Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Alfred's Basic and ALL in One Adult Piano Course Book #1

Dave - Using a metronome will help you develop discipline in your timing and also to measure your progress. If you're having trouble keeping up then try to play the piece at a slower tempo. Keep practicing until you get it perfect every time then increase the speed by say 10 bpm. Then practice again and repeat the process.

This will help you to increase your speed and measure your progress. Keep up the practice and you'll get there.

Well, Dave, I'm sure that I don't play them at a fast enough tempo either, but I play them as fast as I can manage without mistakes. I expect that speed will come with time.

I have made up two playlists (kind of like Bluekeys has done) and have been playing them on alternate days, I've gotten the older songs back on track now. It's not so much that I love the songs so much that I don't want to forget them, as I don't want to forget the skills I worked so hard to learn while learning to play them. I have not moved on to the next song from Lone Star Waltz yet in Alfred's, but moved on to new pages in both the Faber Adult and the Bastien Level 1, so I'm not just playing the same old stuff and nothing new. And I've been practicing the exercises on the theory page about 7ths and octaves (the page right after Lone Star). I also ordered a book with Catholic hymns, and a book called "Famous and Fun for Adults" level 2. I think I have enough to keep me busy for a while.

Thank you for you advice, I will have to bare down and practice more with the metronome and get use to it. I couldn't believe how expensive they are (sorry OT now) $100.

I am hoping time and practice will help, maybe I should have two play lists also, as normally I would start my practice at page 35 and play all the main pieces to the point of where I am in the book. It gets a little longer as time progresses.
I am a little behind you in the course, I am just starting "standing in the need of prayer" thats coming along OK so far. I sort of cheated I gave up on beautiful brown eyes I just could not make it sound like aything like it should be, for that matter it didn't sound anything like a musical piece at all :rolleyes: It has a tempo of moderatly fast hence my poor efforts on that one, but I will return to it soon.
It sounds like you have enough to keep you busy for a while, newer things always keep the interest at a peak. I hope you enjoy learning and playing them, rephase that, I know you will

Dave,

You can find some good electronic ones for from about $20 up. This is the one I use:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Korg-MA-30-Digital-Metronome-101863744-i1125668.gc

My teacher uses one like this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Matrix-MR-600-Metronome-210024-i1125459.gc

Rich

I already purchased one of the $100 ones, maybe I should be less impulsive when I go shopping the ones you linked to look good

I've always used electronic metronomes but I can't help having a bit of a desire to own a mechanical one. It's only the price and the fact that I don't really need one that's stopped me.

Anyway - good luck with the practising Dave and don't forget to let us know how to progress.

I've just successfully played "Jingle Bells" using both hands, and couldn't be more thrilled.

Honestly!

Hey, congratulations, Gary! Now keep it in your "repertoire" and you will be all ready for Christmas. :-) I think I went through Jingle Bells back in late January or early February. I still go back and play it occasionally.

Well, now my left hand is refusing to cooperate. It's back to Brother John for me.

Hi everybody, hope everyone's doing well!

Gary congrats on learning the song, even though your left hand is now giving some problems, with a little practice you'll get jingle bells back under your fingers in no time...

Hope everyone's had time to work on their music and all of these different songs in Alfred's....

personally, although there was a little patch where I wasn't loving the songs, I can't say the same right now, I just learned O Sole Mio! and it's a great song, I have alot of fun playing it. Also Jericho is pretty quick to pick up and has a nice sound.....and I was just working on the Stranger, it also has a real nice sound to it....and as a bonus Greensleeves is next which I've been wanting to learn for while....

hope everybody's having a great weekend!

zak

I've had a major breakthrough. I can now transition form C to G7 and back to C! Left and right! Really, my fingers do what I tell them to do. This piano thing might work after all.

Back to Mary Ann now.

That's really great Gary. Yes, this piano learning experiences will work out for you as well. Congratulations on your wonderful progress as well as being able to play Jingle Bells with both hands. I can still remember clearly when I was first able to do this with this song as well. I was absolutely elated and kept on playing it at every practice sessions after that for a very long time.

Although I'm currently working on "Chasing the Blues Away" on page 108, I've recently also had the chance to learn "Joy to the World". I love the song and the skills of being able to apply the major scales that I've learned in these lessons.

Keep up the great work and happy playing to you!

Key Notes

It's a great feeling when one has a breakthrough, your going to have lots more soon.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Key Notes, I can't even imagine page 108. Mainly because my book doesn't have page 108! Must be an old edition, or something.

How long did it take you to get to page 108?

Gary,

Believe me, I never thought that I would ever even own a piano of any sort, not to mention teaching myself from a piano method book and being able to play something from page 108. So I'm very grateful and glad for every single page that I can get through in this book.

It's a fabulous journey so far which is made possible only by this wonderful forum and I guess my strong will. Since I don't study and practice every single day, it has taken me almost 4 months to get to this point.

From the start I made sure that I didn't let myself get overwhelm by the mountains of materials and vast learning processes that laid ahead of me. My goals were simple, find a good method book where I can get technical and moral supports then just work on one page at a time, at my own pace and speed and see what I can absorb without ever putting any pressure or time constraints on myself. I also made sure that I can understand all of the materials and play every single song completely to my satisfactions before moving on to the next lesson or song.

"Mark...", who started all three levels of these Alfreds' method books threads, had mentioned a while back about the range of time different people had taken to finish this level 1 book, and it varies quite a bit. So unless you have major goals to meet, don't worry about the time it takes. Just enjoy the moment and the process of learning and before you know it, you're on page 144, where you or your teacher can sign off the "Certificate of Award" for completing the whole book. But first, you may need to get yourself a newer version of the level 1 book(?)

Best of luck to you!

Key Notes

I'm guessing that Gary has the Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course, 96 pages. It has companion books on theory and technique. Most of us have the Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course, which has some pages from the theory and technique books added in - which gives it more pages. They have the same songs, give or take one or two. He should be fine with the book he has, but he might want to pick up a theory book to go along with it.

I finally started Cafe Vienna yesterday. I'm still slow with the 5ths on Lone Star Waltz, but I get all the notes right and I was getting bored. :-) I think Cafe Vienna is on page 93 or so. I too never expected to get that far.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Key Notes:
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"Mark...", who started all three levels of these Alfreds' method books threads, had mentioned a while back about the range of time different people had taken to finish this level 1 book, and it varies quite a bit. So unless you have major goals to meet, don't worry about the time it takes. Just enjoy the moment and the process of learning and before you know it, you're on page 144, where you or your teacher can sign off the "Certificate of Award" for completing the whole book.

Dave123, most of the people who started Alfred's Book 1 around the same time I did are way ahead of me, and even some people who started after me have passed me. You may end up passing me too. I don't mind. I am taking my time and making sure that I'm comfortable with what I can do before moving on to the next lesson. I stopped for a while after Blow the Man Down, and I stopped again after Lone Star Waltz. When I'm still digesting the latest piece, I don't want to learn anything new until I feel I'm ready. I'll get there eventually.

So just have fun with the piece you are currently learning, and the rest will come in good time.

Oh I will
and I do realise that this is a problem I have, and due to me doubting my own abilities. Even my teacher tells me I am over critical of myself, neverthereless I am enjoying the learning experience who knows I may even get over my lack of confidence