Great work Leon! It's always satisfying when you crack a tough tune

Has anyone totally given up on a piece? I'm giving up on "Good People". It's just not working for me right now. I'm going to give "Little Brown Jug" a shot, and if I can't get that one in a reasonable amount of time, I'm just going to put my AIO aside for a while. I have other things that I can work on in the meantime.

BTW, I was surprised to have to hunt for this thread - I found it all the way down on page 4.

Not in the AIO book. I had a difficult time with Good People as well, but eventually worked it out. It will probably be one of the few songs from book one that I will continue to play as I move on to book two. I am stuck on "Little Brown Jug" right now. It is not a favorite of mine (hate it!) and the fingering trips me up. Yesterday I slowed it down to as fast as I could sight read it (that should read sssloooowed) and was able to get through a couple of runs but it is a long way from the correct tempo - I know by next week it will be much better.

I think what we are going through right now stretches our ability to move our hands over longer distances quickly, and precisely. It is a more verticle step than we are use to but, in the long run we will be better for it... if not, then I will look back and wished that I would have thrown "Little Brown Jug" in the trash can

mom3gram, I just recently decided I had enough of little brown jug. It's a challenge. I was able to play it through but not musically and certainly note up to tempo. Sometimes I think it makes sense to move on for the greater good. I find that I start to get frustrated then don't want to practice. If you do your best and you're not making progress, it's probably better to move on and come back to it at some later point.
This seems to be the part of the course where just about everything gets to be a challenge. I am struggling with O sole mio, Chiapenacas and Jericho. Jericho has one bar near the end that my fingers won't do, period. Some day....

Quick question for you all since I don't have a teacher yet. I'm up to Good People now but I'm not sure about some of the fingering when it comes to a sharp or flat followed by a white key next to it. For instance: In the 2nd measure there's a C played with the third finger followed by a C sharp and then a D. Should I be using 2 and 1 for the C sharp and D? Or 2 for both? Or something else maybe?

I use 2 and 1 for the C sharp and D here- it works for me.

Sometimes you will slip off the edge of the #C note to the D with the same finger- in sort of a quick slur of the two notes. Not sure what that is called, maybe just a tie? But not here.

An update; I'm on "The Stranger" in the All-in-One book.

Thanks Carl. I guess it's up to what's the most comfortable.

Okay guys. I must confess. Alouette on page 50 is fun to play!

Really, when I play that song, I have to tell myself, only one more time around. Then I end up playing it several more times. Just thought I'd say.

I also really like The Gift To Be Simple, and Alpine Melody. I've only made it as far as Alouette.

What are your favorite songs to play in book 1?

I really enjoy playing Scarborough Fair and Raisins and Almonds, they flow so nicely and feel like proper piano pieces. I play them every day! I'm sure The Entertainer will be a favorite too once I have it polished

I wish my version of the book had "Gift to be Simple". I like that song. I liked "Alouette" too.

Well, I haven't gotten as far as "Scarborough" or "Raisins", so my favorites would have to be "Standing in the Need of Prayer", "Cockles and Mussels" (I just like the sound of the chords), "On Top of Old Smokey" (because it's probably the first song played with broken chords and it's fun), and ..... don't laugh....."Blow the Man Down". Once I got the hang of it, it was really fun to play at tempo. I also like "Love Makes the World Go Round" from the supplemental Pop Songbook.

I hit a snag starting with "Good People", so I'm halting new progress in AIO while I work a few of my other books, but I will get back to it when I'm ready. In the meantime, I do play my favorites frequently.

So far it has to be "Good People." I like the walking base line in the song. "Why am I Blue" and "Cafe Vienna" are favorites as well.
I am currently on "Little Brown Jug" and I am pretty sure it will not make the "Favorite List"




That looks like an active left hand!

What I find amazing is how much enjoyment these simple book one songs bring. Before I started, the thought of spending long hours with these tunes was a bit discouraging. Now, I look forward to each new song and page in the book.

The enjoyment must have something to do with the pride of getting it correct. When I nail one of these songs, it feels like a solid accomplishment along the road of learning. Its something real and tangible. It makes it worthwhile and drives me to continue.

It must be absolutely magical to play personal favorite songs, judging by the enjoyment these simple songs bring.

I'm still in a stalled out position and very frustrated. My shoulder is still hurting despite a week of piano rest. I'm thinking of going ahead and dragging out my daughter's keyboard, as I can adjust that ergonomically a little better than the piano, but we'll see. I sware if I could just stop the pain, I promise I would slow down and not try to do so much.

