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After lurking for a couple of months, I've finally decided to register. I'm new to this forum and I've already introduced myself in the general beginners forum. I’m from the Netherlands and I'm an adult beginner.

I've started to play late March, after someone had dropped an used, redundant keyboard at my place. I've no musical background whatsoever, but I've started to tingle a little, and a little more... and finally became totally hooked. In a speedy pace I've tried to understand the first steps in sightreading and that's going rather well.

Two months ago I've bought a Casio PX320 and started in Alfred's 1, and now I'm struggling with the rhythm in "Why am I blue". Recently I've aqcuired a piano teacher, but I'm not so sure whether this is the right thing for me. She's very nice, but she has constantly (probably for all the good reasons) her foot on the brake, so to speak. It seems to me she has only one answer to all of my various questions: You're not up to it, let it wait.... And as I'm not so good in waiting, I end up the same way as without a teacher, still trying to figure things out on my own. And in fact I'm quite comfortable in the self teaching mode, with the help of the examples on Youtube and maybe in future with the assistance of this nice forum. So, I've not fully decided it yet, but maybe we have to say goodbye.

Reading the messages here the thought struck my mind that the beginners here seem to be very talented. You all seem to master a new song very quickly and I’ve to work myself really to the bone to get a grip on a piece. And it’s still not flawless then. I've very much trouble in getting the pieces I'm learning up to speed. I tend to see the line after every measure as a save recovering space to gasp my breath and give myself a mental boost to face the next bar... The result is obvious, I make”music" with hick ups...Especially in a song like the Can-can the result is quite pathetic. Those poor dancing girls have to stand very, very long on one leg when I'm playing it.

But I'm practising every day and truly enjoy it.

Nice Dutch greetings to you all from

Chaplin

A newbie with a sense of humor!!! Welcome!

Actually, if you are up to the Can-Can after only three months, you are doing great! I haven't gotten that far in 6 months, but I can certainly relate to having to work my fingers to the bone to learn a piece.

I love the term "music with hiccups"! The smoothness and speed will come.

Sorry I've been away from this thread. I have been tracking my progress on my blog, and not visiting PW quite so much. Latest update is here:

One of these days...

Upshot: I'm done with The Entertainer (as done as I can be, I think, although not perfect), but I have not yet started Amazing Grace.

Hi Chaplin, welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are really rushing through the Alfreds book. I have been taking lessons for two years now and I am only up to the last few songs in the Alfreds book. My teacher slows me down also. You need to aquire the technique as you go. He says "Slow down to go faster". The gaps are thinking spaces. Only play at a tempo slow enough to allow for the thinking spaces. Keep the tempo steady. When you can play the song at a steady pace then you can slowly increase the tempo until you can play it at tempo. Learning the piano is not a race. Slow down and enjoy the learning experience.
Walt

Thank you for the welcome!

@mom3gram: I like to look at myself with a , so yes, a touch of humour was added...

@wj3: I don't know, maybe it seems like I'm rushing through the Alfred book, but I certainly don't intend to. In fact, when I was on page 50 or so, I've started all over again to check if I'd really absorbed it properly... So I take my time to enjoy the process

It appeared that we've been getting a few new members recently. Welcome everyone! I'm pretty new myself but it's always nice to have more members to share in our common interests, comradery and musical knowledge together.

Chaplin, Sounds like you are doing very well with your piano learning endeavor despite your musical "hick-ups". As mom3gram had mentioned, they'll smooth out soon enough.

mom3gram, You are doing a superb job, as always!

Dave123, Thank you for your kind thoughts and response. I'm glad to learn that you find my comments helpful in keeping your thoughts focussed on the possitive side of things. I prefer and find it to be more productive to channel my energies towards the positives versus the negatives, but I definitely agree with you, insecurities and self-doubts are constant enemies in our daily lives, and thus it's a daily chore to conquer. You are definitely not alone here.

AWtPP, It's nice to know that you are still around but more importantly, still working very hard at your piano playing. It sure does takes a lot of time and dedications to maintain our muti-faceted lives and relationships.

I didn't read all of your blog's entries but it sounded like other than your struggles with being able to play without looking at your hands, it's fabulous that you are almost done with book 1. Your trip with Camp Ozark sounded very interesting indeed.

Muzak, Have you started Greensleeves? I'm dying to get to that song.

Keep up the good work and good thoughts eveyone!

Key Notes

Hi all...

Welcome to the boards Chaplin! The Can-Can can be pretty fun, I like trying to play it as fast as I possibly can-can :p

Key Notes, yep, Greensleeves is a nice one, it's actually surprisingly easy as well, your left hand slowly moves right to left, and the right hand doesn't really have any big jumps. Scarborough Fair and Raisins and Almonds also sound really nice. All those three songs have you pedaling the whole time though so I'm still working on my technique there.

