Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Alfred's Basic and All in One Adult Piano Course Book #2

Hi all,

I figured I'd chime again on my progress on Book 2. I've taken a break for almost a month. This past week we've gotten back into it with a piece called "The Riddle". Does anyone have a recording of it? It's giving me some trouble and I won't have a lesson until next week since this week is Spring Break for my teacher.

My thoughts on Book 2 are that there are definitely some "dud" pieces but some very beautiful ones as well. With the "dud" pieces I'll work through without too much complaint since I know I'm suppose to be learning a concept from it. Also, I always have supplemental pieces to work on in addition to the piece assigned from Book 2.

I originally thought we would be going to Book 3 next but my teacher seems to be leaning against it. I believe she wants to start me on standard or "graded" material rather than continuing to use a method book. I guess she believes that I'm ready to drop the method books. Of course we've been using other Alfred's books along such as their Hymns, Solo and now some additional books.

So I have a feeling I won't be contributing to the Book 3 thread, not that I contributed much to this one so far.

Cyborg - I don't know of any recording of "The Riddle" - as it is arranged in Book 2 - here in any of the quarterly recitals or monthly piano bars. You could check, but somehow I doubt it.

This old folk song was adapted into a pop hit many years ago for the singer Johnny Mathis (and has probably been recorded by others over the years). Not that it would help you much with your playing of this surprisingly lovely piece, but you might want to download his recording for your listening pleasue and to get a general "feel" for it's flavor, tempo, etc.

No promises, but if I get a chance over the next couple of days, I'll try to record it and upload it here in this thread so you can get a rough idea of what the arrangement in Book 2 should sound like - at least my amateurish version of it. I worked thru it several weeks ago & didn't have too much trouble with it (although I did add an extra modified ending onto it just to enhance it a little).

Good luck, JF

John,

Thanks for the tips on the piece. Some of the old folk pieces I'm just not familiar with. This is one of them. I'll tey get my ears around the Johnny Mathis version.

I would appreciate any recording you can provide for me to use. It doesn't have to be perfect just enough to guide in me in the right direction.

Thanks!

Cyborg - I forgot to be specific enough in my post above - the Johnny Mathis song would be called "The Twelveth of Never" (not "The Riddle") - sorry if I misled you & hope you haven't been searching for the wrong title too hard.

JF

Back sooner than I thought - here's a quick recording of "The Riddle" exactly as arranged in Book 2 - the tempo indication at the top of the piece is Moderato, but I played it a little slower than that, with a metronome setting of mm=65 (to the quarter note), which is maybe Andante. I did this (1) so you could follow it a little easier and (2) to minimize my mistakes! The repeat calls for it to be played softer, but I'm not very sure I achieved that precisely (it's too much fun letting the notes ring out!).

Hope the sound quality is good enough - it's a small file. Good luck & have fun.

The Riddle

JF

Thanks JF for the pointer to the Sacred Piano Book. I'll check it out at my music store tomorrow. Last week, when I was there, I picked up Alfred's Basic Adult Pop Song Book, level 2, but when I got home, I found the left hand too uninteresting to warrant the effort to play the pieces. I like the Danny Boy arrangement because of the rolling left hand and some of the LH/RH voicings that are used.

JF, "The Twelveth of Never" by Johnny Mathias is another one of those songs that transports me back to my senior year in high school. It seemed it was being played endlessly on the radio. What great times!

Cyborg, let me know if you would like another version of The Riddle. I have my teacher playing it. His version is a good example of getting the LH/RH balance. I don't know how to post it as JF did his, but I could send it to you as an attachment to a PM, I think.

Hey everyone! Well, time to speak about my progress, or rather, the lack thereof. My teacher and I have not progressed past our last point, Pomp and Circumstance. We've simply been focusing on other things.
So, I have a question. What would you consider the "fine points" of Alfred Book 2? It's becoming clear that my teacher isn't really keen on finishing everything, so I was wondering if you guys, having finished or almost finished the book, have any ideas on which pieces/portions of theory are most valuable to learn. The work on seventh cords? The piece at the end? Help will be much appreciated!

I love it! Its crazy at 132 on the 'nome but I'm doing it at 112 and building up. When its polished I'll try to post a recording.
#2 http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item.html?item=4175671&id=79590

JohnFrank,

Thanks, that did the trick! I was going alot faster than I should be. I really want to have the piece down come my next lesson and this helps tremendously.

Thanks again!

pianoluvr - I'm currently working on "La Donna E Mobile" (I think that's pronounced Mo-ba-lay?) and it's a real solid piece, both from the standpoint of it's musical appeal and it's slight technical challenge, and I think you'll benefit by spending some time trying to get it "down".

Other pieces with both musical and instructional value between "Pomp" and "La Donna" that I would recommend are: "Etude, Opus 10, No.3", "Theme from Musetta's Waltz" and "Ballin' the Jack". Maybe "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" also.

Beyond those I would only be guessing - OldFingers makes "Danny Boy" sound real interesting, and I'm personally looking forward to the last piece, the Canon Variations.

I'm sure others will have their recommendations for you.

Good luck and have fun,
JF

Cyborg - you're welcome. Glad I could be of service.

I think the tempo designation on the piece of Moderato (moderately) might just be a little too "uptempo", and I think a slightly slower tempo of Andante or Adagio is better suited for bringing out it's lovely melody - but that, of course, is a matter of personal preference.

If you practice it enough at this slower tempo and really get a good hold on it you'll still be able to do well with it if your teacher wants you to play it a little faster at what he/she decides is Moderato.

JF

pianoluvr, you ask an interesting question, and as one who earlier in this thread questioned the methodology used in this book, and one who has now become a devoted convert, I feel obliged to try to give you a thoughtful answer.

