3, thanks. I'll look into converting files into an MP3 file. I think my recorder will record into that format though. Thanks for mentioning it.

The way I understand is really related to the role of the leading tone (7th note). The natural minor is one of the modes, i.e., scales consisting of the same notes as the major scale, and the natural (relative) minor is one of those modes starting on the sixth note of the major (the aeolian).

The problem with the natural minor scale is that the interval between the seventh and the octave is a full tone, reducing the push of the seventh note to resolve to the root. It sounds more like a leading note if it is a semitone away, as in the major scale. Thus the harmonic minor was born.

The problem with the harmonic minor is that the interval between the sixth and seventh is 3 semitones, which is a bit big for a step, and the scale sounds a little strange. (Middle-Eastern to me.) I think it's supposed to be hard for singers to make that leap as well.

This is solved by more tinkering. The sixth is raised one more half tone, so the steps are now each either half or a whole tone all the way up. Remember that the leading tone is supposed to lead up to the octave... on the way down we don't care about that (we are trying to move away from the root), so we get rid of all that tinkering, and put it back the way we found it. The resulting scale, having different notes on the way up as the way down, is called the melodic minor.

This tinkering is called "musica ficta", I believe.

Did I mention I can play "Blow the Man Down" now?

Pianomaly, that's one of the best explanations of how the minor scales were developed I've heard yet.

Congratulations on Blow The Man Down. That's a HUGE step in this book and it leads into being able to learn subsequent pieces much faster. Not too many folks around here like it but I do. I went back and played it a couple days ago. It took me a couple times through to get it back under control.

Isn't that a WONDERFUL feeling Pianomaly???? We struggle and struggle and one day, it just comes together!!! AND...it IS something to be proud of, excited and instills confidence in the next weird song we come across. I just made it through Go Down Moses and working on O Sole Mio...music is just a wonderful thing. I love listening to it, but playing it makes me appreciate it even more!

Good luck...now that you have BTMD...you have accomplished a rhythm that will carry you through a number of other pieces in the book!

CONGRATS!!!

Pianomaly, congrats on getting BTMD! Learning that song will make many of the upcoming songs easier when you get to them. Thanks for the explanation on the minor scales!

Pianomaly - Congrats on getting BTMD! I think it's one of those "cardinal pieces" of the book that can make or break people. I almost gave up playing over that song! I stopped playing last November for almost a month because of it! I stewed about it ....and for thinking I must be an absolutely hopeless case! But, I wasn't going to let it defeat me and within a couple of days, in early December, it finally came together! What a feeling! Unlike the previous Alfred pieces, which are basically song "fragments", this feels like you really learned a "complete piece". It actually sounds pretty good too, once you get it down! Now, I really enjoy playing it!

GracieCat - I loved your performances and now you've got me thinking about creating a mini-recording studio!!!! I started looking at some of those Tascam 4 and 8 track recorders! I just have a feeling that in the long run, this is going to become just more than learning to play the piano!

I repaired a friend's computer and noticed she had an old acoustic piano in her living room. I mentioned that I was working on "The Entertainer" and she proceeded to play the whole thing (the hard version - not the Alfred's one) She was so happy that I had fixed her machine, I got her to help me with fingerings for a couple of relatively easy songs that I plan to order from musicnotes.com! I had the sample first page for this song and she played it perfectly!

Here's the sample page!

http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0064093

Here's what it sounds like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEipEo0B0FA - Regina Spektor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beO0acEX6Z8&feature=related -Matthew Luke Sandoval

A month or so ago I didn't know who Regina Spektor was!

Wow Emissary....that is really awesome--can you imagine one day playing like your friend or Regina??????

I saw a piece on her from CBS's Sunday morning, but that was before me learning to play the piano...and I appreciate her so much more now...off to ITUNES to get her beautiful music!!!!

I started on "The Entertainer" last night...and holey moley!!!!! That bass line...whoey. The jump chord with the Bb in it!!! I'm just going to have to play that line over and over to get it first.

