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Thanks wj3! I think now that I'm an octave off for awhile in the song, that makes sense, but I need to slow down and see where I'm getting off.

I'm up to Good People, but for some reason I just can't get into this piece. I'm trudging along with it...still in shambles, though I so want to skip to Little Brown Jug, but I have another looong piece to work on, "All I Ask Of You" from the Best Songs Ever book (Big Note Piano). That piece is a little ahead of where I am technically (at least I think so) but my teacher wants me to work on it. Well at least I'm playing a song I actually know and like, and it's a respite from "Good People"!

The Blues and Jazz pieces aren't doing it for me, I think. I like the standard songs and classical pieces better.

I couldn't get into "Good People" either. I tried for what seemed like a couple of months, and then I just gave up. I did manage to get "Little Brown Jug" at tempo, with correct notes, but not smooth or musical. The pieces just keep getting harder and harder, and I'm really having trouble with them. I'm working on "Chiapanecas" and almost have that down. After that, I think I'm going to work on the Pop Songbook and Greatest Hits for a while. I want to play something that I like and that is within my abilities. I'd love to learn "All I Ask of You".

Well at least managed to get down "When the Saints go Marching in", with RH being the melody that is. It was the first piece in the book that felt at least a bit challenging, and more challenging its gonna be.

Trying to the LH melody version but I keep trying to do the chords with my left hand, and if I do it with my right I mess up :p and I also find it very confusing to read the notes on the bass compared to the staff, just don't quite get it. I should probably go back and read it again cause the bass notes just feels so much more confusing

Fun piece to play albeit slightly confusing to play at the start when having 3 different chords.

I remember getting the first version of Saints - RH melody, LH chords fairly easily, but doing it in reverse did not come easy. I had a hard time with those RH chords too in the beginning. It will come though. And you will go on to many more challenges. The challenges are what makes it fun - as long as you don't let yourself get too frustrated.

@mom3gram : It's a relief to hear there's someone else that isn't as enthusiastic about "Good People" like me! I played it for my teacher a while ago, and it still definitely needs more polishing up. But I now have a (slightly) better opinion of it after hearing my teacher play it for me - at least it sounded musical compared to my attempts! The "All I Ask of You" piece I'm working on from the other book is starting to get into shape but still not musical, I'm afraid My teacher told me to record it and listen to myself! XD

My teacher and I also now working on the first piece of the Frances Clark Library of Contemporary Piano Literature Book 1 and though it's supposed to be easier for me in theory , I find the piece hard to play! I have a feeling it's because the left hand notes aren't as predictable as they are in Alfred (no endless repeating chords). It messes up my brain!

@ Quagles : I remember the 2nd version of Saints is the first piece I had to work on significantly in the book. You'll get it eventually - just make sure you keep to the rhythm Everything is just confusing for beginners like us, so don't get discouraged!

I'm feeling good about Marines Hymn and Why Am I Blue. I took a look at Good People last night, and as with any new piece, it seems scary! But having skipped the two blues pieces a few pages back, I feel like I had better slog through this one as penance for skipping those two.

I need to remind myself that it's not a race, and I'm not comparing myself to anyone! A little bit a day, for fun challenge and enjoyment, is what this is about. And who knows, maybe I will surprise myself and make something that sounds like music.

Hope everyone is well today...

@ Zenobe :
Congrats on Marine's Hymn and Why Am I Blue! I quite like Marine's Hymn. Why Am I Blue isn't bad either.

I, too, need to be reminded that this isn't a race! I've been feeling guilty this past week because I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like so I haven't progressed as much. I've been so preoccupied in trying to reach the end of the book and move on to Book 2 I've been practicing like crazy the past few weeks. So I think it's a good thing my teacher assigned me a couple of other pieces to slow me down. Actually, playing these pieces (which weren't originally designed for a learner on the Alfred course) made me realize I had a bunch of holes in my technique that have to be filled in. First off, my note reading ability of both clefs and especially my left hand coordination skills are atrocious. This was most apparent when I started playing a beginner piece with notes on both hands played simultaneously in contrary motion.

I think this is due to being used to Alfred where the LH is always just playing the same 3 chords (C, G, G7) so I haven't developed my LH reading and coordination ability as well as my RH. I'm sure these gaps will be filled in eventually in the Alfred series, but I wonder why they weren't addressed sooner.


This week, I'll be focusing on making my current pieces sound musical rather than trying to play through as many pieces as I can! And enjoy my time playing piano

Just popping in to share that I played Desperado all the way through for the first time. With the repeat, its about 6 pages long total. As marimorimo would say, its not musical yet,but I hit all the notes, so now its just practice, practice, practice. I think I'll do as she said and spend some time the next week making the plucking of notes sound more like music.

Haven't started on Why am I Blue or Good People yet, decided to devote some extra time to the longer solo piece before moving on, which seems to be paying off. I like The Can Can and The Marine's Hymn, so they are still keeping me entertained.

Sounds like you are moving right along Zenobe, we are right about the same place, though I haven't attempted Why am I Blue yet. Are you as anxious as I am to be done with this book? There is so little of it left, but its not going to be a quick or easy ride to get to Book 2, I don't think.

I was hoping to be there by fall, but when I looked at some of the songs coming up, figuring out what I might be able to handle between each of two lessons per month, I think it might be December. Plus I want to start building a Christmas song collection in the fall, so I'll be ready for the holidays, so I'm willing to let the book slow down a little if it means having a good collection of Christmas songs under my belt.

I need to constantly remind myself it is not a race as well. I still go back to Book 1 and replay the last few songs. I find that in order to play something and make it sound musical, I need to know it well like Greensleves or Scarborough Fair, which I now can play on auto pilot, so I can think about the music and "get into it" more. There was no way I could do that when I was learning those. So I think that's why I keep going back to Book 1 because I am now playing some songs that sounded bad to me in Book 1. It was me that sounded bad, it turned out, not the song.