Popping in for a friendly reminder (and words of encouragement) you're all doing great but man, you have SO MUCH FUN to look forward to in book #2.

#1 is great and bases a lot of learning on the theory and technical aspects. You'll notice when you get to #2 that there are huge ups and downs (in terms of difficulty) but it's great. You'll go from favorites that are 1/2 a page in music to 1-2 pages!

Enjoy and keep up the great work

How about this version?

http://www.easybyte.org/simple/simple01.html

One thing in particular with the arrangement in the Alfreds book is that, the notes are laid out such that the left hand moves positions. This is actually the first song in my book (Alfreds Basic) that introduces moving position. For me, its what made the song challenging when I first played it. It also adds to the fun of playing it. I don't see the easybyte.org arrangement moving the left hand.

Perhaps if the all in one book does not have this song, it has another with the intent to get the student moving the left hand?

Good point. I was just noodling around with that arrangement I linked to because I too really like that tune and noticing how it is all pretty crowded into the middle.

BTW They did not have the Alfred's books at the two music store where I check, but I have ordered it and looking forward to getting it and learning along with everyone.

Thanks, Kenny. I'm going to print that one out.

I think the first song in the AIO book that had the left hand moving positions is Cockles and Mussels, which uses triads and moves the root note up one note every measure. I found it very fun to play this song.

Last night, I got to where I could play Good People, up to speed and with my eyes closed (which, oddly enough, I find easier sometimes). Today was the first day since I bought my piano (Jan 4th) that I didn't play at all. Hopefully, I didn't forget everything I've learned so far.

Well done everyone!
I have been lurking more than contributing lately, but I can tell you I loved playing "Scarborough" and then suddenly I turned the page one day and I had "The entertainer" there waiting for me... Wow, that was the strech, not because of the notes, but L and RH playing at different "tempo"? I don't know how to explain.. but you'll see....
Anyway after a few hours practise everything came together and I love it now!!!

By the way, BTMD is another of my favorites. Looks like pieces that made you work harder make you enjoy more later on.

Keep the work up!

Edit: Sorry! typo

I too have been lurking more lately...hard to post during the week.

I just got to Good People today...yikes! I've progressed rather quickly since I just got the AIO a little over one week ago. I did have a bit of piano before, so that accounts for progressing so rapidly. But it's getting a little tougher and that's actually a good thing for me to now be outside my comfort zone.

I don't give up on pieces...not yet anyway. I figure that each piece is there to teach me something...regardless of whether I like the song or not. So, I try my best to work through them...and eventually everything clicks. Sometimes it does help to step away for awhile, but I always go back to practicing very refreshed.

Hang in there everyone!

Good People gave me a lot of trouble in the beginning. It took me well over an hour just to get the first couple measures down but after that it fell into place rather quickly and I really enjoy playing it, especially the "call and response" parts. I fell like an actual musician playing that part.

Good People felt like a 70's sitcom jingle to me. I despised it at first, and shelved it. I returned a month or so later, and appreciated it quite a bit more. In retrospect, I wonder if the expertise jump between Good People and the pieces that preceded it was too great for me? I wasn't ready for it.

Well, I said that I put "Good People" aside, but I haven't totally. I can play the RH hand first two lines, and I do that several times each day to be sure to keep it in muscle memory. But every time I try to add the left hand, I totally forget the right hand. So I'm sort of just sticking with that - just playing the RH and every once in a while attempting to add the left. Maybe one day it will click, but I'm not going to stress about it.

I think it's a pretty big jump from the previous pieces, and I was definitely not ready for it.

Mom,

Can you play the first couple measures, hands together, but VERY slowly? I had the same trouble you did playing one hand at a time but playing them together and as slowly as it took did the trick until I was able to build up speed.

Nope, I can't! That's why I decided to give up on it for now. Or at least I thought I did. But I keep going back to try it again. I don't know why I can't do HT - what are there, like 3 left hand notes in those first 2 measures? If I can play BTMD and Can-Can, surely I can play those first two measures HT. But I can't. Must be a mental block of some sort.

I'm actually going through the exact same thing now with the next song, "Little Brown Jug". Just the third and fourth measures, hands together, is kicking my butt.

It has kicked my butt for two weeks. I got this done yesterday for my AAIO file - but I am still not happy with it. If I were my teacher ( oh, wait I am ) I would flunk me. I am going spend one more day (maybe two) on it to try and improve the tempo and then move on to "Chipanecas". Which by the way looks to be even more difficult

"Little Brown Jug"
http://www.box.net/shared/7azqnvovs7

Carl, not bad at all.