The melody is fun though...I have the right hand down. But the timing and those chords for the left...WOW....hope Gracie plays and records that for us. I'm going to get one of those recorder she has.

I usually only get about 30-45 minutes a day at the piano due to my life, but last weekend I was able to spend an hour each day plus Monday, and I rocked--polished Moses, the Mexican Clapping Song, Scarborough fair, Greensleeves. But, just pushing my practice that few extra minutes, really helped! But, then I started Entertainer--back to square one again! It's all good!

Thanks for the links...really enjoyed that song this morning. Good luck!

Nancy

nancymae, I've also touched on The Entertainer. I like to work ahead on the coming pieces. Makes it seem easier when I actually have to practice and polish one of those songs. I've been playing that line at the top of page 140 to practice the bass notes and I run through the song slowly just playing the right hand.

DougF, I think I have an idea on your wrist problem on The Stranger. I've been practicing this one yesterday and today a good bit. As I was playing I noticed that around the base of my hand, the side of the thumb, started to ache. I played a few more bars looking at my hand and boy was it all tensed up. Playing those notes using only the 3rd and 5th fingers makes my hands tense. You play it and see if your right hand is tense or relaxed.

I saw a suggestion somewhere to record yourself with a video camera to see things like that. Probably not something you'll need since you have a teacher, but an idea for those of us that don't. I may try a quick 30 second clip with my camera to show.

Here is a short clip showing a lot of tension in the top of my right hand and fingers. Any finger that isn't playing a note is lifted and tense. My thumb is out and tense...and watch my pinky at the end of the clip. Bad, bad, bad (And yes, I'm using different fingering in the right hand than what the book suggests.)

Short Clip (My disclaimer...I'm not finished practicing this piece yet.)

When I watched this in Windows Media player the sound and my hand movements aren't synced. When I played it in another player it played fine.

I think you're probably right about the tense hand. That's the same spot it hurts me, the base of the hand. I'll have to try something different tonight to see if it makes a difference. As soon as I start playing something else the pain goes away. I'm not sure how to release the tension when I'm using fingers 3 & 5. Hopefully my teacher has a suggestion and I'll share it if he does.

nancymae - I've got most of the Entertainer down. Being the left-handed monkey wrench, I've managed to get the left-hand syncopation OK, but I'm having problems with measure 11, which relates to what Gracie and Doug have been discussing. My right hand, after playing the F# and the left playing the D, seems to freeze with indecision at that point! It looks like you must tuck the thumb under the index finger to play the A, which I tend not to hit hard enough to sound right. I could just shift my whole right hand over, instead, to play that A,C and E, but I'm not sure which method is the really "proper" thing to do. The ensuing indecision causes both hands to tense up. I can feel the tension in my left pinky as it hovers over the D like its ready to scream out to my right hand "Come on, already ...let's get the show on the road here, guys!!!!! I'm working slowly on this measure trying both methods, but neither one seems to be better than the other and I end up playing this measure way too slow relative to the tempo I can play the rest of the piece.

Doug,Gracie - I wonder whether some of the pain or soreness we experience is related to that "Brain vs Finger Indecision" and the hand tension it generates.

Brain: "Hey, play this, guys!"
Fingers: "Don't rush us ...we're thinking!"

-Craig

I obviously bought the wrong book! Mine stops on page 90 something!

Here's what I bought: Amazon

Hi Cobra,

You and I have the Basic Course, while many of the others are doing the All in One Piano Course. I think they have more songs. I have purchased the supplementary books (greatest hits for level 1 and 2) for extra songs. There is also a Xmas book and a Hymnal book.

I don't know what the other differences there would be...I think theirs goes into theory more too, but I will let them explain.

I'm almost at the end of book one...doing Scarborough Fair! But that probably will take me a while since your fingers become knitted together! Ha!!!!

Nancy

Opps...I meant the Entertainer gets your fingers messed up!1 Duhhh...where is my coffee???