When I was younger, I kept moving forward, and forward, and as soon as I learned a song well enough to get the pass from my teacher, I forget about it and go to the next thing. I never go back. I was in such a hurry to get to the next song then the next book. The last song in Book 1 is Amazing Grace, and I play it everyday. I mix it up, play it differently faster, slower, different expression. I couldn't do that with the songs in Book 2, yet.

Oh, Alfred does give us all a break on our LH for the entire Book 1 and first part of Book 2, but he start to move your LH around a lot more. Then somewhere in Book 3, you'll have to play melody with both hands! I had enough trouble with counting in Book 1 to deal with anything more than I, IV, V7 for the left hand. I guess I need all the help I can get.

My two cents regarding trying to race through the book; I feel that given my age (no spring chicken) that I want to be able to get the mechanics of a song down then move on. I do not worry very much about tempo/rhythm etc, I just want to learn how to get my old fingers to hit the right keys at about the right time.

This process, which will make piano teachers unhappy to hear, seems to allow me to go back later and start to play more musically. I am of the belief that you don't teach ballet to a child until he has learned to walk. For me, hitting the right keys is the walking part.

I doubt any piano teacher would ever agree to this approach and that is why I have no intention of using a teacher, at least for some time to come.

Hey guys,

I decided to stop lurking and actually post a reply to say hi. So - Hi

I've been reading these forums for a few months and bought a digital piano from the recommendations in the digital piano section and from recommendations here, the Alfred's All in One book.

I'm currently up to Cafe Vienna, and have been really enjoying the book and its teaching style. Next week I have my first lesson with a piano teacher; nervous but looking forward to it immensely.

And just as this post grabbed my attention:



I find that interesting, as its a similar way to how I learn. I first clued on to it as I started flipping back a few pages in the book and playing pieces again that I thought I had learned fine - with the experience gained a bit later in the book I was able to come back and make pieces sound more musical and in general better.

After experimenting a bit more, I've found that the final 5% of work on a piece takes the longest, but if I just leave it, pick up new skills and come back to it I can normally get it much more easily.

I hope my teacher will let me continue to learn like this - if not I may have to sneak ahead in the book occasionally :P

Is it a realistic goal to be able to finish the alfred book 1 by the end of the year? I would have been playing about 7 months then.

Currently now on harp song, finding it difficult doing the D7 chord with my right hand, using the first finger on F, its just too small to be able to do it quickly ._. and its a lot easier to do it with say the second. But I guess its for the better to learn doing it with the first. Currently don't have a pedal as well either, but ill get to that later.

I'd say its a realistic goal. I started with the book late January early February and I'm almost done with it now, just a couple of more pieces to learn. That's about 7 months too. You'll breeze through the first half of the book very quickly but then you'll find that the pieces get harder to learn and require more time and effort, as well as patience. When just starting with the book I thought I'd be done with it in a couple of months just cause of how fast I was going through it in the beginning. Once you get to "Blow The Man Down", the pieces will slow you down. So, 7 months is a realistic goal, depending on how much you practice of course.

Hi, guys and gals. I'm considering getting the Alfred's Basic course, but I have a question. I don't read music and I will be self-teaching as I'm not nor will I be financially able in the future to afford them. My question is, will this course teach me to read music?

Welcome pianonewb, yes the Alfreds Course will teach you everything from scratch, it is designed to take a complete beginner on their journey. I highly reccomend the All in One Course, though I've also heard there is a version for adult self teachers, maybe someone who is or has used that version can tell you a little more about it.

By the way, just curious, where in No. VA are you from? I'm a NOVA native, although I now live out by Lake Anna, but I still work in Alexandria.

I think in addition to depending on how much you practice as Romolo stated, it depends on how many additional pieces and drills you are working on at the same time. I think I would have been done with the book if I was doing strictly the book, but I always have several other longer pieces going at the same time, plus scales, chords, cadences, arpegios, Hanons, ect.

While on one hand, there is a sense of accomplishment getting through a book, I think there is something to be said for using the new skills you have learned and applying them to different pieces of music to reinforce the concepts and always having a goal piece that is just a little out of your reach at the moment but motivates you to keep pushing. Just my .02

Thanks, BarbVA. I've been seriously considering the AIO Adult course, but I'm ordering from Musicians Friend, and all they carry is the Adult Basic. I know that you can find it on Amazon and other places online, but most of them want to use PayPal or credit cards. I don't do either, and prefer to use a money order. Sometimes that limits my choices, though.
As for where I live, Front Royal. Thanks again. I'll probably be ordering the adult Basic soon. I'm learning by ear now and having a great time. Just finally got a Casio PX-120 to replace the 61 key 'board I've been learning on and really having a ball! But I really need to start learning how to read, as that is one of my long term goals. Maybe in a week or two I can be a permanent part of this thread.

I just finished GREENSLEEVES...woohoo. I practiced it over and over yesterday for about an hour without being able to play it musically and with some errors. I woke up today and I was able to play it perfectly several times. It was pretty easy to learn to be honest. Im starting to find that its getting easier to learn pieces that seem difficult. I don't know if thats cause the pieces are getting easier or if Im just developing the skill needed to play. Anyways, I think I have 5 more pieces to learn in this book before I move on to book 2

Very cool. I am waiting for you in the Book 2 thread....

I am still playing Greensleeves. I am now focusing on refining the pedaling and the expression. Once you are in Book 2, Greensleves and the next few songs will seem really simple, but it's fun to use these little gems to really refine yourself.