I've been lurking quite a bit on this forum, posted a bit on a couple other boards here but not much of a contributor.

I am a busy stay-at-home-mom of two kids (2 and 4) and have recently begun playing piano after a long hiatus. I got tired of not being able to play anything anymore. I've been practicing an average of an hour a day in the month of November. I would like to practice more, but... well... two little kids.

I began piano lessons in the first grade, moved to another country after that and started with a new teacher in second grade and stayed with her until I moved back to Germany in the sixth grade. We had trouble finding consistent teachers there, but somehow I got through it... sort of. I passed off Alfred's level 3 in 8th grade and we moved back to the States where I began lessons again. This is where I really began to learn. The teacher tested me and had me skip level 4 and went right into level 5. I continued to advance in piano and participated in competitions, doing quite well once or twice. Eventually, I was awarded a teeny-tiny piano scholarship to a state university (I think it was a combination of pity and trying to build their music program!) where I immediately slacked off and dropped out of the program. I regret my apathy and laziness so much now 10+ years later. I took lessons for a couple more years and eventually stopped playing almost entirely.

I got married and didn't have a piano for a long time. Finally, soon before the birth of my first child, we got a really old upright that was in storage from the state. It is in surprisingly good condition and is almost in tune. I'm afraid of having it tuned because I'm afraid the strings will break. My neighbor and friend tunes pianos and told me that is very common with pianos as old as mine. I didn't play it much, just once in a while, because I was so busy raising my kids and I didn't make piano a priority.

About a month ago, I found a renewed conviction and began playing again. I sit down and play a few times during the day when I have a moment. The problem is the 2 year old likes to climb on me and sit on my shoulders when I'm playing. My sessions are usually pretty short during the day. I play a lot at night after they go to bed. The little one has only woken up once while I was playing. As long as I don't get too loud, it's usually fine.

I would like to buy a new piano, but there is no way we can afford it right now. Perhaps in a year or so we can get a nice upright. I want a nice piano for my kids to learn on. My goals right now are to perfect and memorize songs I once had perfected. Also, to set a good example of practicing so my kids can see that it is important. Right now I'm working on Chopin nocturne 55.1, Clair de Lune, Bach prealudium 21, Granados' May Song (this one is almost there), Beethoven Sonata no. 8, and a few others. Once I have these songs perfected and (re)memorized, I'm not sure what I'm going to start with. I'm also going back to the books I was studying out of before I stopped lessons, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

I'll probably lurk a lot, because I am in that awkward group of non-beginner but not really advanced, either. I'm trying to improve my skills to become the type of pianist I want to be-- better sight reader, faster at learning songs, can improvise, etc.

Carolyn

Hey guys!
I recently found this site and was very excited when I did.
I'm almost 21 years old and I have been playing the piano since I was 3 (almost 18 years).
I am currently working on a performance and education degree from The Crane School of Music.

My current repertoire consists of:
Chopin Ballade No.1 in G Minor,
Haydn Sonata No. 49 in Eb Major,
Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 2 in F Minor

I will shortly be adding Debussy's Estampes to my repertoire, which I will play along with the Ballade for my recital next semester.

I'm trying to find the best way to get a recording with good sound quality so I can get some videos up.

Anyways, thanks for letting me join the forums and I plan on participating much if someone can help me fix my forum problems (I can't view the forums/log in unless I use a proxy for some reason - probably an IP problem).

Thanks again!

Hi everyone

PS I'm ALKAN55 because we share the same birthday!