Well it's pretty disappointing, I fell on my right wrist pretty hard this winter and it was doing ok (I would notice it playing basketball or working out) but it wasn't too bad. Anyways with the over use of my right hand while playing piano, it's started acting up again. So I haven't been playing as much the last week or so. I'll still sit down and play some scales and such with my left hand, maybe play a song or two with both hands, and that's it. Pretty disappointing, I'm just hoping it heals up soon. In the mean time I decided I'm really going to study theory so at least I'm doing something productive. This injury coincides with me getting to the last 3 pieces of the book which all get your right hand working pretty hard so it'll be a while before I get those, although I'm definitely looking forward to the Entertainer. Ok, my puppy dog is begging for a walk so I'm out of here.

Hope everybody's having a great day!

Zak

Good to know regarding the songs Zak. Sorry to hear about your wrist problems, I read about it on another thread as well. I guess snowboarding seemed to be just as, if not more dangerous then roller blading without wrists guards. It's a very good idea that you are taking it easy on it.

Key Notes

The Entertainer is pretty cool. I have it down about 75% and sometimes it sounds like I'm actually playing the piano! As always, I REALLY have a tough time slowing myself down. But I'm beginning to really see that if I play fast, I solidify mistakes and bad form into a rock-solid mass that's pretty hard to undo. Playing too fast is seriously unproductive from a learning point of view.

I'm using the basic Alfred's #1, so I'm starting to look at Amazing Grace -- the end of the book! Timing should work out fine, since I'll be starting lessons in September at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia.

Good luck to all.

Thanks Key Notes, yeah it was pretty unfortunate, I went snowboarding almost everyday this winter and was doing a trick I had done a million times and was just too lax, slipped a little bit, put my wrist down and boom, 5 months later it still hurts.

jrcallan, that's awesome you're doing well with The Entertainer, can't wait till I can play that one. When I was a kid The Sting was one of my favorite movies and I loved that song. I still kind of associate the Entertainer to that movie to this day. Have you started Amazing Grace yet? Looks like alot of triplets but looks doable. Good luck.

Zak

Sorry to go OT people, if someone said to me I go snowboarding, no biggie. when I saw your region and read this comment my eyebrows raised.
Anyway visited your Blog

haha quite understandable to raise your eyebrows at that! I lived out in the Lake Tahoe California region all winter, and worked at a ski resort. So I got free admission to 4 different hills and reduced fares at others, was a great experience! And thanks for the blog visit, man I need to update that thing more....

Well let me just say I wrote my first measure of music today! Quite rewarding to play something I wrote even though it is only 4 bars ~ 20 seconds long. I really need to go get the necessary items to record, would be fun to share with you all.

Zak

I look forward to listening to your uploads.

I'd have to agree with just about everything here. I enjoyed working on The Entertainer. Good thing, too, since it took, oh, about a month for me to be able to play it without error. Which I've now done maybe three times.

Can't get excited about Amazing Grace. Don't know if I'll ever play it, to be honest. On the other hand, I've let Anthony talk me into another piece Limbo, by Einaudi. Wow. I am totally excited about playing it, and really enjoy the time I spend working on it. It's really something to make sounds out of my piano that I've heard through headphones for months.

At my stage of the game (8 mos. self-teaching), it's hard to remember to pay attention to musicality, I mean, not just getting the notes right. It's funny how, even on a simple song like Jericho, how much expression you can add with changes in energy, ala p,pp,ff, etc. To me, that's the fun part.

I have to keep this short. I have no motivation at this point and only hit the piano maybe once every other week.

any ideas?

Maybe you just need a brake in order to sort of indigest the new material. In that case it shouldn't be a problem, just relax and enjoy the piano moments whenever you feel up to it.

Or is the demotivation caused by a lack of challenge (or perhaps an overdose?)

Have a nice day,

from Chaplin

Invite a friend over for dinner on a given date, and tell him/her you'll play piano for them. That'll give you something to work for!

AWTPP, That's really exiting regarding Limbo. Good for you!

jrcallan, I agree with you, working on the dynamic and the musicality of a piece is both a joy and a challenge.

1silkyferret, Maybe you just needed a break. Nothing is wrong with that. I'm sure that when your desires returns, you'll pick it up again.

Cheers,

Key Notes

I just played Cafe Vienna all the way through without a mistake. Now that may not seem like much, but I've been working on this song for 10 days now and usually can't play the first four mesures without a mistake. In fact, I practice those 4 measures slowly about 10 times each day before I even attempt the whole song. And today I played it cleanly. I'm proud of myself.