My short reply to your question is to say that all of the pieces are important as, in one way or another, the techniques introduced all come together in the really interesting pieces in the book. For me, these are the Chopin Etude, Ballin' the Jack, Danny Boy and Canon in D.

When I started the book last November my teacher told me not to kill myself over pieces I didn't like, so I didn't perfect everything, only the parts that I sensed were important. For example, in Pomp and Circumstance, which I disliked immensely, I worked on it enough to get the idea of two-part writing, which was a new experience for me. This lesson carried through Dark Eyes, which I worked very hard to play well because it was tricky and I liked it a lot,and then into the Chopin Etude which I played a million times until I got it right. But the Etude is a thrill to play, particularly after listening to Jo Stafford's version of No Other Love (thanks to JF).

Another example that stands out in my mind is Bourlesq which I found to be excellent preparation for the left hand in the Canon in D. I still have some work to do on the Canon to get the transitions smooth, but the amazing thing is, I can now read all the notes with ease. Before I started this process I played from lead sheets and could read only the melody lines, so to be able to read Danny Boy and the Canon is a huge step forward for me.

Regarding your question about 7th chords, I think these must have been introduced in preparation for Level 3 as I can't see how they come into play. As it happens, I knew all my chords from my lead sheet work, but that didn't seem to help much, except in Danny Boy where a couple of 7th chord voicings were used.

It also needs to be said that I could not have progressed as I did without my teacher. Along the way he taught me how to feel the black keys as the means for knowing where I was on the keyboard. He also pointed out the need to get the LH/RH balance right, which is something I need to work on a lot more, but it's so important to making things sound musical. Of course, he always was there to make me get the timing right particularly with the dotted eighth notes. One other tip he gave me when we started this venture was never look at the keyboard (unless there is a huge jump which the fingers cannot feel) and always try to read with hands together, using hands separate only when a passage is particularly difficult. I am now almost fanatical about not looking at the keyboard as I love to feel where I am through my fingers.

Sadly I don't know what to say to your teacher because she undoubtedly knows what is best for you as mine did for me. Good luck with your future studies. For me, once I finish with Canon, it's on to Level 3.

Bob

Thanks for the link Therese, I'm going to order it don't you know. he he

OldFingers (and anyone else interested) - one way to upload a music file into a post in a Forum thread is as follows:

1. Store the file in a folder on your hard drive, as usual;

2. Access a file sharing service such as BOX (www.box.net) that many members here use and set up your own account - smaller file sizes are free;

3. Follow the instructions there to upload your file to the box.net server.

(see the Help - File Sharing topic there for details on setting up your file for sharing - basically just rt. click on your file & choose Share File ...).

4. You will ultimately be assigned a web address where your music file is stored and from which it can be downloaded.

5. Rt. click on this web address in the address area to Copy it.

6. Paste this address into your post here in PW.

Note: to give the full web address a "nickname" here in a post - for example, just simply the title of the piece (as I did above with The Riddle) - use the Full Reply Form button , click on the URL button, which brings up a box where you paste in the full web address, and when you click OK another box pops up where you can type in your nickmane.

JF, thanks for the information. To proceed I need a little more help. The file I want to share was created using Audacity to strip out a section from an H2 recording. I saved it as a .wav file, but it has the Audacity Icon associated with it. If I were to put that file at box.net could anyone play it, or would they have to have the Audacity software. Or is there a way for me to make the file a .wav file without the Audacity Icon?

Bob

OldF , I haven't a clue myself, never having posted a recording, but maybe this will have the answers for you, created by a PW member for folks uploading for the forum. I bookmarked it ages ago....just in case!
http://www.pianoclues.com/how-to-record-piano/

OF - no, I don't believe they need Audacity & I don't think the Audacity icon is relevant - what's more important is the file type such as .wav, .wma or best of all .mp3.

If you have an mp3 file I believe you'll get two web addresses at the same time - one for downloading & one for direct streaming (listening without downloading)that will appear in the box here in a post when clicked on.

I can't convert my wma files to mp3 (missing a codec, which I'm working on) so when people click on my link they only get one button in the Box (to download), which opens then in their active player.

But, click on the link above provided nicely by Sundew for more details, especialy the link in there at the bottom about sharing files online.

Beyond this I'm still learning myself & you may be able to give me some tips eventually.

BTW - were you aware that the Theme from Musetta's Waltz was adapted into a hit song called "Don't You Know" for Della Reese way back in the 1970s sometime (I think it was then)? Who knows - it might be available on YouTube!

Thanks Sundew!

JF

I have bookmarked the "how-to-record-piano" web page. Thanks Sundew.

Without getting into the "box.net" business, I emailed "The Riddle" to cyborg by attaching the .wav file carved out by Audacity. It was sort of weird in that the attachment looked like a player tool-bar (pause, play, stop), but it did work. It's a bit of a bother not knowing what I am doing with this stuff.

I'll be beyond cyberspace for the next month, but I'll try uploading some files when I return. Maybe I'll have the nerve to let you hear my version of "Danny Boy", my current favourite at the moment.

JF, I have to confess that with the arrival of the Beatles in the early 60's, my interest in "pop" music ceased to exist. That's why I continue to wallow in the old standards. But thanks for the pointer. I'll take a listen to Reese's version when I return.

Bob

HI again everyone - currently working on La Donna E Mobile in Book 2 - somewhat tough piece to get right - in my 2nd week on it & it's starting to come around. Anybody else work on this & find it a little challenging?

JF

Thank you OldFingers and JohnFrank! I apologize for not replying sooner. Life has been hectic. I'm definitely going to suggest the pieces you've referenced to my teacher. I've looked at them briefly and they really do appear to tie together a number fo the important concepts presented before them. Gracias!